Golden gardens park and beach

Located North West of the university district, this place sloping down from a mini-cliff, provides for a classic weekend getaway. Not a huge place, but many scenic locations for viewing pleasure are there. I was wishing for a sort of clear sky, but as it turned out (no surprise), it was cloudy and as I reached the place, it even began to drizzle. Add to that the early morning cold and I was pulling my jacket closer home. In India, especially in Hyderabad or Chennai, if it were to get cloudy and drizzle lightly, I would more than welcome it, I would infact go a little berserk. But that’s because when it rains in hyd, the temperature drops to a pleasant 20 – 22 degrees, not a chilly and bordering unpleasant 8-10 degrees as in Seattle.
Another disadvantage to having a misty-ish cloudy weather is that, for instance, I can see the beautiful Olympia mountains in the distance from the park, out west, but try as hard as I might, I can’t capture it half-decently despite all possible tweaks to my camera settings.
The highlights of the bike ride were meeting up with real monsters and a few good frames captured…

As I was headed out of the university, I came across a squirrel playing hide and seek on the trees.






Meet Monster 1..



Location and address..





The mini cliff descent on the way to the beach





The rail road mainly serving freight traffic from the ports of Seattle and Tacoma going up north. Amtrak commuter rail runs on these tracks too.



The olympic mountains out east..



Mystique cloudy formation..



A waterhole



The mandatory bike pic






LOST..





Aila..




Liked this pic a lot



Alai..



From the rocks



Colour



Train pics
The railway tracks pass right through the middle of the park and I was able to take a few pics of the cars (I missed the engine).







Double stack containers..



Return of the monster..
On the ride back home..

Golden gardens park and beach

"Free running" movie clip

This video is from the French movie District 13 (Banlieue 13) and stars David Belle, founder of Parkour (the sport of efficient movement).
Enjoy!

Fix

I need to fix stuff bigtime.... I need to fix my life(er..this is for a separate post). My shoes are worn out and that has stopped my running for the past 1.5 months. My bike needs a fix too.. The back tire is bent and out of shape, atleast it appears to be bent when I move the bike slowly along the road.. Need to check up if there are any loose ends/screws. Long distance biking is imposs here without a spare tube, tyre and if possible a patch-up kit(or the black rectanglular tube piece and glue that our expert tyrewalas use back in India). If I can fix either one of the shoes or the bike, this weekend is bound to be fun what with some exotic destinations(read beaches) north of seattle waiting to be explored. Let's see..

Update: I fixed the bike(the bracket for the lock, air, oil, etc) but I couldn't manage a long ride partly due to a desi-meet on saturday night which went on a little late. But I am still happy climbing up the hill on the 45th street. It begins at 45th st and 25th avenue and climbs up onto 45th st and 15th avenue. I would reckon the grade for the first half of the climb is atleast a treacherous 7 degrees(145 ft or 44 metres climb over a distance of 340 metres) and as a result my legs keep getting screwed up not in the way running screws up legs..this is more like a constant heaviness/mild pain in legs as against sharp pains in the shin or knees or ankle as experienced in running. The challenge is not to get to the top fastest, but to stay on the bike all the while when doing that. I bet it would be easier to jog up the hill than bike. I should also mention that my fitness has a lot of scope for improvement and a few more such treacherous climbs should make the climb seem a little less treacherous and more like painful but manageable.
There are a lot of such hills in seattle, but I find this a little too intimidating for my taste.
Below are the top and side view of this hill/steep grade.

Angrez movie clip

I just got to watch the movie Angrez. This is a proper hyderabadi movie that highlights the hyderabadi hindi-urdu language with all the mannerisms, expressions and lingo. For starters, I recommend watching this clip

I have the script written below for the clip:

Jehangir: Salam Malikum Ismail Bhai.
Ismail Bhai : Malikum salam Jehangir.
Others: Aa bait re. Sab khairiyat.
Jehangir: Aur sab khairiyat Ismail Bhai? kya ustad apke ghar pe aye to aisa bol diye?
Other guy: Kya hua ustad?
Ismail Bhai: Arre tum logan serious kaiko lete yarro?Ismail bhai ke patte hain. Pachis saal se Charminar me baita hua hoon, Kuch izzat hain yaaron!Tum logan kya to bhi samje re mereko?
Jehangir: Acha, woh sab jando ustaad. Parson, Dabeerpure me kya ladai hua maloom? Chindiya ladai hui. Kya hua bole to mai, izzar, Jabbar, jalil, patel, mallesh, Chinna, Feroz, Khaidar, Iqbal pure gaye the dekho ladai me. Khali ladon se diye. ghab-ghib, ghab-ghib, ghab-ghib....Mai kya kara bole to labbar ki chappal dal le ke, kata wisil dalke, diwar khudke woh diya, woh diya, woh diya puron ku. Phir Akbaar ko kicha deroon. Kya re Akbaar, tu bhi do bhairiyan rakh de re, do do gardhan pe kichde re bole to..Akbaar mereko bolraa 'merehich bazoo circle tehra hua tha. Mai kaisa maroon'.
Ek char chai, adha dabbe bada goldflake bhejo ji Ismail bhai ke table pe.

Enter Salim Pheku on an stylish scooter.

Salim pheku: Salam maalikum Ismail Bhai.
Ismail Bhai: Maalikum salaam.
Jehangir: Aa gaya Salim Pheku.
Salim pheku: Ismail bhaaai. Aur kya haal he? Haan..Sab maje me hain?
Aur kya ustaad?
Ismail Bhai: Kya re Salim, kya khusboo aari re?
Salim Pheku: Poison dal diya.
Jehangir: Kya re? Posion dal diya.
Other guy: Arre, kya phek ra re une
Jehangir: Kya phek ra re bhai
Salim Pheku: Arre, tum logan cheap category ke, local basti ke ciggarete logan hai. Poison boleto scent ko bolte. Bahar milta.
Jehangir: Ha. Abids ke footpath pe milta woh.
Salim Pheku: Woh duplicate tumhare baba lagate.
Jehangir: Baba pe nako jao.
Salim pheku: Arre chal ja re ...
Ismail Bhai: Arre tum logaan ladlo nako yaro
SP: Arre, mai kya bolraon bhai...
IB: Aah..
SP: Poison boleto scent ko bolte. Mere bedroom me saatsow kisam ke scent ke shishian he. Mai jab bhi dawat me jatoan na..ek puri scent ki shishi dal leke jataon..kapadon me, idar..udar, cheddi me, jooton me..sab dalleke jataon..Kal raat ko kya hua maloom?
IB: Kya hua?
SP: Krishna Oberoi me daawat thi. Daawat me jaate..purae manegaraan..vanegaraan hello hai bole. Mai bola, party kahan chali bole to blanket hall me chali bole.
Other guy 2: Kaunse hall me?
SP: Blanket hall yaaro. Blanket hall me aise ghuste hi purae logan nachre. Mai bola, ab mai nachne gaya tho pure pottiyan mujhe lapat jate..
IB: Aah..
SP: Tho, mai aise bazzoo se nikalraon...
IB: Aah..
SP: Tho do logan tehre hue the. Jaake aate waloon ko kya suna rahe the maloom?
IB: Aah..
SP: Arre, ine English filimon ka hero dikhra nahi?
IB: Abaa..
SP: Ab, mai halloo jake table pe bait gaya.
IB: Aah..
SP: Baithehi waiter aya..
IB: Aah..
SP: Aake bola. Sir, anything tanda garam? Ab sharaab tho mai peeta nahi. Mai bola ek aaall mixed fruit juice la bola.
IB: Aan?
SP: Aisa baithe saamne se Mallika dheki..
IB: Aah..Mallika? Kaun?
SP: Arre murder yaaro. Bhaagleke aate, Mallika boli: "Hi Salim. Where are you? How do you do? Now you do" bolke pakad li!Mallika, pure logan dekhren.. ye Kya kar rahi ho tum?Boleto, une kya boli maalum, "Aise kaama kare to apan popular hote boli". Phir lapatne aate hi, mail bola, dheko control me raho.
IB: Aah..
SP: Mereko phir lapti ustaad.
IB: Aah..
SP: Lapatke, idar pappi, udar pappi..Tum samajh rahe naa..
IB: Aah..
SP: Udar pappi, idar pappi deke..meri phulna shuru hogayi.
J: Kya phulna shuru hogayi baap Salim?
SP: Arre saans phulna shuru ho gayi yaaro..Uske baad me mereko kya bolri maloom?
IB: Aah..
SP: Ab tum mere saat Mumbai chalna katte..
IB: Kaiku?
SP: Mai bola Mumbai jaake mai kya karoonga? To kya boli maalum? Mai tumhareko hero banati hoon. Maine bola bombai me ek se ek hero he.
IB: Aah..
SP: Mai aake kya karoonga boleto kya boli maalum?
IB: Aah..
SP: Ek bhi hero kaam ka nahi he bombai me. Biral bait gaye
IB: Aah..
SP: Thoda ek do glass beer veer kyaki pee lee une. Phir mereko boli, "Salim, Mereko bore marra party me. Long drive pe jaana he.
IB: Kidar jana he?
SP: Ab, hyderabad me long drive pe kahan le jaoon? Kya kara maloom, gadi me aisa bitake Begumpet se panjagutta. Panjaagutta se necklace road mara. Phir aisa tank bund pe lete hee, kya boli malum? Salim, mereko icecream hona. Bolte hi, seeda lakhe aise Mozamjahi market ke pas rokha
IB: Wahan kahan he?
SP: Arre, Mashoor icecream nahi he yaaro. Paanch paanch cup icecream khaaye.
IB: Paanch paanch cuppu?
SP: Itte itte tho cuppa the yaaro. Khaliye baad bola, ab to tum zara thande hogaye honge bolke..seeda usko legaya krishna oberoi thak. Mai bola tum jao ghar ko. Mai bhi jataon ghar ko goodnight boleto kya bolri malum. Salim, tum ab kahin jana vana nahin. Aisa kaisa hota? Tum mere saat room ko chalo, kuch batana hai boli. Ab mai kya kara, uno bolri bolke mai seedha room tak chale gaya. Ab room ko chale gaya baad, raat bhar kya hua nakko poocho.
J: Neend me se khuli baap aanka Salim Teri.
Other guy: Subah
Everyone: Ha ha ha............

Long live hyderabadi Hindi and Telugu.

Northie-southie divide and language issues in India - Part II

This post continues from the previous post....

Conservative
Another thing I keep hearing from North-Indians, is that south -indians are very conservative. Well, I don't see why being conservative should effect communication between two people. Being conservative is just a preference that might be culturally motivated. I am sure there are a lot of north-Indians who are pretty conservative in their own way. Would that entail them to be rejected by their more liberal counter-parts? And what do you mean by conservative? Do you mean religious views, attitude on marriage, pre-marital sex, etc. Again, all these are personal preferences and mostly based on the culture and history of the region and shouldn't be a hinderance to communication between people or atleast shouldn't be a reason for a lack of good-will. Learning to respect differences in culture and attitudes would do a world of good. I am proud of the rich carnatic classical heritage in South India. I haven't seen many North Indians who appreciate Hindustani classical music in a similar manner. Does it bother you that people take pride in their heritage and you don't? All along, "being hip" in India, has meant following the west. Yoga became popular in America and a rekindling of yoga in India followed suit. Carantic and hindustani music has a great following in USA, so by calling yourself hip, shouldn't you also be following classical music?

Non-Natives and accents
I see a parallel between Americans and North-Indians. Both these communities complain about non-natives not speaking English or Hindi with particular emphasis on their accent gone wrong.
Well, to that my answer is..you guys are lucky bastards who have somehow managed to convince the world/India that English/Hindi is the de-facto common ground for communication.
I challenge you Americans/North Indians to learn a language that's not English/Hindi and see how you cope up with the new language such as yokuts (native-american). Are you able to speak yokuts like the natives(er..the ex-natives), and in the same accent? I bet you would come up a big zero on the accent and the pronunciation. Huh, so much for your crib on non-natives and accents.

Movies
Actors in south-Indian movies don't look as good as actresses. What do you mean by that? It looks like the crib is not about actors not looking good so much as them not being fair. South Indians are in general a little darker than north-Indians. The movies to be realistic should reflect the same. We don't have the whites-blacks divide in India, but there is the inherent prejudice for people who are 'fair'. South Indian movies, particularly Telugu and Tamil have outsourced their actresses from North India and Mallu land due to the 'fairness' factor. And, RajniKanth is a celebrated hero because of his acting skills and command on the screen, nothing more, nothing less. People who crib about RajniKanth suck up to popular media prejudice but I bet they haven't watched one movie in which RajniKanth has starred. Ofcourse, how could they? They don't understand Tamil. The good news is we are in the sub-title era. We should take cue from the popular sub-titled Korean, Chinese movies and do the same for our regional movies.

Have you noticed one thing so far. Most of the cribs I have addressed so far are by the North Indians on South Indians and their doings. I haven't seen many cribs the other way round in my interaction with gults and tam junta.

Reconciliation
Now, the question is how do we reconcile the language issue. One way is through more cross-lingual exchange, better portrayal of the communities in movies. Movies and media influence on the general public is undeniable. This issue is kind of a vicious cycle. Unless one side steps down for a while, the divide is bound to deepen. But the bigger question is how deeper is the issue? Does it matter at all, now that most people in India are familiar with English and its variants such as Hinglish, Tanglish, etc. The issue may just surface once in a while, so is it enough that we just discuss the issue and leave it at that. The point is as long as people are not open-minded, this issue will be a pain in the ass every now and then and hence needs to be considered with some level of seriousness.

References
1) Reconciling Linguistic Diversity: The History and the Future of Language Policy in India