Ropes @ Dells

Really thought about how onerous it is to walk on a tight rope? The Dells attraction @ Wisconsin just gives you a glimpse of what it is all about. Though you are tightly secured to the iron beams above you, the feeling of walking on a rope for a first time walker is a real "must have" experience. So here comes the story...This attraction @ Dells was in a resort named Kalahari. We just went to check as to what was available there at almost during the end of the day.My husband was thrilled about the ropes course. But it looked strange for me.I didn't want to take any risk with that. Then, due to my husband's constant coax, I decided to try it.
This picture to the left is what rope course is all about. There are two levels of ropes fastened in different patterns. Two ropes running in parallel, ropes with some rungs in between and someones really looked like the one used by Mogli, hanging from the beams.
We got the tickets and joined the line which was waiting for the guard to fasten the ropes to our chests. The other end of the rope moved smoothly over the groove in the center of the beam.Here we go...! My husband was courageous enough to take the difficult path. I was moving behind him. I knew I was inept at this talent. So before going to the next level , I decided to return back to the ground. For this, I had to follow the original path traversed.

Again there was an argument which sprung up between us. I almost turned my way to return, but then there were some people walking from the same side towards me. I thought that I was trapped in the middle of nowhere. So I involuntarily decided to go to the next level. Some how I managed to balance my weight on the beam and held myself to the end of the course. Voila...! I managed to finish it..! I was at the end point before my husband. Only after a day or two, I realized that it was not a just a game but it was a great workout too, both for your guts and your body. My triceps and calf muscles were excruciating with pain. Seemed like I had never tried to balance my weight on my own using my hands.
When I started writing this, I wanted to make a mention of something interesting which I saw in a documentary on Niagara falls. This was all about tight rope walking across Niagara river without any support. We may generalize that for any professional rope walker, this might be an easy task. But it might not be so. It is true that good practice will surely pay you off, but something goes beyond that. It is only the determination and the will you possess to balance yourself, saves you from the fall.

Stereotyped

Young children tend to learn quickly. They are also curious to know various details and question enormously that annoy adults sometimes. The following scene will demonstrate the need for being very specific to a child's question else it might possibly end up in a mess.

Scene 1:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Shivan temple, India.
Tiny tot, who was about 3 years old,arrived at the temple around 9 in the morning along with his family. Tiny tot was pretty restless due to the long travel. He was with his Daddy questioning occasionally on whatever he came across. Daddy was holding Tiny tot and was waiting in the long queue along with Mommy and Sis. Temple was extremely crowded as it was Maha sivarathri*
that day.Finally,they reached the Moolasthanam*. Priest was chanting vedas as he was doing pooja* for Lord Siva. After praying for about fifteen minutes. Priest came out with the Deepa arathi .Everybody prayed and placed their offerings on the plate which was held by the priest. Then the priest came out with pancha pathiram* filled with Theertham*. People cupped their hands dutifully as the priest filled them with the theertham using a holy spoon.

Sis, who was about 9 years old, emerged from behind and also cupped her right palm with her left palm supporting it at the bottom. She received her share of the theertham. With due respect, she closed her eyes brought her right hand near her eyes,prayed and then she drank a drop or two and sprinkled the remainder on her head. Tiny tot, who was silently observing his sister, started to prod further about that action to his Daddy. Daddy, by then, was annoyed due to the crowd which was pushing him from behind. He did not pay much attention to Tiny tot. Eventually, Tiny tot entered a fit of tantrum as he did not receive any answer from Daddy. He went on prodding his Daddy. Finally, Daddy told him that whatever Sis did was a mark of respect to God and it should be done during the time anybody receives a holy thing from pooja. Tiny tot felt a lot more better after receiving this reply.

Scene 2:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Thirupathi, India.
Tiny tot, along with his family, reached Thirupathi later that year. That time it was to perform a ritual of shaving Tiny tot's head for the third time which would complete the long standing ritual in Hindu religion. Thirupathi, as usual was extremely crowded and Tiny tot held his Daddy's hand, and Sis, Mommy's palms. Daddy took Tiny tot to get his head shaved before entering the temple. Tiny tot had his head shaved with wet sandal applied on it. They completed the prayers. Mommy, by then joined another queue in order to receive the holy prasadham, Ladoo*. Daddy,Sis and Tiny tot was waiting for her near the steps which led to the temple's tank.

Mommy returned with a packet of two huge Ladoos in a plastic bag. Everyone sat down to have their share of the prasadham. Mommy divided the Ladoo into four equals and handed over to Sis,Tiny tot and Daddy. The moment Tiny tot received his share, a bright idea struck him. Even before anybody could taste their Ladoo, Tiny tot took his hand filled with Ladoo near his eyes prayed for a second. Daddy, gazing at Tiny tot was happy to see his son's demeanor. The next second, Tiny tot brought his hand to his mouth, had a drop or two. The next second was even more hilarious when the family saw the major quantity of Ladoo on Tiny tot's head. Sis was rolling with laughter. Mommy started cleaning Tiny tot's head. Thanks goodness,the cleaning was easy as then the head was devoid of hair. Only Daddy was able to comprehend his son's action. He thought the mistake lay in him as he was too generic in his explanation at Shivan temple. The child had stereotyped..!!!!

P.S.
Maha Sivarathiri Hindu celebration to honor Lord Shiva.
Moolasthanam Sacred place in a Temple where the deity of the God is placed.
Pooja Worship in Hindu tradition.
Panchapathiram Sacred cup for serving theertham.
Theertham Holy water.

Silent Listener's e(mbarrassment)ncounter - Part 2

It was a fine Saturday morning around 7:15 in Bangalore. Silent Listener was up early and got ready for work (IT does not spare Saturdays..!!). She gave a quick glance at the Times of India. The headlines was about India-Australia cricket match which was about to start that day in Bangalore. Silent Listener, though not a very staunch follower of the religion, just skimmed through the information. She then looked at her wrist watch "Oh no! It's late..!!" and in a second or two she was out of the guest house hurrying to board the inter office shuttle at K2.

Silent Listener reached the road and started to walk. Occasionally she turned behind, just to make sure (still the fear of the diabolical figure persisted in her heart which made her more cautious on the road). During one of her cautious look , she caught a sight of (Oh no..!! not again..!!) a diabolical figure. This time it was a white one with sharper horns and twice as huge as our villain of Part 1 (Again I think you might have figured out now, if not, P.S is always there). But today, the White Diabolical Figure was many yards away from our Silent Listener and it also looked like it was glued to that part of the street as it did not show any signs of motion. A sigh of relief immediately struck Silent Listener. She thought silently, "Appa nalla vela..!!" (Good time..!!). She proceeded to her boarding point.

Suddenly, she felt a violent thud of foot step behind her. Within another second, she felt somebody brushing past her causing a violent turbulence of air around her. This was Cric Fantasy. He can be assumed to be in his pre-teens with a white T-shirt and beige colored bermuda. Silent Listener, jerked by Cric Fantasy's running speed, instantaneously thought that the White Diabolical Figure had started to make some kind of parlous movements. Without a second look or losing a second, Silent Listener set out running in full speed following Cric Fantasy.

She ran and ran until Cric Fantasy came to a halt near a petty shop. Silent Listener also dropped down her speed. Only then she thought of looking behind her. She could not find any traces of the White Diabolical Figure or anything obnoxious behind her. Embarrassed by her own action, she slowed down her pace and started to walk. By that time, people in and around the petty shop where already gleaming at her. She heard Cric Fantasy's voice speaking to the shop keeper, "Anna...!! Yaru na toss win pannanga? Indiava Australiava? Radio la enna sonnanga?" (Brother...!! Who won the toss? Is it India or Australia? What did the radio say?). Good that the fellow was speaking in Tamil and not in Kannada, Silent Listener understood what he meant.

Realising her thoughtless action, She chuckled slightly. By then, people on the street and near the shop were still gazing at our Silent Listener. "Oh my God..!! How am I going to overcome this..!!??!!", Silent Listener thought, again silently. Slowly she moved near the petty shop, "Enaku oru Airtel SIM card venum" (I need an Airtel SIM card ), She asked the shop keeper. Shop keeper, who was also gazing at her previous actions, asked her, "Inda SIM card vangarthuku en ma ipdi odi vanthe?" (Did you run frantically for this SIM card?). Our Silent Listener, pretended as though she was in a great hurry and managed by telling, "Office bus pidikanum...late achu adhan..!! Sekiram SIM card kodukareengala..!!" (I need to board the Office bus...I am running pretty late, hence the scurry..!! Can you please give me the SIM card?). Having obtained the SIM card and the change back from the shop keeper, Silent Listener plodded along the side walk towards K2. It was 8:15 by then. There she stood along with fellow ITians, chuckling, waiting for the inter-office shuttle. Thank God..! Bus arrives only by 8:30 during weekends compared to 7:30 during weekdays.

P.S.

White Diabolical Figure A huge white cow probably was in its late stages of pregnancy which gave it the huge appearance.
Inter office shuttle Buses available during weekends for traveling to and fro from offices in the city to EC.

Silent Listener's encounter - Part 1

It was a Monday night around 11 o'clock. A very hard day at work for Silent Listener. She set out for the cab after her database delivery. After 30 minutes travel, the cab came to a halt near Maharaja hotel. Silent Listener asked the cab driver to drop her at her guest house which was just two streets away from the stop. Cab driver mumbled something in Kanada which she understood as his disagreement to her request. Many like Silent Listener are often relocated to Bangalore and are taken for granted to work in ungodly hours at office as they are on a "RELOCATION". Some are gifted with guest houses near EC office. But many like our Silent Listener end up getting accomodated in nooks of the city making it difficult for them to travel to and fro to EC. Having failed in the attempt to persuade the cab man, Silent Listener stepped down the office cab near Maharaja hotel.

Silent Listener started to walk on the road. Fear gripped her heart as she was alone on the road. She suddenly came across a diabolical figure typically a quadruped with charcoal colored skin and curved horns ( by this time you might have figured out what the diabolical being was, if not answer is in the P.S.) which caught her eyes. This diabolical figure was about 5 foot tall and was also gazing at our Silent Listener. Her heart started to palpitate. She set off literally running towards her guest house as fast as her legs could carry her. She could feel that the diabolical figure was after her. She left the real "Yema Dharma raj" was menacing her.

Thank goodness, Silent Listener found a small telephone or internet or the electrical box(typical of the ones found profoundly on the roadsides of any metropolis). For a moment, she thought it was her haven for next few minutes. Behind the box, heart still palpitating Silent listener peered to the road. She found the diabolical figure still proceeding forward. The diabolical figure crossed the Silent Listener's haven and ran straight down the street. Releived of the fear, Silent Listener slowly crept out of her haven and proceeded towards her guest house. She thought silently "Nalla vela adu nambala pidika varala.. Nalaiku epadiyavathu sekiram kilambanum officela irunthu!!" (Good time..It did not run to capture me!! Tomorrow I should somehow leave the office early). With a sigh of relief, Silent Listener entered her guest house and reached out for the bed for a good night's sleep. The next day broke, bright and sunny, only to find that Silent Listener was going to be late home that day too..!!!

P.S.

RELOCATION The temporary change in office for an IT employee during which he/she is paid for everything, including food,accomodation, commutation etc.,
Diabolical figure A big buffalo.