The deceit of the cricket diplomacy...

The recent India-Pakistan World cup semi-final grabbed some of the headlines for all the wrong reason. Our forever gullible and rubber-stamp prime minister did what the people least expect and want from him.He invited the pakistan PM to watch the match in Delhi in the presence of all.The media also reported the invite as if whole india is waiting with bated breath for the guy to accept the invite and honour us with his presence.

We called all this tamasha the cricket diplomacy and the PM endorsed it when after the match he said the beautiful game of cricket will bring both the nations together.Wake up SID!!! What are you talking? Are you so naive as to believe this shitty step of yours will melt the pakistani heart and they will soften their stance on any issue.

The 26/11 is still fresh in the minds of the country when the worst attack happened on indian soil.And here is a PM who shamelessly invites the head of the enemy country to witness the match.Why did he send the invite in the first place? Does his blood not boil like mine when i see that Pakistani bluffmaster attend the match and behaved as if he is obliging india.This one act of the PM has swept down the drain the heroism of the policemen who died fighting in Mumbai and so many of our best officers.I would like to tell every service men to learn from this cricket diplomacy that guys no need to fight for the country.

Next time whenever terrorists strike in any part of country , go to them with bat and ball instead of guns and resolve the issues like our Head of the country does, playing cricket. This bull shit is cricket diplomacy.

To the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lommond....

First day we started on our tour to the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond.That is the way it is referred in the scottish folklore and songs.The itinerary included a day spent in the land of scot heroes rob roy , william wallace and robert the bruce, a visit to the medieval stronghold of stirling castle and the beautiful nature and forests of Scotland's first national park- the Trossachs and finally the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond.

Our tour bus was a top of the range Mercedes minibus 16 seater. Rabbies tour - our tour operator - said a small number provides for a more personal touch to the tour experience. and they were true to their words.The tour started at 9:15 morning and was to end at 6 in the evening covering some 250 miles.The weather was cold at 5-6 degree.

We started from Royal mile and travelled to the north of edinburgh. It just takes a 20 minute drive to come out of the city; edinburgh being a small city.I forgot to mention that just the last day the weather had turned very cold.But still we were not expecting any snow in the scottish highlands. But as soon as we were at the foot hills crossing the farms and Bingo!!..we saw snow all around.The snow that had eluded us in london. Finally we saw it though at a speed of 50 mph..nonetheless the scenery had its effect on us. In an instant we forgot the tiredness of the 9 hour bus journey we had just finished 3 hours earlier.

Only the road stood out in contrast black colour. Everything else was covered in a thin blanket of scottish snow.We very much wanted to go out and play but that was not to be as we had a plan to be executed. Wifey dear got busy in clicking photos and saving for eternity of whatever little beauty we could capture. The pine trees, the farms , the sheep both white and pink!! all were covered in snow and i realised how beautiful mother nature could be. That's the effect the beauty of nature has.One feels humbled by the sheer beauty and grandness.

Our first stop was at Loch Lomond.This is the biggest Loch in Great Britain by surface area at 71 sq km.It is 39 Km long and 8 km wide.Wow..what a size.I wondered whether scotland has the world's largest reserves of fresh water and could become the next superpower with this abundance!!! what a thought. I being an ardent environmentalist was astouded to see the endless lake.We had a stop of 2 hours there and the driver advised us to take a walk by the bonny bonny banks of loch lomond  and climb a small hill. There was a small walkway just wide enough for one person to walk, carved on the sides of the hillock by the shore of the lake.

Amidst so much natural beauty the child in me gets the better of me and i try to see as much as possible and do as much as possible.Despite the weather at 4-5 degrees i put on the jacket and took my bag and with all eagerness started amidst the small village where our bus was parked. All around it felt as if we were in heaven.Everything looked just precisely in place and all playing there part in completing the harmony played out before us.

We started on the small winding pathway along the banks of the Loch and took pictures of all we could. There were not many people around and we had the surroundings all to ourselves.There were many boats and ferries parked in the banks as is the case with any scottish village as they are traditionally fishermen.

The walk amidst the forests of Trossachs national park was great .We walked as far as we could all alone and drank the cold water of the lake which was very sweet. I make it a point to drink natural water of any natural body to witness the purity that only nature is capable of and we humans can only dream of. Then we returned back to our starting point and started climbing up a small hill that had stone steps all the way to the top numbering 100. In no time we were at the top and had full view of the mountain ranges and the entire lake. From there we could atleast get some idea of the grandness of the lake. As far as the eye could see Loch lomond kept going on and on and on. The Scottish Lochs are actually formed from the melting of the icebergs of the last ice age and hence the enormous sizes. The trees were in all colours of green, yellow, red and orange and the cool breeze making it a moment that should last for a lifetime.

The time was fast passing by and all through the walk i bored my wife with my praise for the place and the moment we were witnessing.I told her to look at the scenery as much as possible as these were going to be our fondest memories. Now that i am writing about the place that i visited some 4 weeks back and already i find most of the magic missing.Only fond memories and some pictures.At least i got to thank my wife dear who makes it a point to take as many pics as possible in a day.Now these are all i have to relish the experiences gone by.That's why the time currently going on is known as present 'coz it is a gift for all of us.

The start of the Tour journey....

I have been waiting for sometime to share my experiences of trip to the scottish highlands. Before my wife was to leave for India i planned to make her first trip abroad a little special by taking her to the highlands of scotland.

As the name suggests it is a highland area in the North of England and topography generally consists of mountains which are called Ben. Our Guide taught us 4 words which completely describes the entire scottish countryside.These are - Glen ( a valley) , strata ( a wide valley), Loch ( a lake) and Ben (a mountain). This naming will make the rest of the article more fun to narrate ,rather more scottish.

We traveled by coach from london to edinburgh-the scottish capital. Edinburgh also called as Alba in the local Gaellic language. Before i start let me add that scotland country has close to 31000 lochs.Now that's an awesome number for a country the size of Karnataka state.

We reached the St. Andrews Bus station of edinburgh at 7:30 in the morning. As expected of firang land , we found the bus station very suitable for our requirement..that is off-loading ourselves.All the toilets in UK cities are paid ones. and everything is automated.you pop-in the money and then you can pop out.We did that and started to our tour operator shop.

The Edinburgh city has a road named Royal Mile. Much of the road is laid with granite stones like old ages and runs between two foci of history in scotland -the edinburgh castle and Holyrood abbey and is exactly 1 scots mile long. The city has retained the old world charm with its rich history and buildings.Both sides are lined with beautiful old buildings, chapels and tourist spots and  new shops ,all blend into each other.Even the Radisson hotel respects the old town and blends in with the same style . The city reflects the character of the scottish people. The scots are very proud of their origins and their fights with the British.

Though we started the day on a slight rainy pitch,it actually started to snow when we started from bus station to our tour stop.It was just a slight drizzle , nonetheless sufficient to get us excited for the journey. we crossed a road bridge and reached our tour operator- The rabbies Trail Burner tour.

blogging time!!!!!

finally after years of living the lazy life within the confines of my comfort zone...here i come.
the day that i am starting the blog will be easy to remember in this cycle of life and times ahead. today my wife has returned to india and i am stay put alone here in East suburb of London...

the time alone in the room reminds me of the days passed exactly 2 years ago.Those days my Orkut status was "not committed" :). I used to stay alone in a place in bangalore..really it was not called bengaluru then. i used to surf the INTERofNET then just as i am doing it now. Two years back i got married and the life has changed so dramatically for the better.

Even then i longed to write a blog about my views on life and the world in general.But i was not in the Writer's relaxed mood i now find myself in .Those days i was mighty worried about a good girl to marry.really!!!! now that that task is accomplished and two years have passed after accomplishing many tasks...i find this a rather blessing in disguise....some free time to write about things that i find really exciting and may be share some thoughts with people close to me.