Will Minnie follow Jasmine!

Jasmine...was the pet we had before Minnie came in. She was beautiful and understood my husband really well..had the magic in her to cure his cough by sleeping on his chest when he was unwell...But we lost her too early. To forget Jasmine's loss we got Minnie.


Minnie has been with us for the last 8 yrs now. Notorious & highly greedy for food as any other labrador you would know. She's veggie Dog, not that she hasnt tasted Non-veg. But being brought up in a house where only Veg food is cooked, she has adjusted well to our cooking & tastes. Her normal day would otherwise be with 3 day meal(rotis, rice & milk, Dosa, idli, Bread, Pedigree) with Biscuits in the evening and any other snack that anyone else would have in the house. Her favourites Mango, Papaya, Carrots & Banana. No one in the house is supposed to eat Mango/ Papaya without giving it to her, else we are sure to go deaf. Friends visiting our house would often say that she's huge, all we would do is talk about her.

She has been one member of the family who kept my mum-in-law busy and away from loneliness from the beginning. She is one key member, who gets attention at all times. She wants to be treated equal in the house, but behaves like a child all the time, playful, hungry for outings.

Last 2 months she has been getting her outings...Car tatas...for a wrong reason. She has been taking rounds with her Vet every 15 days. About 2 months back we detected a lump, got to know that it was a Mammory tumour, which was growing at a fast pace. We decided to get her operated and found that it was a malignant tumour. Chemotherapy was started, but she went through it quite well, without any side effects. The wound also healed well without trouble. But by this time we started noticing another new lump, this turned out to be Lymph node tumour. Minnie very bravely and successfully underwent another surgery. She recovered. We were glad that it was over. Just 3 weeks back, we noticed one more new lump. Took her to the vet. He noticed there were two. But surgery would be the solution is what he said, as removing both the lumps would not be possible and removing one tumour would lead to increase in the size of the other :-(. She was put on Chemotherapy again. She has to go through 3 rounds. One round of chemptherapy was given 2 weeks back. First day she didnt eat much, hesitated to go near her meal. But by day 2 she was back to eating, not huge quantities, but she was eating. Now for the past four days she has been keeping unwell. She has lost her appetite completely. Anything she eats comes out. She's living on water, Glucose water & 2-3 biscuits a day. Tried Ice-cream, she atleast ate it, but then within an hour, everything was vomited out. We have been asked to give her Glucose water and Liv52 to increase her appetite. Wonder what she will eat even if her appetite increases. She hates the sight of Rice & milk which was her normal diet. She loved bread, thats also out of her list for now. For the last two days she has been crying in pain(thats my guess), must be the cramps that she is getting because of no solid food and may be acidity. If she's gonna eat Ice-creams atleast, am going to buy her a huge stock of it. She's looking for all the cozy places and soft bedding she can get. May be its the pain that she is unable to go through. The Vet says, its all normal, but we see her losing weight & hair massively. For someone who has been looked after like any other family member, this should not be happening. I call her my mum-in-law's daughter..thats how she has been looked after. The vet says that if we had spayed her, she wouldnt have had this problem, but why arent these things told to a pet owner when the pet is taken for its vaccinations!! Is the owner of the pet supposed to know everything? We have read so many Pet care books, I dont remember having read about compulsary spaying! Wish we had known about this, may be we could have avoided the trouble & pain that Minnie is going through now. We have to find out a solution to her pain & suffering. What is it that will help her....I hope we are able to help her..and find a way out for her.

Update: Thursday- November 06, 2008 was the D-Day for Minnie. Dr.Bhat, her vet visited our place to give her the freedom from her sufferings.

Pondicherry- The French Colony

We & a friend of my husband, had a complimentary offer from Zest- Mahindra holidays for a 2 night/ 3 days trip to any of their locations. Although this would have been our third trip, we chose Pondicherry.

We started from home at 8.00A.M. on Saturday morning. The road till Hosur was bad, because of the flyover work. After that it was a breeze. We were mostly driving at 100/120, because of the good roads from Krishnagiri. Since the start was late, we were already hungry by the time we came close to Krishnagiri. And we were lucky to stop at a BP Bunk at Chinnar for fuelling up our Car. Why lucky?? Coz there was A2B, Adyar Anand Bhavan. We rushed inside and ordered for Pongal, vada, masala dosa and 2 cups of Coffee. All of it at Rs.98/-, and the food was yum. Those travelling on this road, can safely stop over at A2B. Rest of the restaurants/ hotels you would find on this road would only be dhabas, and one would think twice before stopping over for some grub there. After this was our non-stop journey towards Pondicherry. Although the roads are good throughout, speeding became difficult at times, because of the villages that come on the way. there is always a fear of someone/ some animal crossing the roads suddenly. Then there are are cyclists & motor cyclists, who love to drive in the middle of the road. The other part was, we did not have many boards which showed the directions towards Pondicherry. Reached Tiruvannamalai, and then got lost by taking the wrong turn. We must have deviated about 15-20 kms, through all the villages possible..and then joined back the main road with the help of some people who gave us the right direction to reach the by-pass road.

Our booking was at Big Beach- Cuddalore Road- Pondicherry. Reached the place at around 3.00P.M. Lunch was at a place close to the resort. We were happy to see the resort, beautifully done. Welcome drink made of Kokum, I think, was refreshing after the journey.
At the reception

The Lounge

Restaurant Area

The Bar

The reception area

Walk to the beach

The Beach

The Natural Pond

The Rooms

Everything about the place was good, the lobby with huge cane basket chairs...looked like Coracle with cushion, these were single seaters, then came the sofas and the restaurant area and then then coracle chairs again, which could seat 3-4 people. Not much spent on the walls of the place, but enough spent on doing up the interiors, the lightings, the fans, the rooms, the bathrooms.
The Inside of the Room

Room had been done up really well, with comfortable bed & LCD TV, perfect lighting & A/C. The bathroom had an open shower, which was closed for others, but open till a pebble area. It was obvious that a lot of care had been taken to make the visitors comfortable. Evening was by the pool(open till 9.00P.M.), with a bar attached, perfectly lit. Around 8.30, it started to rain heavily, and we were stuck at the pool without an umbrella. Called up the reception and asked them to send across two umbrellas. That didnt really help, coz by the time we reached the restaurant, we were half wet. The menu for Buffet- dinner was awesome. Infact it was lovely on all three days. If I was a Non-veggie, then i would have had even more choice :-). Anyways the veggie food was more than enough to let me rest for the night. Got to taste the finest of the desserts during the stay. Breakfasts again were heavy with lots of variety, with made to order Dosa's, omlettes or even scrambled egg. Fruit juice, aerated drinks, Milk, Tea/ Coffee, Cornflakes with 3 different varities, Vada, sambar, Boiled beans, Mashed potato, Idlies, Bread toast, boiled egg, Cut fruits, Poori on one day with Alu bhaji, Upma...and some more that I dont remember now.
Saturday we just chilled out near the pool and dining area. Sunday morning, we walked to the beach. The sea was rough, and daughter was too scared to enter the water. We just sat by watching the waves and the crawling crabs. After the beach session, we had our breakdast and daughter, husband & his friend decided to go to the pool again, I decided to stay back in the room and relax. They came back after 3 hours fully tanned! Freshened up and headed straight for lunch. Post lunch we decided to go to Pondy city to do some shopping. We visited the Aurobindo Ashram at 3.30P.M. and walked over to the Sri Manakula Vinayagar devasthanam. There was a huge rush, but we managed to get a good darshan of Lord Ganesha. When we came out, we saw "Lakshmi", the temple elephant standing outside with her Mahout. She had nice silver anklets on, and was blessing those who offered her coins. The last time I visited this temple, I had picked up small stone carved Ganesha for all my team members, but this time, I did not find the carving done well, so skipped it.

Then we drove towards M.G Road & Nehru street to start with our shopping. We walked into Casablanca to take a look at the new arrivals. Opposite that was Auroville store, spent almost 1 hr shopping for all the incense sticks, T-shirts, Spa soaps & salts. The place was loaded with all kinds of personalised gifting items. Then we walked into the Hidesign factory outlet and picked up 3 handbags, one for self, one for my mum and another for my mum-in-law. Good designs at a good price. This time although we had decided to pick up a leather jacket for my husband, he didnt really like any of the designs. Last time we had managed to get a good Tan color jacket for Rs.3500/-. By now we had spent so much time shopping that it was time for us to go back to the resort. We cancelled our plans to visit Auroville. We had visited it last time..and this time I was not in a position to walk too much. Did little bit of street shopping for my daughter and walked back to our Car. Dinner was at the resort.

Next morning husband took a walk at the beach alone...and after freshning up we moved to have our breakfast. At 11.00 or so, we started back from Pondy to Bangalore and reached Bangalore at 6.00P.M. The drive was tiring this time, coz there were no sign boards from Pondy to Bangalore, or even to Tiruvannamalali. Even fork on the road we came to, we had to stop and ask the passerby for the route. Somewhere near Gingy Fort, I had seen a milestone which read Bangalore...but again after that the next milestone we saw was only at Krishnagiri.
So people, travelling on this road, better be open to asking your route every time you are in doubt, else carry a proper roadmap, else you will end up driving extra kilometers. This was our third trip to Pondy, even then we were in doubt all the time...so you can imagine :-)

Overall a good trip...a good break from our daily chores...the water, the resort, the shopping, it was all so relaxing.

Malpe beach/ Mookambika temple/ Charmadi Ghat

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It was my cousins wedding in May…a peak summer time in Mangalore. We went via Shiradi Ghat….the worst roads one could face. We were lucky not to have a flat tyre.

The wedding was to take place at Indrali Temple(Goddess Panchadurgaparameshwari) in Udupi. Since there was no venue available for the wedding to take place, my uncle decided to have his daughter’s wedding at this temple which is walkable distance from his house. The thought of being in a Silk saree & all the jewellery got me sweating!

But to our surprise, since the temple is built at a height, the cool breeze kept us cool. No one felt the need for a fan too. After the wedding was through, we decided to go to Malpe Beach.

Evening was beautiful, and beach was fun. Daughter was happy to be at the beach..and husband was thrilled to see Water Scooter ride. He went into the sea for a round with a trained water scooter driver for Rs.200/-(for single ride, for a doubles ride, he would have charged Rs.300/-). He had a eeee ah haha look on his face when he came back from the ride J. After absorbing the peace we got out of watching the lovely sunset, we started back to our room at Udupi.

Next day, we had another wedding to attend. And after the wedding, we decided to visit Kollur Mookambika temple.

Approximately 80kms drive was a long one. Throughout the way we could see cashew and Jackfruit trees. The temple is built in midst of a forest and most visitors to the temple were Keralites, men dressed in Mundu and women in their traditional cream color with golden border Sarees. The rush was manageable and we got a good darshan of the goddess and the surrounding Lingas & Ganapati idols. At Lord Ganesha’s gudi, daughters favourite God, the priest there gave her flowers..dont know what made him do it, but it was just to her and asked her if she will return to the temple again…and she said Yes.

After the darshan, my mum-in-law & I had Goli Soda..and the rest had Tea at a near by stall and we started back to Mangalore.

Next day we were to drive back to Bangalore. Since Shiradi Ghat wasn’t ready yet, we decided to try the Charmadi Ghat. The road was not so great, but was manageable.

Narrow roads, with beautiful view of the mountains & ghat roads. We stopped over on a three-cross road, (the left to Horanadu/ Kalasa and straight to Bangalore) after smelling hot Bajjis. We bought few plates of Hot masala vadas and Chilli Bajji’s. It tasted yummy. Anyone traveling on this road, must try the hot masala vadas. After the vadas, we drained down all the oil J with a cup of hot tea. We took nine long hours to touch Bangalore and another hour or so to reach our home. Tiring yet, enjoyable journey.

Kadur temple

December 29th
Chikkajajur- A small village near Davanagere

After a long 6 hrs drive we reached our uncles place. Freshened up there and left to visit our Coconut farm.

After taking a look at our trees, we visited my father-in-laws burial place. On our way I had to prepare my daughter to bow to her grandpa. All the while my mum-in-law kept thinking on what to tell my daughter. So
I told her, tata(grandpa) has gone to shami(god).
Daughter asked "why is he with shami".
I said...he was old just like ajjajjja (my grandfather- who died at the age of 90 a few months back)...so God said that he will take care of him and took him.
So daughter said, but tata was not old know (the photo we have at home, he doesn’t look old).
So I had to actually convince her that he got old but we did not take his latest snap so we don’t have one.
The thoughts which my daughter had were good enough to bring back a nice smile on my mum-in-laws face.
After paying respects to my father-in-law we left for Kadur temple. That night was very pleasant. Our cousins had organized for some program for the children and the elders which went on till 12.00A.M. After all the hungama, the crowd was in the bed by 1.00A.M.

December 30, 2007

Kadur’s Eswara temple, near Chikkajajur

Otherwise a quiet place, that day it was jam packed with people all over. It was the day for “kenda” a festivity in which selected devotees walk across glowing charcoal.
Previous night we slept over at the temple itself. Morning was pleasant, we got to see the sun rise. All of us freshened up and moved towards the main temple area. Rudrabhishekha was about to begin. All of us seated ourselves inside the temple the rituals began. The poojas went on for close to 1 ½ hrs. So our legs went numb by the time we were allowed to get up! Curtains were pulled immediately after rudrabhishekha, to dress the Lord. When the curtains opened The Lord looked beautiful…the bells started ringing, eyes closed, hands came together, the aarti lamp was brought out…and I got goose bumps. After the aarti & tirtha, all of us came out of the temple to take part in Kenda. One of the village elders lit fire to the woodstack which was kept. The God used for festivities was brought on a palanquin by 6-7 people. They walked on the charcoal with the God. The moment the God was being brought back, all of us seated ourselves on the ground in a row so that the palanquin passed over our heads- a way to get blessed. These 6-7 people walked on the charcoal 6 times. With lunch being served to all who were present there, the kenda came to an end.

Lord Eswara during Rudrabhishekha

View from the temple

My princess with the village crowd :-)

all in a row

Walking over Kenda

Veg Chinese Restaurant!!

Lou Han- A Veg Chinese Restaurant in HSR Layout 1st Sector
January 04, 2008
A veg chinese restaurant hadn't heard of that one. Got curious and checked with the guy who was taking our order. Turned out that he owned the place. He explained that the concept was new here and in China. A lot of people were turning veggie there, he informed. A chinese born and brought up in India he came across as a really nice guy. It did not take too long for the Manchow and Sweet corn soup to be served. One question remained. What is the meaning of Lou Han. The joke was "lets go to the loo haan ?". He explained - it has two meanings, 1. one of the 18 disciples of Buddha and 2. a dish in China made of 18 vegetables.

Overall, the food was tasty, nice soft Chinese music playing in the background...and to put a even bigger smile on our face, the charges were highly reasonable. For some of my friends who love less crowded place and good chinese food, this would be just the right spot.
Note: Everything these was priced between Rs.50-80. Interesting right :-)

Here is the stuff picked up on the net - Lohans are well-known for their great wisdom, courage and supernatural power. Due to their abilities to ward off the evil, Lohans have became guardian angels of the Buddhist temple and there in the main hall standing guard are the ever-present, indomitable-looking 18 Lohan figures, sometimes accompanied by 500 or more lesser Lohans.
According to tradition, there were originally only 16 lohans. Two were added on the list by the Chinese in the Tang Dynasty.
Legend has it that the first portraits of the 18 Lohans were painted by a Buddhist monk Guan Xiu, in 891 A.D. Guan Xiu lived in Chengdu, the capital of a small kingdom, the Former Shu, formed at the decline of the Tang Dynasty in what is today's Sichuan Province. He was adept at the scholarly pursuits of painting, calligraphy and poetry.

Birthday@Janapadaloka

October 13(mum-in-laws Bday)- 14th(mum's Bday)

My mum-in-law celebrated her 60th Birthday on October 13th. Since we didn’t really know what should be done for “Shashtipoorti”, we decided to get Pooja’s done for our home God. Early that morning, we were at the Ganesha temple in Koramangala (known as the Software Ganesha). Got Rudrabhisheka for Lord Shiva, and Poojas done to Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya & Goddess Parvathi. After all the Pooja’s were over, we took my mum-in-law’s blessings and headed straight for lunch with closest of our family members.

This Birthday was meant to be remembered, so we continued with the celebration on the next day as well. The plan was to spend time and let her enjoy the moments with her family (brothers, sisters & their family). This day was special for us coz it happened to be my mum’s Birthday. A special gift to both the mothers.

amma & mummy(mum-in-law)- the active participants :-)

We had booked a small mini bus which could accommodate 21 of us. The trip was towards Mysore road…Kamat Yatrinivas & Janapada Loka, about 50+ kms from Bangalore. The lunch was to happen at Kamat. All our relatives were picked up on the way and by the time we reached the place, it was 12.00P.M. so we headed straight for lunch. Starters: Fresh Sugarcane juice. Followed by rotti yele oota. Those who want to taste North Karnataka food should go here…Jola roti was just amazing…hot, served with butter, badnekai yengai (Brinjal curry), kaalu playa(gram curry)…then the remaining items were the same as any South Indian meal…Rice, Rasam, Curd, papad…I belted on 5 rotis..cant believe it myself. How did I manage to finish it!
The making of those rotis was a good sight to see. Two tall & long benches placed opposite each other. In the middle was the gas with tava. One side there were ladies who were constantly beating the dough in the shape of chapatti/ roti and putting it on the tava and the other side of the bench were men who were roasting the roti and keeping it aside to be served to us. The pace at which the rotis were getting made, this team could have been sent for Guinness book of world records :-)

After our meal, we went to Janapada Loka-JL which was next doors. We were welcomed by the geese there. It was quite a long walk inside JL. First we visited the museum which had all the pics of the Tribes of Karnataka, display of their clothing. Next was an ancient Ganesha temple. Then came the display of folk lore & cultures of Karnataka and some of the remains of dynasties in Karnataka. After all the walking, most of the elders were too tired to walk further. So they took their place under the shade of a huge tree. And we youngsters moved towards a lake which had boating facility. There was only one option there, the paddle boat. So five of us climbed in for a 15min ride. After which all of us proceeded to the Amphitheatre usually used for some folk shows which take place there. The kids gave us good entertainment by singing some songs & jumping around. It was 4.00P.M. by the time we decided to exit. All of us had a cup of coffee/ tea and jumped into our bus.

the maharatha used during festivals.

the boating

at the exit

the ganesha temple

We thought that the crowd would be tired, but then one of our cousins recommended that we visit the Mukti Naga temple near Ramohalli on our way back. The approach road to this place was bad and after reaching we noticed that there was some construction work happening at the temple. The steps to walk up to the temple were pieces of wood put together. Before we went to see Lord Naga, we stepped in to pray at Shri Kaaryasiddhi Vinayaka Temple which was at the entrance. Luckily we were on time for the Aarati for Lord Naga- 16ft tall! This is the biggest Naga idol I have ever seen! Very near to the main temple there was another old temple which had carvings of naga all over, went in there and saw a beautiful small Stone idol of Naga again. Outside this temple we saw lots of small stones piled up, like building blocks. That’s when our close aunt & uncle mentioned that those who have wished for a house for themselves build a stone block in front the temple and ask the lord to bless them with a house. Nice and easy way to build a house I thought :-) After everyone of us had finished visiting the temple, we decided to call it a day.
To make this day a success was a great thing to happen.
Special mention: My husband & I earned a lot of brownie points for organizing this…shy shy

Sorry we didnt take pics at Mukti Naga!! Forgot the camera in the bus!