Facebook

So many #Baya #Weaver #nests. #Birds of #Fagsi.

The #Baya #Weaver #weaves its #nest. #Birds of #Fagsi.

I don't like how Insta crops my pics.

A lot going on in this pic. #Trees, a #cityscape, #mountains,#clouds and #fog. Even #monkeys, if you zoom in and hunt (not sure if Meta retains enough resolution for that).

Spectacular #sunset scenes like this one are a bonus

Birding brings me close to #nature...

Don't go into the #mountains in the #monsoons, they said. We've been driving through #clouds and the #rain for hours now. Wonderful #roads so far.

This morning, at a humble eatery on Wheeler Road, I met an old friend for breakfast. On the table across, sat a couple having a lover's tiff. The man, dressed in workmen's clothes, spoke animatedly. Whenever he paused for breath, the woman, dressed tip to toe in a burkha, would stuff a morsel of dosa into his mouth. Whenever the woman spoke, the man listened intently, then nodded. They didn't hold hands; the only contact was when her dosa touched him.

[I don't have a photo. They have their privacy. I had the privilege of observing true love operate.]

https://aninews.in/news/business/business/thinvent-neo-5-newly-launched-mini-pc-aims-to-cater-to-a-wide-consumer-base20230619160309/

For too long I've shown up at people's homes, eaten their food, drank their wine, and then promptly gone to sleep on their couch. Someone finally gathered evidence.

More magic from #Alvekodi

#Karnataka #incredibleindia #clouds #sea

I don't think we've ever experienced anything quite like the #Alvekodi #Sea Walk.

#Karnataka #incredibleindia #clouds

#Maravanthe is the opposite of #BabaBudanGiri. It looks better in pictures than when you're actually there.

#Karnataka #nature #indiaclicks

#Maravanthe was a bit of a let down. I suppose it's the kind of place that only looks glorious in drone pics.

#Karnataka #India #indiaclicks #incredibleindia

So many big #fish in the #Tunga river.

#Karnataka #nature

I've been unable to work for some days. So we stepped out tonight for a change in scenery and some fresh(er) air. Spending the night #camping at an #arecanut #farm.

Throwback to when we went camping by the Terekhol river.

A question about the generation gap.

I've been briefly hospitalised (all well now). My son X is my attendant. There was a question I needed to ask the nurse, so I told X to go ask them at the nursing counter on the floor.

X instead pressed the bell to call the nurse. I told him that's inappropriate. He insisted it's her job to come and answer questions. My opinion is that she should have to come only if there is a procedure to be done on the immobile patient. If it's just a question then X can walk down and ask.

So here's the generation gap thing: my opinion is that unemployed kids have no right to order anyone around for anything.

Aren't school going kids, like, lowest down in the socio-economic hierarchy? The nurse's job is to attend to patients, but at least she has a job. This guy has no job. And it's his summer vacation. Why can't he leg it to the nursing counter instead of just sitting around.

His counter argument is that, well, what is he supposed to do at a restaurant then? Not call the waiter? Waltz into the kitchen and generate the KOT himself?

Has me bamboozled, this one. What's your opinion?

They're having a prom!

(No, they haven't finished school yet.)

Kavin made his big screen debut today, in a ̶h̶o̶m̶e̶ school video.

The part where Nilay appeared was too hilarious for me to be able to record.

Somebody cleaned up nice today

This is a developing situation. I'll keep you guys posted.

(Updated with videos. The music is beautiful.)

(We are not moving from Goa. I may have suggested it because other people were moving to Bangalore. That idea is dead in the water.)

गए तो थे हम सुबह सुबह बत्तख देखने। मगर बत्तख हमें देख कर भाग गईं तो हम भी कमल देखकर लौट आए।

So, umm, I've never had any use for my actual, original degree. I'd left it with someone years ago and forgot all about it.

But degrees have become important these days. So on a recent trip to Delhi, I took it back, and now it is safe in my almirah in Goa.

Anyone wanna see it? Won't send pics - you have to come see the original.

M2 slept in late. M1 sat in a boat and looked fashionable while studying. Sephi cooked. The kids played games. I chased birds.

Everyone did their thing on a beautiful Sunday morning.

@sephibergerson 's lovely family invited us over and fed us yummy fresh cooked #food.

I finally found people in India who have more camping gear than me. My tribe 😁

We leave you tonight, with what seems like the depiction of a tourist photographing a Goenkar who has had too much urak and is now have a siesta on their Balcao. There can be nothing more Goan than this.

I really liked this float promoting vocational education at the school level

And so begins the Goa Carnival 2023

Once in a while we all need some validation. This was mine, after meeting someone for coffee earlier in the day and telling them "sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm doing".

Being over caffeinated, I could not get my Sunday nap. Killing time on LinkedIn, I came across the profile of this guy who worked in manufacturing at Thinvent till 2015. And when I read the About Me, it wasn't about him at all. It was about us. Nobody even asked him to do this.

Just last week, I was telling folks across both offices that it's easy to lose sight of our mission in a flurry of targets, numbers and deadlines. 90% of our time we are chasing those. By why do we even exist? We exist to:

1. Create meaningful electronics manufacturing jobs in India.

2. Sell a durable, sub ₹5000 computer to people who cannot otherwise afford to bridge the digital divide for their children.

3. Design and build world class products profitably in India. And not just niche products. Mass market products where we compete head on with global brands.

The view from Betul Fort is hard to describe. Something else altogether. Must go back there soon.

M2 contemplates the lake one last time before we leave. Good times were had. Memories were made.

This pic turned out rather nice

#boating #boat #lagoon #karwar #karnataka

M1. Boating. With a headlight. On an inflatable boat we picked up five years ago and never got to use. Till today. Big day ha ha.

#boating #boat #karwar #majali #karnataka

The view from Cabo de Rama fort is something else.

#caboderama #cola #canacona #fort #goa #travel #sea

I'm looking to connect with folks who have recently secured admission in an undergraduate course in design. Or parents whose children have joined a design program in college. Mostly looking at product design, but related fields like fashion design or fine arts should also be good, since the college admission process seems to be similar.

Also, if you know someone who is studying design as a subject in grades 11 and 12 at school, as part of IGCSE or any other board, then I'd love to speak to them.

Please spare some time and guide a teenager in building his career. Thanks.

We look happy, but some of us are cold and sleepy

Climbing and falling and jumping. That's all they do all day.

Today was a day of many adventures. Here you can see Nilay taking my comment "go jump off a cliff" rather literally.

Why my child is like this?

The #moon rises from behind the #rocks that the boys went #bouldering on

I could take a million pictures, and they wouldn't do justice to the beauty of the place. People come and seek divinity in the temples here. But the real peace is in the nature - the rocks, fields, birds and animals.

Spot the #langur chilling out in the #paddy #fields, as the #sun sets over the #Tungabhadra in the background

A far away view of our #campsite in #Hampi

For the last two days, around Dandeli, we have paid ₹100 per head for lunch or dinner buffet. The most we have paid is ₹250, for a little more elaborate affair.

The kids are flabbergasted. How is that even possible in a tourist area? We paid ₹1500 for lunch while leaving Goa, something they've come to expect. How did the price fall so much?

Cheap, yet healthy and delicious meals are something that everyone just takes for granted in Karnataka, I guess. Uttara Kannada sets a good model for affordable nature tourism.

Edit: I'd also quipped something along the lines of "The people who go about setting up Udupi restaurants all over the world have ubiquitous cheap meals in their own state. Not surprising, no."

I really have no good answer for why we didn't go camping or caravaning for more than an year.

We got invited to a boat party on Christmas eve

Be like me and stop ironing your clothes. Nobody cares any more.

And of course the evening had to finish with this song.

Looks like it is only here that the government is imposing the no-music-beyond-10pm rule. But we must all begin somewhere 🤷🏽‍♂️

Shubhaji visits Goa as part of the Serendipity Arts Festival.

Free event. ऐसा सब सिर्फ़ दिल्ली में ही नहीं होता है 😀

Friend: You can't just self identify as a Tamilian. That's not even a thing.

Me: Why? People are choosing their pronouns and gender. I can't even choose my identity or community?

Friend: Will Tamilians accept you as a Tamil? You don't live there, or read and write Tamil.

Me: Then I suggest you read up about Shivaji Rao Gaikwad. A man born to a Maratha family in Bangalore, who attained great fame in Chennai.

(twist in the tale - thalaivar can read Tamil)

I've been going to Pondicherry for 31 years. Every time I visit, I see a majestic elephant begging outside this temple. Supposedly giving people blessings while in captivity. 22 years I've seen this beast live a depressing life for the pleasure of humans.

This is not death. It is मुक्ति.

That's me kids. Sailing. A different kind of caravan.

आज गोवा में गोरे हिप्पियों का गाना सुनने का सौभाग्य प्राप्त हुआ

Hat tip @anuragminusverma

Modi: Launches Fit India, international yoga day, fitness videos.

Rahul: Goes for a walk. Ends up doing more to promote fitness than all of the government put together.

Moral of the story: Be born rich and powerful and upper caste/class. Then even you can stay jobless and work on your fitness, ignore that your ship is sinking and everyone defecting, and get famous for being a generally nice guy who went for a long brisk walk and received hugs on the way.

Holy redtape, Batman!

IFFI is screening amazeballs movies in Panjim. But you can't just pay and attend. Or waltz in for free. Or grab a pass at a coffee shop. None of those old fashioned ways of attending an event.

Nooooo. You register online. Send a Statement of Purpose on how you are a cinephile who should be allowed to attend. Then you wait for your application to be approved. Thennnnn you pay money and buy tickets and attend.

Does anyone know a way around this gross bureaucratic overreach? They can't just screen 2001 A Space Odyssey in my backyard and not let me attend!!!

"HAL, I won't argue with you any more! Open the doors!"
"Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose any more. Goodbye."
"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."

(It's fine if you don't get the cultural references. Not everyone is fascinated with murderous sentient mainframes.)

As if it wasn't bad enough that the 5 kids under my charge and the 2 friends they made were doing this human chain thing... 3 rando adult tourist women also joined in. I wagged a stern finger at them and said "you'll know when you have kids". Unfazed. Unfazed they were.

The beautiful people of Goa. Surprise partyyyyyy 🎉

So heartening when others are more excited about your big day than you yourself are

Birthday morning began with bicycle ride around the new neighbourhood