Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Return of the Sparrow and Dom Perignon at 35000 Feet
Imagine my surprise then, at hearing the familiar sound of sparrows at a most unlikely place – the terminal building of the new Bangalore International Airport. The bright, cheerful chirping provided a nice contrast to the unceasing PA announcements that one hears at all airports. Gazing up at the roof, I spotted several sparrows flying about. I noted with relief that there were no ceiling fans in the terminal building, so the birds could fly safely within the building. Significantly, there were no other bird species (or none that I spotted) within the building. This means that the little birds can live and nest in safety from predators. The only potential threat to their continued existence in the building is if an intolerant airport administrator decides to rid the building of the birds, which I hope does not happen. It seems that the least we can do to compensate for making the environment insupportable for the birds is to provide a safe haven for them where we can. This may result in the occasional bird dropping on a traveler (perhaps requiring an expensive jacket to be dry-cleaned), but it seems such a small price to pay for the pleasure of seeing the lovely little creatures back. I sat watching the birds until it was time to board the flight to Mumbai.
Jet Airways was nice enough to upgrade me to business class on the flight from Mumbai to San Francisco, even though I had one expired upgrade voucher out of the required number of six. As expected, the flight crew were friendly and attentive. Dom Perignon at 35000 feet is a tough companion to beat. Bill Bryson came a close second with Mother Tongue. Flying business class is such a luxury these days. The company I work for is not very profitable, so all air travel is only coach class. Business class is an order of magnitude more comfortable that coach class, as a result of which you arrive at your destination fresh and raring to go. I am looking forward to the time when we will retire the red ink and get out the black ink, so that relative luxuries like business class for long plane journeys is back. Until then, I will save up those upgrade vouchers jealously so I can cherish the occasional company of Dom Perignon at 35000 feet. Speaking of which, it is time to top up the glass again.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Breakfast in Lalbagh
Morning walks in Lalbagh Garden in Bangalore are a pleasure. The ideal time to reach Lalbagh is around a half hour before sunrise. On a clear morning, one then has several options from where to watch the sun rise. A favorite spot of mine is on the bridge across the Lalbagh Lake, from where one catch a glorious sunrise. The warm rays of the early morning sun hit the bridge and the trees lining the perimeter of the lake, making for a glorious sight. That said, there is hardly a bad walk in Lalbagh, with multiple trails to wonder through, gazing at different trees and the fauna they attract.
One early morning after a run in Lalbagh (there is an excellent 2 mile loop in Lalbagh, and a mile loop around the lake), I fetched my camera from the car. I headed towards the lake intending to take pictures of the bird life the lake attracts. As I got into position to photogragh some pond herons, I spied a sudden movement from the side of my eye. I could see something on a lily pad, but I was not able to discern any details with the naked eye. Strapping on an 80-400mm Nikkor on my D200, I focused in the direction of the lily pad, and saw a snake trying to subdue a fish it had probably just caught. Getting into position for a good shot was not easy with a chain link fence in the way, but placing the camera on a tripod, I stood on my toes, and shot off a bunch of exposures. I must have stood there for around twenty minutes, taking pictures of the snake gradually subduing its writhing prey. By now a crowd had gathered around me, with some keen eyed people spotting the activity, and excited pointing it out to others. Probably disturbed by the noise and the activity, the snake dived underwater with the fish still only partially ingested. I stood there for a few more minutes, hoping to spot the snake again, probably on a different lily pad, but the snake had probably sought out a quieter corner of the lake to finish its breakfast in relative peace.
I posted an image from the morning on an online nature forum, where the snake was identified as a Checkered Keelback.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Contact Lost
It was around 5:30AM on February 1, 2003. I was in my car, headed for the Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, California for a morning trail run. I was glad to be awake and looking forward to the run. Unbeknownst to me, Columbia had begun her final descent towards Earth a few minutes ago. If all went well, she would touch down in Cape Canaveral in an hour or so. I had been following Columbia’s mission STS-107, not because of its mission objectives, but because astronaut Kalpana Chawla was of Indian origin, and a huge fan of my favorite band, Deep Purple. She had selected Space Truckin' and The Aviator from the Deep Purple canon as wakeup songs on her shifts. Kalpana’s husband, JP Harrison, published a regular log of Mission STS-107 on Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan’s web site, so we were kept abreast of all events leading up the mission, and the mission itself. Although I didn’t know Kalpana personally, she already seemed like a friend, and I followed Mission STS-107 as keenly as I could.
I was somewhere on the freeway, headed for Berkeley, when Columbia disintegrated over the Earth's atmosphere, bringing about an abrupt end to her mission. After I reached the park, I strapped on my chest pouch, which contained my trusty Nikon and a couple of lenses. Tripod in hand, I headed out on Tilden’s trails. It was a wonderful, crisp morning. The fresh morning air filling the lungs with each breath felt delicious. As I ran, I saw another day dawn. Mother Nature played out her daily ritual, unfurling a breathtaking light show in the eastern skies. It reaffirmed why I loved Tilden’s trails as much as I did, and why I felt such a deep, almost spiritual affinity to it. During the latter half of my run, I spotted a wild flower growing by the side of the Seaview Trail, which I stopped to photograph. After running a couple of hours, I reached my car exhausted, and when I switched on the radio, the tragic news of the Columbia disaster was on National Public Radio. Although I still remember reading newspaper reports on the Challenger disaster many years ago, and being shocked by it, the Columbia loss somehow seemed very personal. On the drive back home from Berkeley, Kalpana’s radiant smile kept flashing in my mind. I felt like I’d lost a friend.
When I got back the processed film roll from my morning run, the picture of the wild flower stood out on the light box. A personal memory of the morning when Columbia fell, it is my humble tribute to Kalpana and her brave comrades.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Bangalore Ultra Dec 16, 2007 - 26K Run Report
After running the Kaveri Trail Half Marathon with the excellent Runners For Life (RFL) group, I was sure that I wanted to run in the first Bangalore Ultra in December. I was tempted to register for the 52K event, but I reminded myself that my last marathon was in June 2004 (I ran the Big Sur International Marathon in
Race day saw me headed out of home at 4:15 in the morning, headed for
Here’s an example of a small detail – a couple of minutes before the start, the DJ played “We Will Rock You” by Queen over the sound system to pump up the runners – if that start doesn’t rock a race, nothing else will. The course - changed at the insistence of the
The extra lap was even more fun than the first two. I walked and ran my way through the lovely course and chatted with known faces, including the awesome A’s. The sun had begun to peek out of the clouds, so I made sure to get enough Gatorade at every aid station to avoid cramping. It was great to see that there were still plenty of runners on the course. I finished the extra 13K lap in 1:50. After briefly toying with the idea of doing another 3K, in order to have run a marathon distance, I opted instead for a chilled beer. I thought I’d done enough to earn a beer that morning by running 39K. The chilled beer with friends – Ninad, Dinesh and Abnash – was perfect, like everything else that morning. We even got called on stage a little later to be given our medals and timing certificates, something I would normally avoid, but which seemed so natural that morning.
On the ride back, it occurred to me that the last time I had such a warm and fuzzy glow after a run was when I was driving back home from Monterey after running the Big Sur Marathon in April 2004. That had been such an unforgettable running experience and I remember thinking that if someone could bottle that feeling, they would deserve the millions they would make. The Bangalore Ultra experience was every bit as good as the
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Kaveri Trail Half Marathon - Nov 18, 2007 - A Report
Getting onto
After registering at the starting point, I waited with a couple of dozen runners for the 9:00 AM start time. We were told that a bus bringing runners from
We finally started our run at around 9:40 AM. It was fairly warm now, so I decided to take it easy in the first half, and pace the second half depending on how strong I was feeling at the halfway point. We were running on a levy, with a canal running along one side. On the other side there were fields, some growing sugarcane. Running on the levy, I was reminded of the Led Zeppelin classic “When The Levee Breaks”. The song kept playing in my head, and I fell into something of a rhythm to Bonzo’s hypnotic drumming. The trail of packed earth made running easier on the knees. There was some tree cover, but not nearly enough. Although warm, it was still a beautiful day to be outdoors. The air was clean and fresh, unlike anything in
I downed a couple of glasses of water and poured some water on my head, neck and shoulders. It would be 5 km before the next aid station and it was now uncomfortably hot, so I would need all the help I could get to stay cool. I felt strong enough to pick up the pace a bit. I was now passing other half-marathoners consistently, although my pace could hardly be described as frenetic. Reaching the first aid station again (now 5.5 km from the finish) was a great relief. Pouring some more water on myself, I hit the trail again, counting down the km markers to the finish, which seemed to get agonizingly further apart as I neared the end. By the time I reached the mark telling me that I was 1 km from the finish line I was totally spent. The last kilometer was probably the most difficult one I have run – it seemed interminably long. Other than my knees which were hurting now from the strain of placing every step, I could feel the onset of cramps in my leg muscles. After what seemed like an hour, I finally saw the finish line, and crossed it in 2:19:04. Not my fastest half (my PR for a half is 1:58:17), but I was happy to have endured what I thought was a challenging run.
Back at the Fort View Resort, I had a quick lunch and a warm beer (not by choice, mind you), following which it was time to head the 130 km back to
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Letter from Goa - The Baga South Run
A little while later, I was at the north end of
When I finally reached the north end of Baga, I was quite spent. Crawling into a shack, I ordered two bottles of Limca, which I dispatched speedily. I asked the waiter the distance to the other end of the beach, and he shrugged his shoulders and said something like, “I don’t know, but it must be 4-5 kilometers.” I could scarcely believe it, since I had been running for just short of 2 hours, and although it had been a plod through the beach, my own reckoning was that I had run at least 8 miles. The waiter, clearly unimpressed with my estimate, pooh-poohed it and repeated quite emphatically that the distance couldn’t be more than 5 kilometers. Jesus – was I disappointed! My reaction must have been apparent, because it elicited a chuckle from a guy at the next table. He offered to buy me a drink, which I had to decline, because I couldn’t bear the thought of more alcohol after the previous night’s binge drinking. I told him that he could pay for my Limcas, but it was now his turn to refuse, on the grounds that a Limca didn’t qualify as a legitimate drink in his book. My kind of guy! We struck up a brief conversation over a drink – he nursing a Gimlet, and me on my third Limca, during which I found out that he was an Englishman who had settled in
Well, my turn came a little less than a year later in February 2007, when I spent three days in
The day was gorgeous. The beach looked enchantingly beautiful. Stretched on a beach chair with a full belly, a perfect run behind me, and a lazy day stretching ahead of me, there was nothing more I could ask for. Except another Daiquiri, that is.