PlayStation

Playing games was always my kinda thing. Back in school days I had this handheld video game (it was called dog something), my brother had gifted that to me from Singapore... later in college days bought an Atari TV console. It was simple but addictive, all friends would crash land @home and we would spend hours playing various games. Eventually I was into engineering armed with a computer, and in came computer games. It all started with a game called Hocus Pocus. Later it was Wolfenstien 3d and various other games.

My aunt in Mumbai had a PC since I was in 3rd(an intel 286!) , so had already played some classics like CAT, Packman etc. As years went by, realized the fundamentals behind 3D and game programming. Better processors and optimizations were the norm and Michael Abrash was sorta my God those days :).

Anyways so as time went by got myself a job, and yes the PC upgraded from monochrome to color and eventually over a span of 8 years to better processors and higher speeds. Games like cat, hocus pocus seemed a letdown (graphically ...) in front of likes of Grand Theft Auto 3 etc...

I was still a gamer :).

Xbox 360, Wii and the Playstation series were rising into prominence over the last few years. I always wanted me one of these better (read high end) consoles for gaming. Soon I got married but still had this zest for console/computer games.

Then on 20th September 2009 -it happened. Wify dear gifted me an 80GB Playstation 3 with two Dualshock 3 controllers and two free cult classic games: Uncharted-Drakes fortune and Gran Turismo 5 prologue. It was a wonderful birthday gift. Both these games I loved and would only dream/imagine myself playing hem. Now it is reality.

Barely two weeks since I got this, I'm already done with Uncharted and am in the process of training my folks to ride virtual cars :D.

The PS3 does a lot, it plays a plethora of video file formats , displays images, plays music and also connects to teh internet. And as though that's not it - one can also install Linux onto the PS3!!! Wow! ... err.. it also plays games btw. :)

I always wanted to connect my old computer to the TV so that we could watch various movies and photos off the PC, but now with the PS3- just connect with an external HDD and off you go!

The gaming doors have reopened!

Sculpting an idol

Ganesh Chaturti is definitely one of my favorite festivals (as indicated in my previous post). With eco-friendliness being the latest rage, and with us opting for an eco idol, I did have a plan springing up my sleeve. Sculpt an idol myself :).

There were times when I would make these little idols out of Wheat flour, my mom used to make different delicacies. It always was a thought I had in the backburn for a long time.

So with the idea discussed back home- the first task was to get some clay. Shaadoo mud (the mud that can bind easily and stay put post drying), everyone we asked did not have that available, so one fine day made a run down to Staples and spotted some paper clay in the children's section. There were various brands and varieties, finally picked myself one of the more sophisticated looking (no BS types) package.

It was a heavy pack with grey paper-clay. Decided to sculpt the idol the next day on Friday, since 'was pretty tired post office. The next day started with me getting my hands dirty at ~8:30am. Tried various techniques but the minimal quantity of clay made this a daunting task- the idol would not be big enough. That's when an idea clicked in mold the clay around something round to create the body and then something simillar for the head. It worked!

Used a glass bowl for the body and stuffed the void with a lot of wet paper, then elongated the body upwards using some card paper- stuffed it further with a lot of paper. Finally used one half of a plastic ball to create the head. Now I had the basic structure ready all covered with clay. It did start looking like a promising Ganapati in the making :).

A few more hours and the crown, trunk and hands and legs were ready. The idol unfortunately did not have a neck ... so it looked like an elephant in a seated position. Looked nice. With this ready, left the idol for drying and pushed off to work. Bought another pack of white paper clay since, I could sense the need for it quiet easily. Back home, just created a simple mouse for the idol and it surprisingly turned out too cute. The idol was still wet, so left the fan on the whole night.

Next day, further dried the idol in the microwave (1 minute each rotation for ~5 times, since there was glass and plastic inside of it :D). Used the clay to further fatten the arms and legs. By now the idol truly started to represent Lord Ganesha. Picked a couple of slate stones lying around in the rubble. Used them to create the base seat. Covered the same with clay. Now used the scissors to carve in some dhoti textures and other little features around the idol. After this used some extra clay to make the ornaments and sculpt a shivaling. Placed all of these on the platform and it looked too cool in grey and white :).

Now came the big challenge- coloring the idol. Everyone agreed that it looked good in its natural grey form, but I wanted to color it and that to in eco-friendly colors. So used kajal for black and it worked wonders for the mouse and shivaling. Tried haldi for yellow/gold but it looked too dull. Finally decided to go off eco and get myself some true colors from the market.

In the evening, we went to get our shadoo ganapti and also purchased some decorations. Back home post my dental appointment, raced off to get some acrylic colors and brushes. Red, Blue, Pink, White, Black, Gold, Brass-Gold were the base colors.

The painting session went all the way till ~10:30 at night, and all had a blast sitting around pouring in their suggestions. All of this with the decorations and preparations for the festival the next day. The idol was ready with a grey body and gold with vaious colors seated on grass :).

It truly was a dream come true.

Shadoo Ganapati ...

It was that time of the year again. Festivities aloom and the usual gaga gogoo on the streets raging in all blast and vigor. But no! NO no ... doubly no! Not this year.. it was all mellowed down. The city was gripped in one tough situation with the epidemic on the loose... that had all Puneiets behind closed doors, all shopkeepers had their shutters down, the city administration was planning on a total shutdown of the city (City under quarantine!). It was unbelievable, in a matter of a couple of weeks and some blaring media reports the city civic officials were forced to pull up the red flag. Swine Flu had the whole city in its grip.

But it was the "Shravan mahina" and this the season of festivals... lakshmi pooja, gokulashtami, ganesh chaturti etc. etc. Ganesh Chaturti! - the festival that had me and still keeps me smiling on its advent. But this time around, the influenza scare had all the hulla gulla mellowed down.

We planned on buying on buying an Eco-friendly Ganesha idol this time around. Wify and me did some research and finally got to know from Rahul that we could purchase very good "Shadoo Ganapatis"(Ganapati idols made from mud) from near Rastapeth. We decided on visiting the place a week before the festival and place an order for the same, if we like an idol.

The shop was small, but was full of idols. It had both POP(Plaster of Paris) and "shaadoo" idols. The owner directed us inside the shop to a room where he had numerous idols of various shapes and sizes, most of which were made of "shaadoo". Rahul and both of us instantly liked one of the Ganashea's with a Tanaji turban (It was called "Jai Malhaar"). But it was too big so we decided on looking at other smaller idols... These idols looked really wonderful, but most of them were booked. A couple of idols which we liked were gone too.

After some hunting, both of us zeroed in on an idol that was not brightly colored - but had a uniform brownish color. It looked beautiful. We decided to do more research before finalizing on one.

Back at Rahul's house for the second hunt round, this time around we paraded various shops in the Rastapeth area with Rahul's mom. None of the shops had very attractive idols. After much hunting we returned back to our Shop no.1.

In 10 minutes we had ourselves booked the uniformly brownish painted Ganesha idol. We both loved it- it was pleasing and had a wonderful presence. Like Rahul's mom said "You guyz already had your eyes on this one... so none of the rest appealed to you". But these words were going to recoil back , as Rahul was very insistent on getting the "Jai Malhaar" idol.

The next ~1.5 hrs were spent scanning each and every idol in the shop. Every idol looked beautiful, all the brownish idols appealed to me ;). Every time we selected an idol, there would be some doubts and we would again consider the "Jai Malahar". It was tiring, but a lot of fun! The basic issue was the size and the turban on the idol :).

Eventually after a lot of head hunting and help from the shopkeeper Rahul booked his "Jai Malhaar"! It was an all successful shopping spree... all owners were returning back happy.

Took some pics and showed our folks back home... they liked our choice... (It was right sized and did not have the turban ..hahaa ). We would be getting our idol a day before the festival... so 'am really looking forward to this year’s Eco friendly H1N1 mellowed down festival!

Atop at Last...

Getting back to the fitness regime was looking good, with my bike heading back to the gym and everyone back home making a 5:30am spark, the norm. It was good.

I always had this urge to hike up Sinhagad during weekdays and eventually have it as a norm. Riding daily to office or crossing the mutha over bridges would always have my neck turn around trying to spot the historic twin towered hill in the distance. The next day was a Friday and I knew it had to be done. So as me folks back home got ready for their morning walk, 'zipped off with a backpack and some water. The breeze was chill, it was a good thing I wore my monkeycap. The insects and mosquitoes made sure I squint, as I made my way past the country side and eventually rode to the village of Atkarwadi.

The top of Sinhagad was covered in clouds. The foot-hills were calm as I embarked on the ascent (6:20am). The stone riddled initial path has always been an irritating patch for me and many- and it still is the same. The pace was constant- one of the many things you do as a trekker. The weather was cool, but the constant rhythm got the heartbeats high, let the perspiration loose and the breath heavy. I must confess, 'did slow down a few times to get some nice snaps. But in general the pace was constant. Overtook a villager who was guiding his buffalo up the slopes, soon walked past the half mark. (~6:45am)

The clouds were getting close and the distant valley looked beautiful! Soon overtook a couple more people and continued my ascent along the rock riddled path. I was nearing the top as the final 3 nerve wrecking 'U' paths took a start - these are basically simple paths that go parallel to the face and 'U' turn 3 times as you reach the top. Trust me its really nerve wrecking- knowing u are so close yet so far :).

I teamed myself up with a gentle man atop as the trek concluded (7:05am) - 45 mins 6seconds! Unbelievable- its almost a year since my last trek. It felt good to have such good timing. I was soaked wet in sweat and it felt wonderful! Being in clouds and wonderful views of the fogged valley below were stupendous. A few clicks, a quick breather and off I was on my way down. Enroute met many people from some "Environmental" organization hiking up - some hiked good while some were bad, but it felt good to see so many hike up despite their tiredness and not giving up. In about 35mins I was down(7:50am) and astride my bike and zipped back sqinting my eyes back home. (8:15am).

Mt. Baner

The sun was beating down and so were our spirits. We needed some shade some cool some fun. It happened, the clouds went berserk and the blue sky cast grey. The weather was beautiful and the usual timeout at our local tapri did not work the magic. The little hillock stood sweet in the cool shade and we knew what was needed- a little small hike up the Tekdi, affectionately called "Mt. Baner".

Piyush, Sanjay Mandar and myself took the usual road to the base of the hill. This time around, I wanted them to experience the steeper way up. So we took it. Not having exercised for days the climb did mandate a couple of halts. But the tiredness really did not matter as much, since the dark clouds and chill breeze kept the spirits high. Soon we were atop the hill and then made a quick ascent to the little hillock atop to the mandir (temple).

The views were stupendous. A dark cloud the size of Pune city above us, broken off along the periphery lashing water at the distance. The ranges holding Sinhagad and Torna were hidden far back. A quick breather and off we got with the property and money talk.. blah blah blah. The consistent breeze and freshness in the air kept our spirits high, soon Piyush noticed the incoming rain and that had us take a quick descent.

This time around we took the simple route (South face as we call it :D ). Lots of talks and laughs and down we were contemplating for a wadapaav and some tea. Had a lot of it Rohit wadewalle before making a dash back to the little 4x3 pen.

A couple of days later Amit did the magic talk and off we dash-ed to Mt. Baner. It was a quick quick ascent (steep route) and within the blink of an eye we were standing next to the little mandir. All was the same except the weather. It was not cool and cloudy it was wonderful clear skies with the fresh breeze.

Dusk was soon to fall and we decided to take a path that led to the hillock in the distance. Walked some distance and noticed that many trees had been planted along the hillside. Go Green was doing some awesome work atop these gentle slopes. Soon we stopped partway and decided to take in the beautiful golden sun as it set far behind the mountains. Amit pointed out to various buildings and upcoming projects down in the valley and quoted their prices... the market is improving or so he said. Well we loved the view, and we enjoyed it. The distant views of Balewadi Hinjewadi to Sus and many other areas were simply beautiful. Pune has grown.. its huge.

The atmosphere turned golden as the huge orange ball lost itself behind the mountain. We had to head back before dark. This time we descended the steep route and soon were at the base and trotted back to office for fresh snacks.

The tekdi/Mt.Baner is a wonderful gym for nature enthusiasts. Like Amit put it "muscles wagere kahi nahi re.. stamina ahe stamina... biceps wallyana race lavayla saang aplya barober ani kasse phattete bag tyanchi ... " before narrating a story how he easily trotted off ahead against a fit muscle man to the top of Mt. Baner!

99

Yesterday for reasons ... 1) being a friday 2) long time since we had seen anything new on the movie scene 3) my wife being a movie buff herself 4) no new movies being released in a long time and 5) a new comical '99' was slated for release on that day- the tickets were booked at premium levels starting 8:31pm at the square with a big E.

Knowing not what to expect and run with no expectations is the best way to enjoy the onslaught is what I was taught by one of my good friends some donkey years ago. It proved wonderful! The movie got us in splits at regular intervals... story. Ummm... no not a big deal really, but execution and comedy, oh yess a lot of it! We thoroughly enjoyed every premium level of that ticket.

Movie done with popcorns and tasteless coffee, decided to ride down to some restaurant at ~11 in the night. Lots of hunting later landed at "Punjabi Tadka" near Chandni Chowk. An empty restaurant with wonderful ambiance and khatiya/indian-baithak style seating with the typical mindblowing makke-di-rotii te sarsoon da saag with mega sized chaanch te lassi was perfect for ending the night.... but no so with the already full-ourselves. Forcing the grub down was a fun event in itself with the shadow of sleep looming low over our heads. ~12:15am we full-bellied-selves decide to call it a night.

An annn... not so soon. I keep getting my urges as wify dear stated she was not feeling too sleepy. So decided to ride down all the way to Khadakwasala dam at 1am :). Wonderful. The ride was enough to let the sleep gods get the better of us as we lazily rode past the dam and just gave it a a few hevy glances as we rode back home.

Day ended the next morning - was it 2am? What did we take away from the movie... "Dimple...."

Konkan Bike Trail

Three of us had been on an amazing Bike ride that lasted over 1200kms. The ride along the coast of Konkan from South(Vengurla) to North(Revas). Nachiket(Nachi) on his Red Bullet Thunderbird, Suryakant(Bandya) on his Black Bullet Thunderbird and Me (Vinod/Vindy) on my Black HeroHonda CBZ were on this trip that lasted for 5 days (23rd December '08 to 27th December '08) and was a ride to cherish for the rest of our lives.

We rode through all kinds of road -good and bad alike. Many ferry crossings to get to the other side of the creeks. Sunny beaches to our sights with the blue skies to the horizon, with the cool shades at the coastal village and the barren land across unknown stretches, with the black tarmac varying in texture through the kilometers of well built roads to the dust patches across unknown paths. The ride was simply fabulous.

The following 5 blog articles let you ride alongside, and live the adventure
Day1 : Pune->Vengurla [1] ( ~401kms)
Day2 : Vengurla->Ratnagiri [1] (~233kms)
Day3 : Ratnagiri->Harihareshwar (~193kms)
Day4 : HArihareshwar->Nagaon (~170kms)
Day5 : Nagaon->Revas->Pune (~200kms)

Enjoy the photographs from the ride
Vindy's cam
Bandya's cam
Nachiket's version of the story