Kudlu Falls

Last Saturday, our class spent one of our best moments as a class together. We went on a picnic to Kudlu Falls near Hebri, about 1.5 hours from our college.

We started at around 8:30 a.m. Around 50 of us were present (of 70+ people in the class). We first stopped to collect food packets for the afternoon lunch.

The bus then took us to Hebri, where the bus was suddenly stopped. When asked why the driver had stopped, we got the shock of our lives. The bus won't go further because the road was too narrow and steep. It would be dangerous to take the bus any further. And that meant, we had to walk. We were told that we would have to walk about 2 kilometres. NOT. We realised that we had to walk 4.5 kilometres. And not ONLY walk, but climb rocks, crawl under fallen trees, cross streams and go through thick wood and narrow steep and dangerous paths. We were optimistic that it would be a piece of cake when we were with friends. Piece of cake, my foot. We climbed and climbed and climbed, and the path never ended. We were dog-tired, but kept going singing along inspirational songs completely out of tune from being breathless. Nevertheless, it was fun, and exciting to be experiencing dangerous steeps and narrow paths.We even enjoyed being breathless and tired.

Finally after about 1.5 hours we got the first glimpse of the waterfall. It was like heaven. On seeing the waterfall, energy piped up in us from nowhere.

On reaching the waterfall, we were awespired! It was beautiful! It was more than worth all the climbing and walking. The waterfall, the rocks, the hills - simply WOW!! All our tiredness drained off. We immediately got into the water. The water was so cold, some of us were shivering inside out. We then went under the cold waterfall and had the time of our lives, playing, singing, dancing, screaming - just freaking out under that cold waterfall. At around 1:30p.m. we had our lunch - delicious biriyani and salad.

After lunch, some of us still weren't finished with enjoying the water. So we played ball in the water (while I watched) for a while. It was soon time to go. We again made the 2 hour trek back toward the bus. The backward journey was easier since we mostly had to climb down the rocks and were already familiar with the route. We reached the bus in 1.5 hours. And no, the fun was not over yet. We climbed over the bus and enjoyed a bit over there. It was 5p.m. by then and it was really time to go back.

Oh, the fun and dance in the bus!! And the body-aches and sprains the next day!! It sure was one of the best times of my life. Since then, our class has become so united, so much more caring and responsible. Wow! I'm proud to be a part of my class.

Just yesterday, our class went to a restaurant for being treated by the valedictorian of the class. Though the number was less than the number that came for the picnic, I was amazed to see how free everyone was. So free that they freely told who their crushes were. Amazing, isn't it?

Dan Brown

I recently finished reading all the four books by Dan Brown. I'm not a review writer, so I can't really write a detailed account of the experience of reading the books. All I want to say that each book is a master piece. I'm really amazed at the amount of research, study and hard work he's put into writing the books. Clearly, he's one of my best authors. I can't wait to read more books by him. Here's the list of my favourite Dan Brown books, in order of my liking:

The Da Vinci Code (This may be a prejudiced opinion because of the movie and all..) In close contention with Da Vinci Code is Angels and Demons. Then is Digital Fortress and finally, Deception Point.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's the wallpaper I made for this special day - a way to celebrate the people you love.

Brushes courtesy: Jason Gaylor

P.S. I don't have a Valentine yet.

Colour Tablets

I make a time-table layout every semester. And this one below, is the layout for this semester. I kind of like it, probably because, as you would already be aware, because I love colours.

Six days of college, Six columns

Three Dimensions!!

I found this amazing website that shows you a few pictures and explains how you could view them in full THREE DIMENSIONS!! It's awesome!! Have a look at it. Visit this link: http://www.3d-conversion.com/howto.html

Wallpaper

I made a wallpaper for my desktop using 'paths' in Photoshop. I used paths for the first time, and I'm really happy with the result.

Sending Jelly Fish and Octopuses to Finland

This is my first ever handmade postcard that I'm sending to Reetta of Finland. The postcrosser said, "If you want to make me really happy, sent a self-made card..". So I made her this since she was collecting jelly-fish and octopus themed cards. I hope she likes it.

I discovered my love for the colour purple after this particular endeavour. Purple Rules!!

Riviera '08 : Day 4 : Shankar Mahadevan's concert

Shankar Mahadevan's concert last night was simply SUPERB! This time I really don't have words to describe my experience. One of the best concerts I've ever attended (not that I've attended many, but still). Shankar Mahadevan is now going into my list of favourite singers, not only because he's such a versatile singer, but also because of his humility and jovial nature. I love famous people who are humble and down-to-earth. I just loved Shankar Mahadevan!! Way to go, Shankar!!! *love*

Here are some pictures of the concert and me ;) --I was trying to look good, but didn't really end up looking ravishing or anything. Anyway, this is me with my favourite Riviera background.

Somebody told me that there would be fireworks before the concert. There wasn't any. I was disappointed (which is wrong, since I have decided to be environment-friendly, but *shrugs* I love watching them *shame* *hides face*). That wasn't for long though, because Shankar gave a break of about 5 minutes for dinner, during which they had this display of fireworks.

And last, but not the least, here are a few pictures from the concert:

Juggling Show by Feeding The Fish

I'm dedicating this post to Mr. Simon Mylius and Ms. Alix Wilding, for the stunning juggling show last night. I found this video on YouTube. A video of their show at IIT, Kharagpur in 2007.

Riviera '08 : Day 3

I had decided never to miss Riviera ever, as long as my parents were working here.And now my determination not to miss is even stronger. I have found yet another reason not to miss it for anything (well, except, may be, exams). Riviera's Day 3 was more awespiring than I'd imagined. And the end of it all, my mouth lay hanging open. Though I didn't watch the prelims of any of the competitions (because of my addiction to the internet, and the unputdownable book I was reading - Dan Brown's Deception Point), I did catch a glimpse of the prelims for the personality contest called Mr. and Ms. Riviera. I was a little disappointed with the entries. Nevertheless, it was fun. I also saw the entries for the finals of the Sand-Castle competition. And this little one caught my attention, and is my favourite. The theme for the competition was "Anything Indian". So this is a model of the Charminar at Hyderabad.


In the evening, at the stadium were the finals of the personality contest, throughout which my parents and me, thoroughly got bored. My mum was insisting that we should go back home. I refused, and it was a good thing I refused, because what happened after that I can never forget in my life. There was this stunning visual glow juggling show by a group called Feeding The Fish (consisting of Ms. Alix Wilding and Mr. Simon Mylius). What kind of juggling articles they used, I have no idea; they were fluorescent, changed a million colours, and most amazingly, even changed SHAPES!! At the end of it, gosh.. I just don't have words to describe what I felt. Truly fantastic, MESMERIZING, I must say. Wow! Visit their website: http://www.feedingthefish.com/

Did I ever think I'd see even more jaw-dropping performances that day! Before the Frisk-Facter (dance) competition could start, the host college, VIT, performed a dance representing five human emotions - anger, happiness, hatred, love and fear. That was AWESOME!! The dance got a standing ovation and the judges invited the whole group to perform at celebrations in various parts of India.

All in all, yesterday was my best day of the whole celebration. I'm sure there's more awating today, because today, a very popular Indian singer, Shankar Mahadevan is going to perform for us. All of the staff who haven't attended the celebrations of the previous two days, have cancelled appointments to attend today's concert. I'm just too excited, and I'm trying to look my best today, even though it's not a necessity because all I'm going to do is SIT and enjoy the show. ;).