Bus stops, Bus goes

Bus rides are a thrill for children. Well it did make some sick, but in general it's fun to wait for that gigantic thing, then hop in, grab a seat and be zoomed to your destination. And buses are a lifeline for grownups, especially those commuting for work. Everything is linked to the bus timings. That immense trust on the driver. That insane rage in case of any lapse.

Here is my photo-listicle of bus-stops, bus and subway from Bangalore, Udupi and Chennai. Bangalore pictures were sourced from my family. They are not named or linked simply for their privacy reasons.

 

Bangalore

Bangalore Kemmpegowda Majestic Bus Stand - that's where it starts. It is truly majestic. Buses from here connect every nook and corner of the city and suburbs. All buses are timely and very frequent. Other major bus station hubs are KR Market and Shivaji Nagar.

Some of the aerial view shots are so beautiful. The intra-city bus stand platforms are shaped in concentric half circles.

I used BMTC buses for around 12 years. Ranging all times of the day. Covering my new adulthood years. Years when the most growth happens. While squished between a range of every-changing crowd, I felt like I have a lifetime supply of material for thousand books. As it stands, here I am with a blog-post to covering it - which is more photo-heavy than wordy :)

Bangalore buses have it all. There are (were) Red buses, Blue buses, Brown Pushpak, Red Volvo, Pink Women's only and BMTC keep innovating very often.

Almost all big organization run their own private buses for their employees commute. In spite of that, it's amazing how the Bangalore traffic has slipped into unparalleled chaos.

Metro services started a few years back. I did not get a chance to ride the metro, but my cousin shared these pics. They look awesome. I ,like all Bangaloreans, have borne with it's construction for years, decades and most lines are still in-progress. Now that some of the Metro lines are functional, its hmmm good I guess. Everyone will enjoy the benefit most, once all construction is complete and cleared. And Metro ride's are always sci-fi level of thrilling and fun.

Udupi

Udupi main bus stand. Facing Manipal-Malpe Road. Stones throw away from Manipal. Pushpa Bakery just around a turn and so is the Kediyoor Hotel. Narrow lanes in between, all teeming with traffic. This bus-stop mostly serves private bus service. The other bus stand connecting Mangalore and villages in between, is further up from here. And the City bus stand is walkable distance from there. Best landmark for it is Alwyn Bakery on the opposite side

The below bus stand is on Court Road, between Taluk Office and Big Bazaar.

Chennai

Fascinating book stalls - latest magazines lined on a string, all pulp fiction books in different languages. A very standard feature in all central bus stands and even railway station. This picture is from Chennai Central Bus Stand. I was waiting here for Airavat Vovlo bus to Bangalore.

Get in Gear 2017 - Half Marathon - Race Recap

I signed up for Get in Gear Half to continue my tradition and also for some usual goals up ahead, inspite of being in a self-doubt phase. At the end of it this was a meh experience. The way this ended was a first time for me.

Race start was 9am. Till the previous day, it felt like too late in the day and a total waste of morning daylight. Anyway, carried on my usual morning ritual and left home by 7:30 ish. Aiming to park at VAMC for the shuttle to start-line, I got off on Highway 55 at 8am and boom what do I see ? Snarl traffic, just standstill cars. We crawled that last mile to VAMC for the next 50 minutes.I looked at the Metro rail so longingly, each time it passed ahead, kicking myself for not parking at MOA and taking the train. Distance-wise its seems illogical, but turns out ground reality of an event day is different.

After parking, I rushed to the shuttle bus line. Did not bother to grab my phone, hence no pictures. And since time was so short, I decided against any bag drop. Hence I had to take my car key in water bottle pouch.

Shuffling in the line for shuttle bus, I could not decide if it was cold for 1 shirt or will warm up later. So I stuck to my outfit of 2 technical shirts. Btw it's amazing, there is never any panic or hustle in queues in MN. Its less than 10 minutes to start-line and you would not guess it from the calm around. And just when I was wondering, "Why don't they have 2 lines for different buses ?", I overhear bus volunteer speak on phone, "No, the driver says can't fill 2 buses at a time". Wonder why they didn't decide to board the runners on priority and let families come by different bus later ?

After getting off the bus close to Minnehaha Falls, everyone broke into a run to the start-line. Great, I got my warm-up run ! But what I did not get is the lounging around the various promotion tents, no coffee, no peaceful mediation to compose my mind at the start-line.

Boom Race start. The first few miles were beautiful. Bumped into 3 folks I knew. Soon was running  on my own. By the halfway turnaround, crowd was very very sparse, as usual. These few miles to & from turnaround, this was a new addition. It was in construction for as long as I have run in these parts. So then I proceed well, running alone. I tried to chat with my closest lady neighbor. It was all jolly well, but I was not feeling IT.

After the turnaround and a hop around the bridge, I reached the 10 mile marker. Now here I sprinted to shave seconds off my 10 mile time (ha) and after that a  volunteer stopped me. I was like, "what now?" And he informed me that the 10 mile cutoff bugle (imaginary) went off 10 minutes back, so I have the option to run on the side trail and not road coz roads will be opened and so on. He was a sweet old guy, so to my surprise, my brain perfectly agreed with him. My second brain did not question me. There was ample time for the over-all time limit. But frankly I was so bored, I was like, screw the medal I don't need one. Yes frankly this is usual perk of being a slow runner - being interrupted with all the cutoff talk. It has happened to me so so many times and I have fought it and run to finish so many times, I decided to try the other option this time. The option of riding to the finish line. Yes, let me see how it goes.

So I hung around the water stop volunteers there, waiting for that magnificent swag vehicle to take me back, chit-chatting with those volunteers, overhearing their Sunday plan of Tour de Tonka Ironman. Soon it was clear, that they did not expect anyone to take their offer of being dropped ! I had even asked them, "Will the ride be arranged in next 15 minutes coz if it's gonna take 40 minutes, I can as well run the remaining 3 miles haha". I saw them open the roads and allow cars to go on. More runners were stopped similarly and they ran further on the side-trails. Just then two magnificent Harley-Davidson bikes came along, and I kidded, "Thanks for arranging those for my ride !" The guy said some soothing stuff, in case I was devastated by refusing to finish - that "its better to quit than to be injured, there more races to run, some are going to be bad ones, so what?" True stuff. Amazingly I did not doubt my decision at all. I thanked him & others for volunteering, coz undoubtedly, the water-stops were perfectly placed and with the much needed water & Gatorade glasses. Volunteers in each of them were all cheerful and encouraging. So in 10-15 minutes, I was guided to Eric's car. He was a volunteer and going towards finish-line and ready to drop me.

Once at the Minnehaha Falls park area, I tossed between going straight for shuttle stop or hanging around. I was not hungry but decided to get some food. Actually I did not want to miss their Raisin Bun. Those are my favorite every year.

But I guess it's time to break my tradition. And not sign for GiG anymore. And its only because of the parking hassle and the long drive from home. I am done with that for now. Plus I have run this route enough times.When I say I was not demolished by this dropping off, I am not making it up. It just was not working for me. I could blame myself that I jinxed it by claiming last year's was perfect. I did prepare for this Half. Even ran 10 and 6 miles the previous 2 weekends apart from the weeknight runs. Then it's the cut-off interruptions that did it for me.

Given the self-doubt I have been in the last few months, concerned about my weight being in a plateau and its impact on my speed, and then dropping out of this one, my "what next" thought process was on hyper speed. Added to that I felt mild plantar fasciitis pain in both my feet, for the next 2-3 days. Even a massage did not relive it. I have been looking for ways to cancel and refund my next 2 race registrations.

I Big-Apple NYC

Things have warming up with the arrival of Spring. And it's the perfect time for my post on the New York City trip from April, last year.

Zantu from London, who BTW has covered all known countries, wanted to celebrate her milestone in NYC. Whatsapp connected us, a plan formed and we landed in NYC. It turned out to be a perfect College Reunion for 4 of us.

We choose to stay in Westin at Times Square. That was some brilliant research & decision by MJ. It saved us renting a car. Was very close to Metro station. Cabs all around and walking distance from Time Square.

Lots of squealing once we got together. All this excitement could not be contained in the hotel room. Even though it was late night and past usual bedtime, we were out for dinner and then spent a long time at Times Square.

Saturday

We begin the grand tour with what else, but the Statue of Liberty. I am the Prodder - one who prods family out of the house, every-time we have a travel planned. So I started, with emphasizing the need to get out of the room by 7am because it will be hot and there will be mile-long line for tickets. Other sensible ladies brought it up to a decent 9 AM.

Turns out, it was not hot and no lines at Battery Park. Always a pleasure to be proven wrong this way :)

A short Ferry ride from Statue island to Ellis island. Fascinating place for History buffs.

Once back on land, we waded through the street dancers, snake performers & Jam stalls, looking for a good place to eat. All the sunny stroll had made us ravenous. Google maps took us to Tajin Restaurant. Food was decent, heavy even. In our excitement , we forgot to check that they charge extra for the chips & salsa.

 

Post lunch we walked aimlessly and reached WTC. Walking around the monument, reading all the names, was a very sobering experience.

After a brief rest in our room, we set out to find out the oldest/largest library in the world. We didn't find it though. Instead we wandered to Bryant Park and lounged there, watching the performances and crowds, taking more pics at the fountains and flower-beds.



Next stop - Willies Tower (Sears Towers). Why do they keep renaming places ?

No long ticketing queues but by the time we reached the Observatory deck, it was close to dark. So no great pics, but absolutely great views. Even with crowded balconies, we got enough unhurried view of all sides.

Dinner was at a Thai place we stumbled upon while wandering the street in the dark.

Sunday

 

Central Park was the main theme of Sunday. We had decided to get into the touristy I-Heart-NY shirts. After breakfast, the first hour was spent looking for the said shirt. 4 ladies with 4 different choices. But we did end up buying white shirts with the same I-Heart-NY logo. Now that we were well-fed and dressed, off we went to the Central Park. First thing, we spent 30 minutes clicking picture at the entrance.

Then we haggled for bike rentals and took a cycle rickshaw to the rental shop and got ours. Yahoo the Fun Begins now !

Ride across the Central Park was very eventful. Stopped at each location for photos.

 My cycle chain kept coming off, which my more handy friend Mandy, fixed it for me. When it happened the nth time and one Indian uncle offered to help plus some patronizing lecture, she brushed off his help. Applause.

Here we are at the fabled F.R.I.E.N.D.S. water fountain. We were ready to dip our feet in the water and click pictures. There was a shooting crew already and the camera guy offered to click for us.

When he finished clicking, a lady from the crew came by and said, he is a famous BAFTA award wining cameraman and we should take pictures with him, so ofcourse we did that ! Weeks later Zantu did some research and found out, that the lady was also a UK Celebrity Anita Rani ! We didn't click pic with her. Bamm !

Once the shooting crew went away, we lingered in the algae water. And soon a Parks employee came running to chase us out. We, bunch of 40 year old, never felt more Collegiate young before :) And she was laughing at us, "I don't think this is even the real one". Oh !

Further biked up to a Japanese Garden. Just more opportunity for us to goof-off and click more pictures.

This place I forgot what it's called. But this large stone area is featured in so many movies. A place where the protagonist muses or has a private conversation with SO. In reality, it was teeming with people.

Once we got out and all photoshoot was complete, a side look at 2 shirts revealed that it was not "I Heart NY". It was "I Apple NY". Apple, as in Big Apple. Geddid ? Nawww.

Now we were on our hunt for a lunch place. We roamed 40 minutes rejecting everything that came up. Finally landed at "Lunch Pazza Notte Restaurant & Lounge". Food was I-cook-better-pasta type.

The street outside was much more interesting. There was a market in the middle of the street, selling trinkets, crochet jackets & the lot. Perfect post-lunch activity.

 

Sunday night

Monday gloom began to set in early Sunday evening. With Mandy gone and me to leave by an early flight, there was not much cheer. So best thing to do was a Times Square stroll again.

Take-a-away dinner which took 2 hours to decide because umm choices. I went for my favorite Falafal sandwich loaded with every veggie on the table.

Someone managed to pull in another friend RH. Our conversations went on and on. There was no settling us. And soon I discovered, that the new friend RH, was an old school friend of my PUC BFF and about whom I had heard so many school-time stories. Oh small world indeed. Zantu was also a school friend of my PUC BFF, but I had forgotten about it. So bamm ! More Whatsapp calls to Belgaum. And more talking.

Monday

I had to force myself to sleep at 2:30 so I would get atleast some sleep before getting up at 4 AM. I dilly-dallyed and got out of the hotel by 5 AM. Long multiple Metro ride to JFK. Since I reached at 6:45AM, they wouldn't allow me for my 7:30 flight. Boom ! They put me standby for the next flight at 10. There was only one thing to do after Security check - find a spot to get some ZZZZZZ. That is exactly what I did. Later I tried communicating with work & home to say I will be late.



Clocks did not exist for me that weekend. All the leisurely walks, like we had nowhere be, at no given time. That unhurried feeling. Crowded streets. Metro rides. It all come back when I played some of the NY-centric movies - Been Again and Before We Go  .

 

Did I put enough photos ? Did I miss something ? Is this post not lengthy enough ? Bah.

The whole nepotism discussion

This whole discussion on Bollywood Nepotism, oh if only media shows that same level of passion on Political nepotism. Now that's where the really negative impact is.

Most of the folks in Twitter and Social media comments are vocal as they or their relative, is employed in Film industry or its offshoots, and hence fairly envy the access privilege that comes to those born in existing Filmi families.

As opposed to Film-Nepotism, Politician-Nepotism is misuse of janta-money and anger of that is understandable. Film world is not without its own Politics. But it is definitely more inclusive to new joinees. Those who agree to that privilege, are being buried under other arguments because it's more newsworthy.

There is this naivety in the crowd who started working in the 90s & 00s. That the educated professional crowd got jobs by merit, which is true. But the same streak would continue in the next steps of career or the assumption that it is so in all other industries. It took a lot of experience to understand, that though merit, skills and experience have its place, connections can be a crucial thing as well.

There is difference between family business and nepotism. There is this confusion between connections and nepotism. If any group in some community figures a job sector, they refer others they know and soon all get into it. That is how past stereotype evolved, like about certain regional communities in Financial sectors. And it is the case with new world jobs too (ex Testing). This comes from sharing information. This kind of community based connection and knowledge sharing cannot be called nepotism. In case of Film World, this kind of connection is not by bonding based on what region they came from, but by family, extended family and friend connection.

Nepotism laws were to counter family connections based financial exploitation of tax payers money or an organizations money. Definitely laws are blurry in family owned businesses, but surely they are not suicidal with money.

Being born or married into existing established family give them reasons to stay relevant and get work. All outsiders want to come and grow roots, so it keeps paying in their future and makes things easier for the next generation.

 Doctors coaching their kids to be Doctor, paying fees and even setting up clinics - does that count as nepotism ? Definition-wise yes. Is it a bad thing ? For someone from Military home, writing books with Army and Airforce as background, is that unfair use of the info gained through connections ?

A lot of business transactions everywhere in the world depend on connections.
In regional cinema world, there are lot of folks from Theater families. Children or grandchildren of distributors, makeup artists, costume suppliers. They are not outsiders. But they are not privileged either. They may have connections, but everyone knows - connections last only in prosperous times. After that its "tu kaun, main khamakha". But what they do have which is their unique strength - that is they are not distracted by anything outside cinema. They live and breathe every logistics related to cinema. They can give their 200% to it coz that where they live, all their interactions and that is all they have. Their vacations, their after-school times, their evening discussions, their family or wedding or festival get-togethers. Everything. That kind of dedication is not possible for every layman. It is their strength, it is their curse.

Excluding certain production house owners, an average person in the Film world has made as much fortune in film world as anyone in share market. This is an uncertain business. If you look at the beginning trajectory of anyone they are envious off, its pretty unbelievable coz remember no one knew they would end up with good fortune or clout decades down the line.

Film world is definitely a soft-target for numerous issue. This whole discussion was surely just fodder for MSM to munch and spew out some content, bulk up their star interviews and fish for some more controversial comments to flame a new war of words, and then rinse and repeat.

Among many MSM who pitched in, Buzzfeed was the most half baked , quick turnout article.
No, Bollywood Star Kids, You Don’t Get To Have An Opinion About Nepotism

I found the Huffington Post articles very well-written on this topic. They are one-sided, but well-rounded within that side.

1. Nepotism In Bollywood Goes Beyond Star Kids And Their Silver Spoons
2.  Bollywood's Nepotism Debate Is A Terrific Lesson In How Privilege Actually Works
3. It's Dismaying How Blind Bollywood's Star Kids Are About Their Privilege

And these two blog posts are so much eloquent in describing the workings of film-making. Basically how costs are kept down my recruiting someone they know, instead of running an expensive recruitment drive and paying extra salary.

1. Hindi Film 101: Nepotism in the Hindi Film Industry, Part 1
2. Hindi Film 101: Nepotism in the Hindi Film Industry, Part 2

I find this whole excitement more in line with Family-business-Envy rather than outrage against Nepotism.

Now parting from all these extensive thoughts, coming to Kangana & Karan conversation which started it all. I will always marvel Kangana's guts to speak out while continuing to work as usual. While I admire the powerhouse Karan has become and the entire folio of work his production house has churned out, his arrogant response to accusations to his privilege will get disgusting when he uses his power to hurt other careers. And since a creator is very different from her creation, I don't have to like the creator no matter how much I like their works.

Notes:

Bond family

Life of Bond

Every generation loves/hates, at least has a passionate opinion about the James Bond hero of their generation. My Dad feels Sean Connery is the best and the only right James Bond. By the time I was introduced to Sean Connery films, he had a bearded look. And I could not imagine how he could be a Bond ? I did catch-up with his Bond movies on Star Movies, but it had nothing for me to catch a fancy.

It was a while till my Gen Bond movie came along, one I could watch in a movie theater. Hence my favorite Bond had to be the first Bond movie released in my grownup years - Pierce Brosnan. Standard version of Handsome while interacting with the ladies in the movie, he seemed right. His flirting or interest, did not come out as icky. And his sudden change of expression, when any challenging situation comes up. Or the audible turning of wheels in his head, when he had to outsmart the villain or his army, and when it's time to be an action hero. Pierce could do all and in different time compartments. Brosnan movies, on the whole, did cover many interesting sequences. Fight on the huge dish antenna, adventures in China with Michelle Yeoh, fascinating cars, Judi Dench as M.

And  then came along Daniel Craig. First impression - intense and very taciturn, thanks to the anger given to him as a part of Casino Royale. His indiscernible expression in almost all situations. His light muscular face and shifty eyes saying nothing predictable.  Loved this reboot. I am still in awe of the parkour chase action sequence. This reboot series gave the first time r experience, for all the long established traditions of the Bond movie series - why martini shaken not stirred ? Why "Bond ... James Bond" ? Bugging chatter with Q. Who MoneyPenny ?

Skyfall has to be my favorite. Adele's song, the cold snowy landscape for action chunk, M's death. Only because it's Voldemort/Ralph Fiennes , I could accept him as Dench's replacement M.
And the new Q was cute and very promising, as in, he can become the Q we have always lived with so far.

Spectre was a perfect last film that way. Nothing spectacular, but it wrapped up all loose threads about all villains, who were part of this reboot. Great views of major European cities. It was kind of sad to end his series.

Among the Bond girls, I was most impressed by Michelle Yeoh. My love of Chinese martial arts movie cross with Bond movies - how could I not love it.

Each of the Brosnan villains had enough personality, they were a parallel figure to Brosnan. Very colorful and memorable in their own ways. In case of villains in Craig movies, I hardly paid attention to anyone, because Craig was the over-powering one. They were just somebody to be dispensed with surely.

I wonder who they will pick for the next Bond ?
And, I can't believe I went through 2 rounds of Bond actors !

Bond Movie	Yesr	Actor
GoldenEye	1995	Pierce Brosnan
Tomorrow Never Dies	1997	Pierce Brosnan
The World Is Not Enough	1999	Pierce Brosnan
Die Another Day	2002	Pierce Brosnan
Casino Royale	2006	Daniel Craig
Quantum of Solace	2008	Daniel Craig
Skyfall	2012	Daniel Craig
Spectre	2015	Daniel Craig

Who is your favorite Bond ? Which one is your favorite Bond movie ?

Salad Streak

I tried a Salad Streak for 3 weeks. This Salad streak was in no way a meal replacement. I can already imagine the headaches from giving up Rice. This was to help me portion-control my comfort food. I am not modest and will say that I mostly cook such delicious vegetarian fare, that I need help with portion-control. With a big box of chopped veggies in my tummy, it's hard to go for the second or third serving of main course.

Here is the detailed Salad matrix - a grocery list for this exercise:

Veggies	Fruits	Toppings	Cooked veggie additions
Cucumber	Strawberry	Feta Cheese	Boiled Sliced Eggs
Carrots - grated for easier chewing	Navel Orange Mandarian	Groundnuts	Brinjal bhaja/Eggplant chips
Red peppers (and then other colors)	Cantalope	Sunflower Seeds	Sweet Potato Baked Fries
Avacado	Apple - chopped	Pecan	Grilled Chicken with Hot Sauce (from cafeteria salad bar)
Canned Pickled Artichoke hearts		Walnut	Butternut Squash
Canned Sliced Beets			Cabbage sabji
			Beetroot - chopped, boiled & tadka
			Beans Poriyol - chopped, steamed & tadka

I blindly shopped almost all one day to get started and used them for the week. Then shopped the rest as needed.

Lately Lettuce had been making me feel yucky. I find the whole cut, wash & dry routine cumbersome and also a show-stoper for rest of the salad. So I decided to make it a Leaf-less Salad.

Also skipped ready-made dressings - cause some of the bottles last forever, keep piling in my fridge, and make me feel guilty for a long time. So no new shopping. I started with a Lemon-salt-Pepper dressing.

As a result of this streak, there was no weight-loss whatsoever. I guess I am beyond that, given my age and body-composition. What it did do however, is to acclimate my tummy to a much lighter fare. And helped me condition my shopping and planning towards the salad component of a plate. And it helped me get over the ugg-feeling I had developed towards salad thanks to Lettuce.

Songs of 2016 Hindi Films

What IS with the new crop of Music in Bollywood ? I am mind-blown by the shear output of new styles and good ones at that.

Singers:

There is such an explosion in Bollywood music, its hard for me to name them all. Arijit Singh, Armaan Malik, Ankit Tiwari, Jubin Nautiyal, Monali Thakur, Neha Kakkar, Palak Muchhal. Last 2 years were flooded with their songs, hence they got noticed. But obviously, they have prepared for this, all their life. A whole lot of hit songs were by new singers. Hope they do not stay one-hit wonders.

Once upon a time, there was a monopoly in terms of Hindi singers. They did enrich the field in many ways. Other singers however, could barely make a scratch. Yet a lot of them did sing enough, for us to have a playlist of favorite songs - maybe nostalgia driven but not to undermine their immense talents - Suresh Wadkar, Yesudas, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy. Eventually they did become giants of their world, but the pace is nothing compared to the explosion we have now.

Thanks to the competition reality shows, practically everyone started training in singing from their babyhood. And now we have the cream rise to the top. They are popular. Maybe not monumental & revered like the pre-80's singers. But they are popular and busy with work. That is much better scenario than the starving artist situation. Because God knows, Producers pay peanuts for the actual recording for the movie. It's the offline demand for the singers to sing their own or current hit songs, that bring in the dough.

Lyricists:

Is every Lyricist now, from the school of Gulzar ? How many of them studied in Hindi medium ? I know that a lot of them come from the Hindi dominant states. But a lot of them are metro city-bred or are southern. How are they managing to churn out poetry ? I know of the whole stance that Hindi songs are not poetry. But I feel we are well past that. Hindi movie songs are Poetry. They give a stanza to any instance of life. They bring out analogies that are lurking in the back of our minds. Now they have dazzling, clever lyrics, witty and with unique metaphors.
Notable mentions: Kausar Munir, Anvita Dutt, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Jaideep Sahni, Kumaar.

Interesting thing about Lyricists is they don't get paid much at all. I wonder how this many of them continued in this field and so many new ones still wander into it? I assume they have other source of livelihood as well, like other writing jobs in Films and Ad world. Because I don't think they have any recurring income from their output, just the initial payment. The song rights usually reside with the Producers and they are the ones who control the next remix, remakes and reboots every few decades.

However it is interesting how in any Remix song, the Lyrics are the hook, which get the audience. The musical arrangement & instruments change. Apart from signature tune, everything else changes. Singers change. Only thing that's constant are the lyrics (even with modifications and additions).

Music of 2016: 

Majority of the songs were hit dance songs. And almost all categorized as EDM. They are all gems which are going to last long. Melodies are all beautiful, notably Amaal Mallik & Mithoon.

Collaborations seem like there is going to be interesting times ahead. Songs from independent makers were added in big-production house movies, after refining the original raw version. This would be un-credited in the less-informed era. But now in the world of uber-information, these artists are credited and actively participate in the movie version. Main example are Kar Gayi Chull , rappers and collaborations with Nucleya.

I am amazed at how they grow independently, really spread out. Most of them have used Youtube channels as their lab to grow and gather admirers along the way. And once they have built their own popularity base (measured in numbers on social media & sold event tickets) and once they have perfected their skill levels, they are collaborating with the filmmakers, again with a level of independence - not giving in to the traditional mold of "Hindi film Music director".

Albums

Coming back to mainstream muscians, Sairat is the wowest. Their orchestra and visual picturization was very refreshing. The slom-mos, drone camera shots showcasing the actual beautiful sceneray, this papaya and marigold farms, rocky shores.

Ok Jaanu grabbed our attention with The Humma Song. And then other songs started growing on you.

 

Steps to Yoga Addiction

How to go from 0 to feeling-like-an-expert type in Yoga.

To begin with, as a non yogi, all your life, feel left out or inept when the neighbourhood aunty says she can touch her toes or when told the legend that Rekha & Dr Raj Kumar owe their suppleness and health to Yoga.

Take the first step and do yoga along with a Youtube video. Here is the tiny video which is sold as stretches, but is actually is a gem collection of key poses.

If you are still unsure about joining others, then start doing more in your own privacy. But first get new gear - comfy yoga pants and the all important, colorful Yoga mat. Blocks & Straps are good too. But if not ready to invest in one, then make your own with left-out straps and folded towels.

Next thing for DIY Yoga - are the videos. There are loads of channels to follow on Youtube.
Just take your time out, lock yourself in a room with a large display screen for the Yoga videos. With a calming background music, step by step instructions, these are the best to work out a session with.

1. Psyche Truth
2. Yoga With Adriene
3. Soft Music & Yoga ~ Yoga Yak
4. Shilpa's Yoga

 

Now that you are comfortable doing Yoga by yourself, it's time to get out there, do it with others, I mean in a Group. Whether it's a group class in your generic fitness gym or a Yoga specific studio. It doesn't hurt much or cost much, to try out a few weekly sessions.

I can guarantee you, by week 4, you will proficient in knowing what is cat pose ? How different is it from cow pose ? The dog pose, cobra, warrior, even Vinyassa. 

It's admirable how the Yoga instructors calmly lead us through each step. And given the finite number of poses, they structure every class different from the other to keep challenging muscle memory. That alone is enough to make us come back for more.

That and the last 5 minutes of Shavasana. Nothing can beat that.

Running Report for 2016

Running in 2016 was very eventful. Not in terms of medals but in terms of experience.

I ran 770 miles and 9 races. I must credit my increased mileage this year to the 2 Training cycles I went through.

First morning of January , I ran the Commitment Day Race. I signed up for it coz I needed some race but not Polar Dash. Spent rest of Jan, in usual frustration about not being able to run outside. New place, icy roads, and being available only at dark hours were the reason. I spent more time on Google, reading winter running stuff, than getting actual runs. It was less dark than previous month. But it did get dark every evening by the time I reached home. I remember racing with the Sun on my left - being bright throughout my commute, and then for it to go off blink, right when I turned into my area. Bamm ! It did not snow so bad this Jan, but whenever it did, the roads took more than a week to clear the frozen black ice. I was not going to risk those. I had already taken a tumble in my driveway when I went to leave the thrash-can for pickup. That one incident was enough.

And then in the last week, a serendipitous thing happened. I spent a few hours in unsuccessful search of Run Club in my area. Later when I checked my email, I found a mail from Lifetime about their Training for Grandmas. It was a followup promotion after Commitment Day Race. I have never been more happy to share my email. I enthusiastically squeezed into their group runs, even before the training officially started. Securian Half happened around this time and the way it finished, did not make me happy. But this was expected with the below par base miles I had.

Weather conditions stayed same in February. And I could see that I lagging much much behind the training plan. But thanks to run group, I got in some very beautiful snow runs on weekend mornings, through trails I did not know existed. Of course I was the last slow runner and got lost a few times; that did not change my mind.  My weeknight runs were nowhere, coz I was still scared to go out on the dark icy roads, regularly. So I crunched up and got gym membership to use treadmill. Boom my total miles for Feb & March climbed up. It helped me in the Hot Dash 10 miler.

I kept going on the weeknights treadmill and weekend morning outdoor runs in April. So the Get in Gear Half experience was beautiful again. I felt nervous because my training plan was a few weeks off from the group training for Grandmas. I was training for Minneapolis Marathon - the one in my comfort zone, coz I did not have the confidence to drive back from a destination race. Yet I did feel I would run this well.

In mid-May, 2 weeks before the race, the news came up that Team Ortho did not get permission for their route. This was a spanner in the wheels. I was disappointed but was eyeing them for my refund. I did not want to be tricked like last time, into signing up for their next race. And this mood-spoiler derailed my training. Finally, it did get cancelled and they gave a full refund. Once the pressure of the actual race was gone, my runs dipped again in June. This and the official start of summer vacation, meant my miles were low for June.

In the meantime, peer pressure worked and I signed up for TCM Marathon on Oct - something I never thought I would run - given that it needs summer training. But I did show up for the group runs and carried on with my own runs. So that brought up my mileage in July and peaking in August. Minnesota Half Marathon - StPaul made me really question myself. I doubted my treadmill runs and  how the absence of any formal speed workout was affecting my results. That reminds me, Speed workouts are still a black hole for me. I guess I should get some real coaching for this.

September has the 3 peak weeks of training. But I, in my nervousness, quit even the runs I could manage. That brought the mileage down. I did showup for the 20 miler for experience sake and did cover it all. Women Run The Cities cheered me up a bit. The taper weeks were again something I am sure I did wrong.

Oct first weekend was the big TCM Marathon day. The way I finished this race threw me off completely. I tried to enjoy my vacation away from training, but was constantly thinking about what went wrong. Since a long race has too many factors to consider, I can't make out which variable changes the equation. So in Nov & Dec, I decided to switch to workouts for weight-loss and strength-training. Cold & snow helped me stick to this plan. Workouts involved short runs.

I thought I would curtail Races this year. But in review, I see I ran more races this year. Good part - most of them were without medals. Yes, I have gotten over my past obsession of Medals. Now I want good finish times; PR from my this year's results.

Races were spread through the year. So I got to run in different weather conditions. The Training runs covered my craving for running in new unexplored routes.

Conditions	Name	Date	Distance	Time
20F Cloudy	Commitment Day	1-Jan-16	5K	40 min
35F-40F	Securian Winter Run	30-Jan-16	Half-Mara	3:03:37  hours
25F wet icy	Hot Dash 10 mile	19-Mar-16	10Mile	2:12  hours
53F	Get in the Gear	30-Apr-16	HalfMara	2:55:53  hours
78F	Minnesota Half Marathon - StPaul	6-Aug-16	HalfMara	3:05:54  hours
64F	Capitol Run	17-Sep-16	20 mile	5:25 hours
64F	Women Run The Cities	25-Sep-16	10Mile	2:07 hours
38F-55F	TCM Marathon	9-Oct-16	Marathon	6:45 hours
35F No wind	Hindu Mandir Thanksgiving 5k	24-Nov-16	5K	38 min

Here is what happened when I was training per plan with a group:
Almost all training plans are 16 weeks long and need atleast 4-5 weekday runs plus 1 weekend run. Miles progress up through the week, which means run-time increases each time. On whole, in a 3 month plan, the first 2 months were easier to stick to the plan. In the last month, everything collapses. Everyone, including me, has meltdowns considering the neglect of home & family time. And then it's back to the previous routine.

I switched to new shoes for each training cycle. But they are in good shape, so I did not exactly throw them away. I used them for the casual biking and the workouts in Nov-Dec. I have an interesting story about my running capris. I had a two Under Armour capris - my favorite, skin tight, kept my loose tummy in place, lovely colors of blue & green & neon. I think I used them throughout the first half for runs on treadmill and outside in summer. And one fine October morning, while I was 1 mile on a trail, I felt a burn in my inner-thighs. I look down and see that seam stitch had opened and my skin had chaffed. It was painful, but no embarrassment, as my group had gone ahead. I turned back and ran back 1 mile to my car. This was the day, I did not have a backup pant in my car, so I drove back home for 10 miles, changed and drove back to the trail for a 8 mile long run. Somehow I am not embarrassed about the tear or the 40 miles drive, coz it was a perfect weather for the long run and I would regret badly if I had to miss it. Every run is indeed an adventure.

About weight-loss, there was nil. I started the year with Orange Theory workouts, once every week and minimal running. When running picked up in Mar, I gave up the Orange Theory, cause the soreness came in the way of running. Then it was all running till TCM Marathon in Oct. In Nov, being goalless and introspection about my race performance, made me switch to a workout class again. On an average my running/workouts have been 4-5 times a week. About diet changes, they are as healthy choices as they can be. Portion control may need work but it is a constant work-in-progress. Hence my weight through the year has been on a roller-coaster of +-3 pounds, with the final weight in Dec being exact same as Jan. My strength & stamina may have changed; though I have no way to measure it; except the subjective compliments that I receive.

As I end this year, I don't have any specific goals for 2017. I am sure my learning will help me create new goals.

All of my yearly Run Reports are here.

Wish you all a very Happy & Prosperous New Year !