Retrospection

We all go through a phase where we are blamed for no fault of us. Sometimes not everything you hear about you is your fault. The person talking about you may not know the complete picture and yell at you. Stay calm, relax, trust yourself and always hold onto what is right.

Photo Stories and Tech

I started two new sections today. Photo stories and tech. Being a curious photographer with always paying attention to the smallest things, I love to capture the ordinary things around us in an extraordinary way. I also want to show it to the world in my own way using photo stories.

I have been spending major chunk of my day time in the tech industry for the past 4 years. There are times where I spend days reading about a topic and its forgotten unless I use it in my regular work. This is an effort to share what I have learned in the way I learn it.  I have the habit of making analogies to understand a concept from my school days. I also want to explore other ways of learning starting with the series of blog posts in this tech section. I will write my best to explain anything new I learn.

So here goes the first post I jotted down in my notebook this morning.

Also noting it down here for a better clarity. Having worked on daemons and processes for the past 4 years, I never wondered how a daemon is created. It was always tweaking code around an already existing daemon. I decided to learn about it offline.

Here it goes:
1) Create a child process in the parent using fork() function call.
2) Exit the parent so that init becomes the new parent.
3) Start your own clan. (You have to forget the process groups and session you were born in)
4) Give away all the assets that you inherited from your parent. (file descriptors)
5) Make your own rules for the newcomers to your clan.(permission on new file creation etc)
6) Operate in low light.( run in background &)
7. To summarise, be a REBEL!

Happy Learning! :-)


Any feedback is welcome. :)

Savandurga

Savandurga is a monolithic hill located at 60 kms from Bangalore. It is formed by two hills Karigudda and Biligudda. This easily qualifies as a half day trek.

This was a trip with a group of my friends. Our initial plan was to do a night trek at Savandurga. I was super excited because that was gonna be my first night trek ever. Since not all of us were allowed at home for a night trek keeping safety in mind, we had to back out. But our good elders were okay with us going on an early morning trek. So we chose to start as early as  ~2 AM from Bangalore :D I hardly slept with the excitation.

After meeting all friends and picking everyone up, we hit the highway around 3 15 AM. We followed Google maps and it took us through a strenuous terrain and narrow gallis of a village. After what seemed like losing our way completely, we magically managed to reach the main road and took the proper road leading to the hill.
We were all set to trek at 5 AM. Our goal was to be there on the peak for the sunrise. We had approximately 45 minutes to make it to the top. So time was crucial.

                               View of the local village from half way through the trek.

Since it was not bright enough, we were going by guess. We got stuck after we had climbed 1/4th of the hill. It was steep as close to 80 degrees and there was no way possible climbing it further. At this point, we had lost good amount of time trying to find a route up the hill.


As if that was not enough, I did a stupid mistake by wearing casual shoes with improper grip on boulder terrain. We were stuck at a steep point with no hopes of climbing up and no chances of descending with those ill gripped shoes.
I'm thankful to my friends who helped taking the shoes off from my feet so that i would not slip down the hill losing the balance. It felt like it was the end for a moment. :D

From here, it took us a while to figure out that the only choice we had was to descend down a bit and take a zig zag route uphill.

It was an easy terrain once we found our way out. We almost raced to the peak. I enjoyed trekking barefoot from here.



We all made it to the top just on time and it was amazing when the first golden rays of sunshine hit our face. It was the best thing ever to witness after all the efforts.
Your hair shines golden. Your face gleams golden. Its the golden hour for photographers.The view from the top is beautiful with Arkhavathy river flowing by the base of Savandurga also lit golden by the sunshine.



There also is a small mantapa and pushkarani on top.

We rested under the sunshine for a while. We then had packed chapathis for our breakfast and started descending. We were back to the base by 10 AM.

We also spotted this beautiful architecturally rich temple near the base. I wish it was well maintained.

Happy Trekking! :-)

Trekkers Quick Guide:

Distance from Bangalore:  60 kms

Type: Moderate due to steepness (Please wear shoes with good grip)

Availability of water/food: NO

Trekking Fees: None(when we trekked as of December 2016)

Hirekai/Ridge Gourd Tovve

This is one of the simplest recipes out of ridge gourd and also my goto comfort food.

Ingredients
Ridge Gourd- 1
Chilli- 1
Ginger- 1/2 inch

Toor Dal- 1/2 cup
Turmeric- 1tsp
Salt- 1 tbsp

Seasoning
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Jeera- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 3 to 4
Hing- 1 tsp

Garnish
Lemon - 1
Coriander leaves

Serves 2

Steps

• Pressure cook toor dal along with a small pinch of haldi/turmeric.
• You can also add ridge gourd along with toor dal in pressure cooker if u like the ridge gourd to be cooked mushy.  I prefer chunky texture and hence I cook it separately. Also add chopped chillies and ginger(spicy element).
• Add cooked and mashed dal to the above mix once hirekai/ridge gourd is cooked. 
• Add salt. 
• Simmer for 5 minutes. Then add lemon juice. 
• Add tadka using ghee, mustard, jeera, hing and curry leaves. 
• Garnish with coriander leaves. 

Happy Cooking!

Kumta-Gokarna Beach Trek

Kumta-Gokarna Beach Trek

It was since a really long time that I was craving to go to beaches and also to do a small trek around Bangalore. All plans were going in vain due to so many reasons.

And just a week ago my good friend and colleague Mamta pinged me asking if I am interested to join a beach trek she was organising as part of BAT(Bangalore Adventurers). It was my first trek with BAT.

Tomato Bath

I hope you all had a fantastic time celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. Here's my monthly post of August 2017. 

I was talking to my aunt last week and was telling her how lazy I was feeling to cook. She then suggested making this super quick recipe based out of tomato and rice. If you are a bachelor, you will love this recipe for you would want to finish cooking in one go. I do not have step by step pictures. But, I have tried to keep the recipe simple and crisp. 

Hampta Pass 1/3

This post is about how I prepared for my first high altitude trek. Almost all Himalayan treks fall into high altitude treks in India. 

I always wanted to do a Himalayan trek after my friend Shruthi showed pictures of her trekking. The places looked nothing less than extraordinary. Growing up in the mountains, I was curious to know what mountains and rivers in the Himalayan range looked like. Shruthi makes sure to do one Himalayan trek every year. Since I had shown my interest in trekking to her, she asked me if I am interested to do a Himalayan trek this year. 

Kudremukh Trek

Kudremukh is my hometown. I was born and brought up here and I have millions of memories at this place. This trek is always special to me as it was my first big trek with family. The peak is of 1892 mts altitude.

Firstly, let me talk about why the place is called Kuduremukha. In Kannada, "Kudure" means horse and "mukha" means face.  This peak  is shaped like the face of a horse and hence the name. I will give you candies if you can identify the horse face in the picture below. :)  

I also have trekked this peak thrice till now. I did my first trek in June 2012.  Kudremukh had received couple of monsoon showers then, which kept up the greenery of the place. Second and third treks were during the winters of 2014 and 2016. Weather was hot and not as green as my first trek. 

Trekking trail is 11 kms one way and base camp is at Mullodi, which is 5 kms from the main road. We used jeep to travel from main road till the base. It started with walking up the narrow path of rocks to going inside canopy of trees. There was a constant switch from walking inside small forests and walking along the mountains. The view kept getting better with elevation.

It was one of the most beautiful 11 kms I had ever taken in my life. I was delighted with the sound of flowing water, chirping birds and the rustling sound that came from walking on dry leaves. I was astonished when I spotted green snake on my way. To quench my thirst, there were streams and fresh water emerging between the rocks throughout.

I can promise that you will see mountains in every direction!

Call it green saree or green carpet

Green Snake!

You will come across milestones like these throughout the path. This surely kept us motivated. 

After walking halfway, we came across remnants of Lobo house(told by locals). I was wondering how people staying at lobo house had to walk so far to buy stuff for their house.
We finally reached the peak after walking on the criss-cross paths on the mountains. The view down was serene and could also spot Gadaikal(a place near Belthangady) from the peak.
To get a view of horse face from the peak, one should trek to another hill which is perpendicular to the peak. Lot of them stop at peak. I recommend people walking the extra mile to get a perfect view of the peak.

We had Chandrappa as our guide all the times. He is a local person and is a very good friend to us.

It is mandatory to have a guide assigned by Forest Department at the base camp. You have to pay trekking fees and guide fees at the same place.
Notes:

• Since we started late on our first trek, we learned how important it is to start trek early because it gets really tough to walk with scorching heat. 
• It is advisable to carry light food as its a long journey.

Trek Details:
Ideal time to visit : June- November
Trek Distance :  11 kms one way(from base camp)
                          17 kms from main roadp['

Link to pictures:  https://goo.gl/7ms9cm

ನೆನಪಿನಂಗಳದಿಂದ-೨

ನನ್ನೂರಿನ ಮಳೆಯ ನೆನಪು..

ಆಗುಂಬೆಯ ನಂತರ ಗತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಮಳೆ ಬೀಳುವ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಎನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಕುದುರೆಮುಖ ನನ್ನೂರು. ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಬಿಸಿಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಇನ್ನಾರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಭೋ ಎಂದು ಸೋನೆ ಮಳೆ ಸುರಿಯುತಿತ್ತು.
ಆ ಮಳೆಯ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದೇ ಒಂದು ಹರಸಾಹಸ. ಅಪ್ಪನ ಬಜಾಜ್ ಚೇತಕ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಳದಿ ಹಾಗೂ ನೀಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣದ ರೇನ್‌ಕೋಟ್ ಧರಿಸಿ ನಾನು ಮತ್ತು ತಂಗಿ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. ಆ ರೈನ್ ಕೋಟ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪೆಂಗ್ವಿನ್ ಮರಿಗಳಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು.

TonDekai(Ivy Gourd) Kairasa

TonDekai(Ivy Gourd) Kairasa

Kairasa (kayi = coconut rasa = gravy) is a gravy dish based out of coconut. This recipe has ivy gourd as its main ingredient. Different varieties of kairasa's can be made by changing the main ingredient. Other common varieties of kairasa are lady finger kairasa, pineapple kairasa, bitter gourd kairasa, colocasia kairasa.
I got this recipe from my grandmother and I dedicate this post to her.

Kattu/Kat Saaru

Kattu Saaru

NB messaged me on Instagram saying she wanted to know the recipe for KatSaaru photo I had posted. This is one of the quick saaru recipes and usually made when people are sick as it needs no masala or strong spices. The name kattu comes from the word "beLe kattu"(beLe=dal) in Kannada, beLe kattu is the word used for cooked dal. Here it goes-

Groundnut Laddu (NelagaDale UnDe)

NelagaDale UnDe (ನೆಲಗಡಲೆ ಉಂಡೆ)

This is one of the easiest dessert prepared during festivals in my home. Minimal ingredients and maximum taste.