Multi-storey on ECR

While many part of the country experience (enjoys) monsoon, the Chennai remain hot and humid throughout. Though we passed the hotter summer days in May, the last two weeks have been terrific hot and the heat waves continue to last till nights keeps away the thought of coming out of home. Not only the earth, atmosphere, throat and tongues but also my mind dries up expose to high temperature (38 degree) and I also couldn't think or interested to do anything. But a sudden rain this evening has brought a brief relief and cheer to life. 

Although it continues to rain/drizzle, the environment couldn’t achieve quite refreshing and the warmth continues to survive among the ambiance esp. within our home. It was the same time last year, on June 28; a heavy thunderstorm struck the city where an 11 storey building, which was under construction, went rubble killing 61 people in Moulivakam, near Porur. A site where two 11 storeys were built, with one fell down and another, which was suppose to demolish by authorities since experts believe it’s unfit to become a residential complex and even before it was done a year has completed.

Here is a picture I shot on ECR, a road parallel to IT corridor, multi-stories are new to this part of landscape that stretches close to seashore. I find about 4 to 5 projects coming up on this road, which is emerging as a Nation Highways (NH) from the scenic beach road because of the road widening. Hope there isn’t a repetition of Moulivakam incident anywhere. 

1 2 3

The picture from my archives was shot long back when I was vacationing in Ooty for second time. While nearing Kamaraj Sagar Dam on the outskirts of Ooty, on the Rd to Mysore, the car comes to halt for few seconds following traffic gave the opportunity to click on the monkeys, where each perched to a pole that connects the chain link fence. Actually it was one of the random clicks focused on the monkeys and the three falls into the frame nicely which I checked only at home.

It remind me the philosophy conveyed though the three monkey images/sculpture, where one used to close its eyes, and the other the ears and mouth respectively which reflects the thought not to see, hear and talk unfair. I link this post to Run a Round Ranch's Good Fences

A decade completed in blog

The blog has been a part of my life for last 10 years transformed me a lot and changed my perception on almost everything from the time I started blogging. Although I don’t know what blog means when I started, it gave a new meaning to my life and keeps me constantly progressive. I don’t have friends once out of school and it’s the blog that gave me the wonderful opportunity and space for sharing and having friendship with other bloggers. In the long run I have met various (interesting and inspiring) people in blogging, though not all are constant with blogging I am still in touch with many through Facebook and only Ashok (who started at the same time) continues to blog.

Streptosolen Jamesonii 

My attitude towards blog hasn’t been the same throughout, except sharing as an essence forever; but at every phase there’s something to learn about and improve myself expose to various blog contents. In the beginning my blog posts have been mostly about sharing information and social related but only in later years I started to write more about myself and things relevant to same and travelogues on places I visit. The blog also taught me how to appreciate (as we comment) and I gain lot of experience through reading blogs that inspire me to explore my writing skill. There was a time blogging has been great fun (not that it wasn’t fun anymore) and communication between bloggers has been intense as we most of them was closely related by land and language, the exchange of thoughts and discussion has been much.

I also happen to meet many blog friends personally which were all great memories that I could cherish and there were few friends that I was meeting more than once and sometime exchange words in phone. Blogging has been a thing up to now which I can’t imagine stopping and sharing about and it is my daily boost of life that keeps me ahead rather being just. Thank you all for your valuable comments and time took to share. And if not your comments, my blogging life could have ceased long back and it is the thought that I too have people to regard, connect and care about my existence. 10 years had passed but my enthusiasm about blog has been only elevating and there’s a happy feeling at the end of every post (that I was sharing) seems ever turn down. 

P.S. Streptosolen Jamesonii is an evergreen shrub of the Solanaceae family (that I found in Kodaikanal) produces loose clusters of flowers gradually changing from yellow to red as they develop, resulting in an overall appearance resembling orange marmalade. 

A thing that bothers me

How life becomes tragedy in short span? Even though we aren’t affected by things directly certain feeling are impossible to avoid when come to learn about things and thoughts on post effects. We are just four months old to this compound (row house) and wasn’t familiar with the neighbors unlike the pretty old neighborhood, but we come to face them each day and sometime exchange few words as goodwill and on things related to common.  There was this particular house at the rear end of our compound (which house 3 duplex houses) and they are the only owner come resident who don’t communicate with others except the single man of the family. So we don’t know anything much about them and wasn’t in force of learning their relationships but on the assumption we know who the mother and sons are.

There are four little kids in the house but there seems to be no evidence for that unless they all come out and only less than a week before I come to see or know there are four kids rather being two – whom I see every day while going to or from school or cycling in the evening! The two girls, one in 4^th STD and the other in UKG are very quiet and handsome and while passing our house, the little one, make certain not to make any noise that invite our pet dog from barking. The other two kids are twins (a boy and a girl) in age about 2 seem very smarter and adorable when they come around in their tiny cycle and baby walker to incorporate their sisters on their cycle. So far (forever) I had seen only one elder mother and two men in age of 40+, who suppose to be her sons, and the kids belong to them.

Belong to Muslim community it’s obvious for them to prevent practicing with others but still the elderly mother smile and inquire when come to face and the only person who communicate well with others (in their family)  was her elder son. He’s someone sounded very responsible and protective and cooperative. For example he’s the only one in the compound who used to close the gate every time passing in and out of home; apart us whose house being first make sure the gate was closed always to prevent unwanted entering. The other one who is a father of 4 kids seems so affectionate and whenever he turn back home in his bike, the kids surround him and he take them for a round in his bike with easiness however stressful he perhaps come home. But it was sorrowful and heart-wrenching to know the scene will never reappear from the late Monday night! Not that the family had relocated (like they planned to sell their lost house in near future) but lost the vitality that what I could say about.

The family has lost three invaluable lives – the elderly mother and her two sons (which include the father of 4 little kids) to a car accident. It was such terrific and shocking news for all our neighbors. Like I said above we aren’t familiar with them and wasn’t acquaint about their family but being humanitarian it is not easy to console such fatal ending happen to people we see daily. I was watching the kids cycling inside the premises happily just 2 hours before the news arrive, and though we felt very sorry for the demise of the elderly mother and two siblings – who are the only adults of the family apart the kids mother, whom I have seen never before as she don’t head out of their home, our heart goes for the little kids whom perhaps could not understand what happened to their father, uncle and grandma. We truly regret for the future of these kids who destined to grow without their beloved father and the wife without husband.

The mother and her sons were returning after attending a family function in Ramnad and the car drove by one of her sons was crashed with the road block and all died at the spot. The kids and the mother were at the home, accompanied by their uncle (maternal) at that time of incident didn’t conveyed the message to them rather doing it with us, he took them all to their home town without saying anything as he doesn’t know what to do all alone. We was helpless when such a tragedy struck our neighbor, as we don’t know anything about them and how they perhaps react if approached drop us into mourning silent. We haven’t get any message from them so far, since they are the only family with all relative afar we have no idea what’s happening at their end and will they turn back to take charge of the house is a question unanswered. Without the kids the compound seems so empty, although they aren’t noisy kids their presence felt good. I don’t know how to relate this incident but couldn’t stop writing about it which bothered me much. 

Summer Rain

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 55; the fifty-fifth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with ​Rashmi Kumar, the author of Hooked, Lined and Single and Jyoti Arora, the author of Lemon Girl. .

Monsoon by Yann (Wikimedia Commons)

The summer rain showers
the joy of spring
stimulates the lost sense
of earthen scent.

The heaven comes down
in form of rain
transforms the landscape
into pretty green and clean.

The ambiance becomes cool
being soaked in rain
a pleasure for certain
perhaps quite trouble others.

The rain rejuvenates
while watched through the backyard
recollects the memories of childhood
in the pitter-patter background.

The raindrops splash
refreshment when summer squashes
a transformation in wetness

that quite falls outside the structure. 

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: XX. Image Credits: Monsoon by Yann (Wikimedia Commons). Shared with GNU Free Documentation License CC Attribution-Share Alike.

Grandpa at Home

After 10 days of hospitalized mygrandpa (maternal) returned to our home rather going to his. He was going through age related problems and also a patient of Parkinson found very difficult in walking and standing lately and with sore knee and foot on day other he was forced to move to the hospital when his condition becomes worse. He was staying (along with grandma and uncle’s family) in the 1^st floor of their home and shifting to the hospital was very difficult and only with the help of ambulance we were able to do the transfer when he refused to stand.

Grandma and grandpa going through newspapers during a vacation in Valparai

He had a higher blood sugar (levelled nearly 450) when tested at the hospital which seems to be the main cause of unhealed wound and increased knee pain that put him immobile. Once at hospital with medication and a small surgery on the sore heel makes his condition much better and he also shows good improvement on his mobility by doing physiotherapy. Although he regains certain actions and good at pace, he couldn’t obtain the ability to climb steps which prevented him from going back to his home in 1^st floor.

It’s been a long time dream for me staying with my grandparents; we are so glad about their move since we are staying at a ground floor house, accommodating my grandfather is quite easy. But the only thing that bothers us was his health condition; although we feel happy for sharing/staying with them I wished he was good enough to celebrate the moments we were longing for. My grandparents usually refuse to stay with us – perhaps because not to give we trouble anyways – except the moment while travelling or going on vacations.

Our grandparents have done a lot for us and for the comfort of living their sacrifices were immense. I think it’s our right/duty to take care of them when they can’t do things on their own. I know it is a temporary stay for them until their new home (which is under construction right now next to their current house) in ground floor is ready in 2-3 months. But I cherish the moment being with them and sharing things together. After we lost our great grandmother (paternal) 7 years back, they are the only elderly people in our family (who love us unconditionally) whom we really need to protect. 

Fence protection for pine forest

I think one of the sources that keep Kodaikanal always cool is the pine trees. The chillness will embrace if we enter the pine forest or plantations that spread around Kodaikanal and the photos here were shot on the way to Mannavanur - on the outskirt of Kodaikanal.

Pine forest in Kodaikanal is a famous tourist, as well shooting spot for filmmakers, but except that one particular spot, pine trees are scattered throughout the way if you keep travelling beyond the Lake town, either taking the Pillar Rock Rd or Observatory Rd.

In my initial travels to Kodaikanal, pine forests don’t have fences or guards to preserve or prevent these spots being spoiled by tourist throwing away trashes. But glad the forest department has come up with chain link fences, in latter years, at many parts of the pine forest area where there are chances for misusing the environment which will lead to harm the wild animals.

Linking this post for Run a Round Ranch's Good Fences

Nephew Barath and End of Summer Vacation

All the schools in our state (Tamil Nadu) have opened yesterday ending the month long summer vacation, despite the suspicion that it perhaps extended because of high temperature last week. Like 2013 the temperature went extremely up to 108 ºF in the state capital (Chennai) make students and parents suspect this year too the holidays will be extended. But the upper air cyclonic circulation has brought down the climate to moderate and there was mild drizzle in the evening yesterday caused pleasure. 

My close cousin was with me last week and he’s +2 this year and got minimum holidays which he spent a part of it in Thailand and remaining days with us at home. It was somehow entertaining being with him and my nephew Barath also visited me last week and he is starting his schooling this year, goes to LKG. So I can’t expect him to visit me mostly and he’s thriving so well and attended pre-schooling for a month before the holidays began, but what surprise me were his attitude remains same and he sustain the sweetness however vigorous he becomes.

 

Nowadays it is difficult to capture him in photos as his attention goes to camera and he wanted to take rather pose more. So this time I silently shoot him with mobile and used oil painting filter to keep away the grains. 

Being the first school day, after vacation, it mostly used to be half day and there won’t be any classes for the students and what talked more about was where did you went this vacation and what had been done these days.  During my schooling days, the first day used to be keen enough to know which section we are admitted and do our friends settle for the same. But most of the time I miss whom I used to be close with and after 5^th, when I changed the school, there was only one section and I wasn’t much active then to show interest on others.

When I think back the days in schooling only frustrated comes to mind.  For me every day was like walking on the thorns and even the subjects weren’t difficult for me rather going though the task of visiting the school daily. I think the days aren’t different even these days, with the expectation of both parents and student for the extension of holidays, perhaps everyone has a reason to anticipate apart the common cause of hot temperature. Certainly this year has been better/moderate enough despite a week of intense heat, thanks to the upper air cyclonic circulation.