In Auroville

So there I was , with an impulse greater than I could ignore . Since Id read 'BLINK' , my trusty sense of thin slicing had sensitized greatly , which is why this thought didnt seem crazy at all .

Step 1: Be Impetous

I booked my train ticket to chennai online and back , figuring the rest would take care of itself.

Step 2: Arrange accomodation for myself

Since I only had about a day to spend I thought I wouldnt be able to make it to pondy and back and so decided aurville would be home for a day

I signed up on www.couchsurfing.org , and was scanning hosts in and around pondy . By the time I got back to the search results and thought Il request a third host , the first contact responded positively. As a sign of things to come , it was pretty exciting already

Step 3: Pack bags and leave

With my handy german tourist backpack at half capcity , I was at bangalore cant station at 11 pm waiting for the chennai express scheduled within the next hour ,sitting on a flat metal bench which was surprisingly comfortable, along with a manager at McAfee.

We exchaned pleasantries and I had to leave to board my coach which decided would position itself on the opposite end of the platform I was standing on.

Step 4 : Get on with it

Since I was on a RAC seat , I had to relieve myself of a princely sum of 25/- to a man incharge so I can get a berth to sleep on . Yes , redtape is inevitable.

Arrived chennai at 7 am after a freezing night without any warm clothes to a city that was actually comfortably pleasant all day.

Walked out of the teminal and had to scout the 15B to Koyambedu which actually stops next to the Post office which is on the left side of the Chennai central station.

Caught the immediate bus to pondy and arrived 3.5 hours later at a rickety sign dulled with age and for want of attention , directing me to the Auroville main road .

Step 5: Immersion

Now heres something that will get your attention. With all that Pondicherry is famous for , if its for a world weary traveler burdened with the trivialities of being oneself , in agreement with the values and ideals set to create an athmosphere of attraction and manifestation, then auroville is the magical place you are looking for.

Heres a place where people greet all strangers with a ' Top o the morning to you! ' , and tempt you with a french breakfast with locally processed cheese and a disposition that l grab you by the cheeks and force some automatic cheerfulness to the myriad foreigners calmly putt-putting about the 10ft wide MAIN road on a deranged old tvs moped that must ve crawled out of a whales belly on the beach not 100mts away.

Did some local sight seeing on foot for the whole afternoon , soaked in the pacific warmth , while trying to hitch rides with people . I also happened to meet 2 guys also from McAfee who apparently work for the manager on the train platform .

Strange

Step 6 : AMAIDI

The tamil word for silence , www.amaidi.org was my gracious host for a day and I will now introduce you to her Founder-Director

Mr Camille van Neer

A dutchman who fell in love with India and a tamilian girl (now his wife, Jansi) started this foundation in 2006 with the aim of empowering local fishing communities with a multitude of projects from agriculture , micro finance , IT , child welfare , teacher training and a range of targets to achiev purpose and fulfil his mission here.

To say that this man inspired me is an understatement, Camille lives, breathes, and feeds Amaidi which by now is grown and is the focus for a very active community for foreign volunteers who spend some months at a orphanage or village and with what skills they know , foster and kindle some development , which in its course starts a chain of events that are simply fascinating.

Step 7 : Promise to return

By now , Ive been pretty much around Auroville , and am simply in love with the simplicity and practicality of the place and the people. When the time comes to author my autobiography , this will be my home for those 18months.

Give time a break

Some tips, its easier to travel by 2 wheelers which are pretty convenient to rent (approx Rs 100 / day) ,The Mathri Mandir closes at 4:30 , so be sure you're there by 3:30 so as to watch the video and obtain passes to walk the 1 km to the location

Fruty in ooty

It was about time the family spent some time together ,hence the grand trip to ooty was arranged.

We left mysore on the 18th at around 1 pm and headed onto the Bandipur-Gundlupet road.
Stopped at Bandipur for some forest tea headed on again through the madumalai elephant reserve and took the left before gundlupet , onto a strangely narrow silver bridge upon which we realiased this was a shortcut by 27 kms to ooty .

But this meant we would have to go through the valley of death , under the labyrnth of pain and past the caves of sorrow.

Im just joking , all we did was 36 hairpin curves to reach ooty sitting plum at 14 degress centigrade

After much deciding over on which cough medicine to have before dinner ( read 8Pm , Signature , Old Monk ), it was time for some average hill station food and off to bed

The next day was your run of the mill sightseeing locations of the BIGPEAK , botanical gardens and the lake.

Left after breakfast on sunday morning wth ooty at a comfortable 10 degrees , and headed onto the most amazing 27 km stretch winding the hills that is the majesty of NH 67 .

Coniferous trees , massive silver oaks and spruce trees made the forest look imposing, nay , dominating as this road takes you through some sinister curves and paths over the mist kissed fertile lands , taking us back to mysore by 2 pm in the noon over to MESSALUNA at jayalakshmipuram for lunch . Best meal in days

The funniest thing I remember was when we passed through the Madumalai reserve , I came across this elephant who probably mustve worked there ,

He seemed gruff as he tossed branches around his feet past him wth contempt, and seemed to smirk at every passing car with a big toothy grin.

So I go up to him and say , " Whats eating you , elephant ? "

" I hate my work " , he says
" They pay me peanuts ! ".

What Lions want ?

Courage is a very strange thing ,
We all wish we had more of it in times of need, and dont miss it otherwise.
Some of us turn to solace in prayer, to help gain strength
Some of us are reduced to an insecure mass of fearfulness

Courage is a very strange thing,
Our desires to be full in it are in fact granted unto us
Some of us feel burdened in the labor of anxious loathing
And some look fear in the eye to find they had it in them all along

All the best

So its 3:30 in the morning

All the lights are on

Ive made 'ass-grooves' in my hard teakwood chair

Armies of ants in my room seem nicely fattened on late night leftover-food-binges

and theres a blood test report lying on the computer table , right next to my chin of course

If any of this sounds familiar ,yes , I am working on a paper , its dealing with room acoustics.

This is something ive really been wanting to do for a long time and have just uploaded it on www.esnips.com/web/fidelstuff

I must make a mention of my mentor for this project, Mr Matthew George , who was gracious enough to accept me as an intern with him over the period of a month during my last vacations. The man let me play with his personal PC and software worth a small family car all day long !

Was super fun during my internship cause I was moonlighting with my jazz band www.myspace.com/bourbonstreetbangalore and we tore the place apart.

More on that coming soon

Waking up hopefully to a completed contraption ,a hybrid catamaran and a cleaned and polished cylindrical parabolic collector which will see some action at Techtava09 ,MIT manipal.

Updates granted

So its been quite a while since my last post





A quick list of things that have happened in the span of a year








1 : Got kissed , got wild and had a life


2 : Cleared criti paper


3 : Acquired some backlogs


4 : Was gopher for 'NEWSENSE'


5 : Shaved three times


6 : Slept a lot


7 : Dreamt a lot when sleeping


8 : Celebrated birthday with my pet canarys acapella band


9 : Won a spelling bee ( at my age ,yes)


10: Started and stopped learning the sitar 47 times


11: Blamed other people for my problems


12: Built castles in the air


13: Then sold them for a ridiculous price


14: Got dumped


15: Made conversation with strangers in various modes of transport


16: Went to college one day knowing I'd forgotten something , realised I hadnt brought my bag


17:Went to church


18: Discovered the art of avoiding uncomfortable questions by pretending I have a hearing disability



19: Cleaned my room



20: Realised Im allergic to dust and had a violent attack



21: WENT TO THE WEBSITE http://www.thetorchtrust.org/



22:Got in touch with my feminine side



23:Thought about deleting my orkut profile



24:Aided and abetted grand larceny



25:Barbequed some beef chops tenderised overnight in garlic ,ginger and pepper marinate served with mashed potatoes on the side with good helpings of mayo.



26:Recited the alphabet backwards



27:Neglected that rash on my chest



28:Wrote semester exams all through Christmas and New Year



29:Tried out for the college lacrosse team



30:Got dumped again



31:Learnt some new 'Yo mama' putdowns



32:Ironed yo mamas big pants out in her driveway

Shot story

Chicago, Illinois (AP) -Local contractors carrying out renovations at North River Manor claimed to have found the last unfinished work of the famed Stanley Cooper.
An excerpt follows

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I can remember, I can also remember more than I have seen. Out here I like to think there’s a beautiful secret to everything I have loved and loathed. At one with the universe, there’s little to hide from .Once the world sees what I’ve discovered, maybe then I can live a little easier. Although no one yet believes me when I tell them of this wonderful light that speaks to me across rivers of cold silence. I tell them about the revelations I’ve made on my myriad journeys, but it’s like talking through walls of glass. If only they’d understand. I must admit, this last expedition has taken its toll on me. Much like the ones before it. If ever I make it through this insanity in the jungle, I swear to God, there’ll be no more
No more
When all of my local guides finally deserted me, I was left to fend for myself. Not much of a fight that was. Considering my last meal was more of a memory than any form of nourishment now. I finally gained consciousness what seemed like days later. I found they had dumped us in this small cramped room, without remorse, punishing me for sins I think I’ve committed. There was just me and her. She seemed calm. Or at least that’s what I told her to believe. I tried telling her we would get through this. If only I could believe that tripe myself. She would try to dig us out of that hellhole. It made me laugh. The fact of impending doom persistently whispered defeat in my head. Why didn’t I try and get out of there? Maybe I was too weak. Maybe I had nothing to go back to. Or no one rather. Now that the love of my life was lying lifeless beside me. They wouldn’t do anything to help her. I feared the knives that slashed her side may have seriously damaged vital internal organs. I couldn’t make out from the outside. I felt she must have been in a lot of pain. They wouldn’t do anything at all. I had to kill her myself to put us both out of this misery. Sometimes it’s easier to take charge yourself, than wait for the inevitable
The inevitable
Eventually madness descended, or was it wisdom? Either way things seemed spiraling beyond my control. My faint beads of hope were long gone. The only things on my mind now were the wasted gardens of my youth and the aching painlessness of time. My discovery was a sham. These years spent in pursuit. Futile. Everything I’d gained and lost, everything I fought for and threw away, a waste of time.
A waste of time
Until
I decided to make my escape with a long piece of rope and the vantage point of a grilled window.
As simple as that
A piece of rope and a grilled window
To freedom “

Upon investigation, Police concluded this was the elusive suicide note that held the answer to the demise of Cooper over 4 years ago, following his diagnosis with schizophrenia. The discovery of this document also substantiates the homicide of Mrs Emilia cooper who was found with 17 stab wounds.

Do I not really care ?

Not that its even close to worthy of a mention in my blog but nonetheless, Id like to make a mention of some really nasty misadventures and how , surprisingly ,I found I could take away something useful from it.

I don't know about you , but I found I can convince myself of absolutely ANYTHING .From imposing on myself that Im thoroughy useless at anything and everything I try , also after much frustration and failure , that I need to be capable of pretty much anything. ( If you own a 'low-self-esteem-0-meter' , it should register some mild response about now).

From the archives of experiences I have in wanting to deny myself any sort of human conversation, locomotive functions, electronic appliance, overcast weather, breakfast nutrition, color combinations and bad restaurant food for the sole reason that I'd FAIL in some aspect of my share of interaction with the abovementioned product/service , its more than obvious that my argument's sprung a leak.


Suppose I chose to disregard this sensation of disappointment outright ? suppose I chose to ignore any affiliation with any synonym of failure ? suppose I stick to mundane cliches and say I dont know the meaning of the word ?
Ah ! we would then arrive at INDIFFERENCE , and what a disambiguated mess this put me into.