The perpetual question: Full Frame or APS-C?

The web already has a huge number of "expert" opinions on this. I had tough time figuring out what the heck most of them were talking about when I started off in the fascinating DSLR world.

Just to make things easier for people like me, and also to keep a record for myself, this is by far the best illustration of what exactly is the hullabulloo all about:

Full Frame Vs APS-C Cameras

Travelogue – Coastal Andhra

9 Days. 2900kms. Toyota Innova. Meagre planning. Exuberant elan.

In a gist:

Bangalore -> Kanipakam -> Nellore -> Ongole -> Guntur -> Rajahmundry -> Araku Valley -> Vizag -> Kakinada -> Bhadrachalam -> Kurnool -> Bangalore.

The gist elaborated:

CHAPTER 1: ONCE UPON A MORNING

20^th October, 2012:

Started @5:45AM from Bellandur. Route to Kanipakam via Hoskote – Kolar – Mulbagal – Palamaner. The road is good all the way except a few very bad patches from Palamaner to Kanipakam where we had to take a diversion from the highway.

Reached Kanipakam @8:30AM. After a visit to the temple, had breakfast at ‘Bans- The Hotel’ on the highway en route. Although the hotel looked decorous from the outside, it is not well maintained and the food is a waste of time and money.

As we proceeded towards Nellore via Tirupati and Gudur, the wipers started acting up and the AC too started making funny noises. So we had to stop at Harsha Toyota, Nellore to get these fixed. They made good their promise and fixed the problems (new wipers and a cleaning of the blower for 750/-) and delivered the vehicle in an hour.

The service manager threw in a hint that the clutch assembly was at the end of life and the sooner it is replaced, the better. We chose to ignore that for now (with dire consequences later!) and proceeded to Rajahmundry. But the clutch assembly did indeed fail completely within the next 100kms and the Harsha Toyota guy said he can only send someone over the next morning.

So we called a cousin in Ongole for help. He came soon enough and we towed the Innova with a Bolero to Ongole which was 40Kms away. Honestly, I was surprised to see the Bolero being able to drag the heavy Innova laden with 4 people and loads of luggage in it. We reached Ongole and called it a night. Route map from Kanipakam to Ongole.

CHAPTER 2: OPERATION INNOVA

21^st October, 2012:

The next morning, Radha Madhav Toyota in Guntur sent in an Innova and the guys were able to tow our vehicle the next 100kms in an hour, in pouring rain, to the service center. The repairs took a couple of hours during which the clutch assembly was changed. The service guy remarked that he had never seen the clutch plate burnt to ashes in his seven years of service. Nevertheless, they did a remarkable job of fixing the issues in time and the Innova was raring to go.

So we started off to Rajahmundry after a quick lunch stop at a dhaba (nothing to talk about the food except that it was super spicy). Reached Rajahmundry at 8:45PM via pretty good roads and a couple of tollgates.

We had reservations at The River Bay which is an APTDC undertaking. The resort sits right on the banks of the Godavari and is very well maintained, with good food. For 2000/- per night and complimentary breakfast thrown in, the stay was a very good bang for the buck. The manager Mr. Satish was well versed with the places around and was warm enough to help us fix our itinerary.
A view from our room at The River Bay:

CHAPTER 3: GORGEOUS GORGES OF GODDESS GODAVARI

22^nd October, 2012:

We went on a day-long boat trip to Papi Kondalu and back. The place is a must visit although I didn't like how the boat trip was arranged - It was too loud and disturbing for me. Nevertheless, the breathtaking views and the majestic peaks of the Papi hills were a welcome respite to the otherwise blase psyche.

A few glimpses of the enchanting landscapes:

CHAPTER 4: THE EXQUISITE VISAGE OF THE EASTERN GHATS

23^rd October, 2012:

We started off to Araku Valley after a hearty breakfast at The River Bay. The last 40kms towards Araku Valley took us through some of the most scenic roads and the weather too was very cordial to us with clouds blocking out Mr. Sun who seemed to be hell bent on having a vendetta on us for exploiting the AC to cheat him all along the route.

Owing to our last minute planning, we could only get a reservation in Vasishta Inn in Araku Valley and though reasonable priced at 1200/- per night, we had hard time digesting the décor of the hotel. The less said about it, the better. But what made the visit to Araku Valley really worthwhile:

CHAPTER 5: GOA OF THE EAST COAST

24^th October, 2012:

After a night’s stay at Araku Valley, we started to Vizag @ 6AM to catch a glimpse of the valley in the early morning mist and we weren’t disappointed. The beautiful valley was bathed in fog and mist and made for a spectacular view all along.

The ~110km to Vizag took us almost 4hrs after multiple stops at view points. Once in Vizag, we succumbed to a Mr. Google to suggest a beach front resort and ended up at Sai Priya Resorts near Rushikonda beach. The property isn't bad - situated right beside the beach and with oodles of space. The rooms too are very... well, roomy. That said, the place is not worth the 4100/- they charge for a double executive room. The room service is pathetic at the best. 

Well, with nothing much to do, we whiled away our evening in the beach. This beach is very notorious for regular mishaps as the water descends to unfathomable depths after just a few feet in. As we were warned in advance by the beach guards, we didn't venture  into the waters.

Post a luscious sunset on the beach, we went out to roam around the city and after driving around for an hour, found ourselves super hungry. With the tele-advice of a friend, we went to Heritage Restaurant and filled our tummies to the brim (after a waiting period of 20mins @10:15PM!). We were so impressed with the food that we went back for breakfast the next morning and had the privilege of tasting THE best ‘MLA-Pesarattu’.

CHAPTER 6: A PENCHANT FOR THE PENSIONER'S PARADISE

25^th October, 2012:

The scrumptious breakfast delayed our start to Kakinada by almost an hour! Nevertheless, the roads were very good, giving us no reason to slow down and lose time except for the few inevitable idiots omnipresent on Indian roads. We made a detour to a small place called Mallam (25kms from Kakinada) to visit a temple of Lord Subramanya. It was a very small village with just about 40 families but the warmth they showed us strange visitors was phenomenal. After spending a couple of hours there, we reached Kakinada at around 3PM and were desperately hungry. Thanks to a bit of home work done the previous evening, we had already reserved suites at “Arka” and hence drove straight to Subbayya Hotel for lunch. And even at that late hour, we had to wait for 20 minutes to get a table in the AC dining hall. Although we had heard the laurels of the place from various sources, we were knocked clean out of our senses by the food and the service. Any number of adjectives and blog pages would not do justice to the experience we had. It is hard to comprehend how they have been able to manage such high levels of customer satisfaction for so long.

Tummies overloaded to dangerous levels with food, we crawled back to the car and drove to the hotel with a great effort to keep our eyes open. Arka was another surprise in store for us. Kakinada was the last place I would have expected to see a hotel so well maintained and with features like Wi-fi, modular bathrooms, impeccable room service and above average food – all for 2000/- per night including taxes. We had a quick nap and raced to Yanam, trying to beat the setting sun. The sun did disappoint us but Yanam had another surprise in store for us. Since it was the last day of the Brahmotsavams, there was a procession of Lord Balaji for “Theppotsavam” on Godavari. The atmosphere along the beach road was galvanic, with multiple stages showing Hari Kathas, dances, dramas, etc. Even for me, given my aversion to crowds, it was a very satisfying visit.

CHAPTER 7: DIVINITY

26^th October, 2012:

A very hectic day planned ahead of us, we started early to Annavaram which took us through Pithapuram which is one of the Shaktipeethas, where one can seek blessings of deity Puruhutika Devi alongside Sri Kukkuteshwara Swamy. After the pooja and darshan at Annavaram, we were back in Kakinada, raring for another go at the lunch in Subbayya Hotel. Although it may seem improbable, our experience of previous day’s lunch was blown away with what we were now served. The special curd we were given still makes my mouth water! After lunch, we had a brief stop at the hotel’s shop to purchase some of their pickles and powders and headed back to the hotel. We vacated the rooms and started to Bhadrachalam at 5PM but had to head back to Kakinada and take up the same rooms after multiple warnings from kith and kin that the forest ahead was a naxal prone zone and travel through it in dark is not advisable.

CHAPTER 8: TRYST WITH THE WOODS

27^th October, 2012:

Eager to get into the forest, we started off to Bhadrachalam early in the morning @6AM. The route took us through Alluri Seetharama Raju forest and it would be a gross understatement to say that the forest was breathtakingly beautiful. The route presented us with sceneries that could rival those at Araku Valley, with regular pockets of deep forests thrown in and streams trickling beside the road all along. With multiple stops (again!) to admire the forest, we reached the destination at 10:30AM. After a gratifying darshan of Lord Rama, we were back on the highway by 11:30 to Kurnool via Hyderabad. With just two stops, one for lunch at AP Tourism’s Haritha hotel at Wyra and one for fuel, we were able to reach Kurnool by 8:30PM, covering 540kms in all. We also chanced to travel along the outer ring road at Hyderabad and the petrol head in me had only one word to describe the road – Gorgeous:

CHAPTER 9: BACK TO THE BASE

28^th October, 2012:

After the night stay at home town Kurnool, we were back to the same old routine in Bangalore.

Not to belittle the other locales but Kakinada was the pick of the tour for us - warm people wherever you go, excellent food and lots of places to visit around. We made a note to return there as soon as we could to cover what all Kakinada had to offer! Although inadvertently our 'poorly-planned' road trip did turn into a bit of a "theerth yatra" owing to the whims of lady bosses, it gave us copious amounts of surprise, satisfaction and recreation.

Treason Thwarted

Now that the Olympics are concluded, most nations would be busy with tallying their medal count, reviewing the performance of their delegates and charting a course for the next outing. And India, possibly, is not one of them. I overheard someone at office say that people here are still busy celebrating the meagreness in their victories. Well, it seems very easy to look at it that way and be impervious to the verity and to the emotions of the participants.

I honestly believe that our people did a wonderful job at the Olympics - may be the best of all the countries out there. Yes, this is a tall claim but consider these two hypotheses before jumping the gun to ridicule it.

1. Achievements in Olympics are notoriously short-lived in India. There is almost no long term perk given to the medalists and even if something is announced, it either takes a decade to be finally reimbursed or is lost in time if there is a political turmoil in tandem. So, after the long and tiring training and an equally grueling participation, there is only disappointment awaiting the winners back home. The winners have just become temporary whims of the local media.

2. Winding the clocks back to the domestic qualifying rounds for the Olympics and the subsequent training, the participants are allegedly subject to preposterous amounts of vices of the concerned officials who expect bodily and/or financial bribes.

Going through all this or seeing their fellow participant go through all this and still wanting to willingly participate in the rigor of the training and the event itself is an achievement not short of a gold medal. Anything over and above is an obvious incentive!

This is just my side of the coin and I do acknowledge the existence of unadulterated zeal of many in the delegation. But irrespective of that, the achievements of our people in the Olympics is in no way lilliputian and should not be jested at.

2nd Photography Trip to Ranganthittu

So after lots and lots of not-good news and hectic schedules, we decided to head out for a break in the routine and what better way to do that than to go hunting for bird photography! Since it was kind of a last minute plan, we decided to stick to Ranganthittu and maybe visit Karanji Lake and Kokkre Bellur if time permits.

Mike and I armed ourselves with a couple of 100-400's from Toehold and Manickam decided to stick with the 250mm and off we went in Manickam's comfy big car. After a delayed start at 4:45AM as against the planned 4:30AM and a brief stop at Kamat's for breakfast, our "platoon" reached Ranganthittu at 7:30 sharp only to be mightily disappointed by a newly appointed "saar" at the sanctuary. Apparently this new "saar" had ordered the watchman not to open the gates before 8:30AM for anybody. Wonder how on earth can they make a "saar" out of someone who doesn't have the common sense that bird photographers like to start early. But anyways, we had to stick around till 8:30 when the gates were finally opened. We tried to do some bug-photography to pass the time and warm up the lens!

We went on on our last-found track amidst the thickets in hope of catching a few glimpses of early birds but it was not actually "early" anymore. But our track did give us a fine chance to shoot this kingfisher:

It was then time for the boat ride into the waters and test our mettle with the big lens. After a "deal" with one of the boatmen (the deal was struck at Rs.600 as against the official Rs.1000 for a trip of 40 minutes), we were on our way.

Since our visit was right in the season, we were able to spot quite a few birds up close and take a few portraits of them as well!

The boatman suggested a place called Nagunhalli some 6kms from Ranganthittu for hordes of small bird sightings but was a MAJOR disappointment in all ways possible. The only sighting we had was of a cremation on the banks of the river. This damped our spirits in a big way and we decided to skip Karanji Lake and drive to Kokkre Bellur. Quite a few birds were around there but it was clearly off season for pelicans and accordingly we spotted only a couple of them.

Thats how our unplanned trip fared and we were back in Bangalore tired but happy!

Snapshots from Ranganathittu

A few pics from an almost debacle of a visit to Ranganathittu a few months back:

The Avengers

First things first, Avengers is one of the best action movies ever. One who is a fan of spectacular computer generated combats and super heroes should absolutely watch this movie. One who is not, has all the more reason to watch it to give a chance to someone to turn the dislike for the better.

Frankly, it is really hard to believe that a movie of such gigantic dimensions can be so deftly handled by a director with no such prior experience. But full credit to Joss Whedon for crafting one of the most fantastic CG extravaganzas. Mr. Michael Bay, please, oh please learn to put your creativity to better use so we can get to enjoy something that is atleast half as entertaining as the Avengers.

The Avengers would have almost been named as "The Incredible Hulk", well, almost! Although this is a spoiler of sorts, it still doesn't give the due credit to the meatiness of the role. The Hulk has so far been perceived as the basher of everything and everyone who gets in his way, incapable of comprehending anything even remotely related to "control". Well, out here, he's all that and then some. Who would have expected the "no-sense" green guy to be the glue that will bring the "sane" others together and bind them to the duty at hand!

More than anyone and anything else, the fantabulously choreographed and expertly rendered fights marginally edge out the witty dialogues to become THE reason to watch this movie. Oh, the combat sequences are so lip smackingly good! They are all a follower of Thor, Captain America, Hulk and ofcourse the Ironman would expect. The Hulk, however takes away the accolades with a Rajnikanth-ish style of "So what if am late, am the latest!" He does join the party a bit late but more than makes up for the delay with a host of whistle-breeding antics. The way he literally beats the ever arrogant Loki into submission is a moment worth watching the movie all over again, and again, and again.

Thank you Marvel for bringing an incredible appetizer for all those waiting ever so impatiently for THE movie of the year (The Dark Knight Rises, ofcourse!). I now only hope that the appetizer doesn't make the main course seem a bit bland!

Questioning the temporal being

Sometimes we are forced into circumstances which make us question the "being".

Being here and now, they say, is the most important thing.

But why is it that the "here and now" is twisted so out of control that our faith is jolted?

Why is it that our fundamental morals which we swore by all along are threatened?

What possible hope can there be in something that makes us question our very existence?

Going through suffering, they say, is agonizing for a person.

But seeing a loved one go through suffering is the ultimate hell.

Not only does it belittle whatever world you have declared yourself a king of,

But it also stirs up thoughts so powerfully negative that it gets hard to find sanity.

Hope, they say, is the best of things.

But what more would you hope for when the only thing you ever hoped for is bruised?

What hope can stay alive in a heart filled with nothing but despair?

How can any more hope justify the suffering induced by something that was attained through hope?

Tears, they say, come easy when you are young and arriving in this world.

Tears, they also say, come easy when you are old and leaving it.

But what about the times in between? After all, they are the ones that define our "being".

How exactly are you supposed to deal with the happenings that all but force you into tears?

Take it as an indication that we are old enough and it is time to leave this world?

Life, they say, is all about finding satisfaction in giving.

You give all your love to someone and thus are so satisfied you won't want anything else in life.

But what satisfaction are you supposed to derive from the suffering of that person?

And what more can you give when all you have given has not helped in saving the person from pain?

The Descendants

It is somehow strange that all the hoopla surrounding this movie about the awards Clooney has already won and is yet touted to win has instigated neither any curiosity nor the usual “urgency” of watching a new movie in me. And something that doesn’t create any expectations will almost certainly impress me if it is good enough. So in short, I loved the movie.

Devil, they say, is in the details. If that is true, then going by yin and yang, there needs to be something Godly in the details too. And this is exactly what The Descendants attempts to delineate. It is an honest portrayal of the emotions any normal human being goes through when hit with tough times. The movie doesn’t attempt to preach Godliness nor does it try to glorify immorality. And there is a kind of foreign beauty in this nonchalance.

One might get bogged down by the challenges in life. One might learn a lesson or two from the suffering therein and move on. One might even enjoy the challenges for the heck of it. Whatever be the approach, it is certain that every mind goes through a predictable set of emotions in a given circumstance. There might be actors who are very good at portraying such roles and George Clooney was the last name that might have come to my mind, till now. No wonder there is so much of online hearsay about the awards he deserves for this role. It is not the role of an insurgent gay rebel. Nor is it the role of the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years. And heck no, it is not the role of an intimidating psychopathic rival to an equally intimidating superhero. And to come up with such a fine, containing and empathetic performance whilst playing the role of “just any other” normal person obviously deserves all sorts of praise there can be.

I would not like to talk much about the plot/story because frankly, there is none. The movie is just a series of unfortunate events that throw the life of a moderately moral guy (who, by the way is the descendant of a very rich family of royals) out of the ruts he has built for himself and makes him face some responsibilities he has ignored thus far in his life. It is not the sympathy you feel for the guy which makes you slowly but surely like the unfolding, but rather the familiar but uncomfortable tingle caused by what he goes through and does in those situations, which, by the way is occasionally faintly humorous. Talk about the irony in life!

This movie will be perceived differently by different people, depending on the gamut of emotions and sufferings they might have experienced. But I would risk a guess that it will become and stay popular. I have been craving for a good movie for the last few months, a state greatly aggravated by the deluge of incongruous (oh, calling them substandard would be giving them great praise) Telugu movies in the recent past. Maybe that’s why I really liked The Descendants so much. But then, maybe not! Anyway, don’t let me judge the movie for you!

Event: Flower show @ Lalbagh

Relationships or business??

Most people confuse emotional relationships with professional relationships and as a result contribute to the agony of all those involved. "Give only what you want to get back" works only in business. 

If there is a person who does you favors only expecting similar favors back from you, better keep the relationship with that person strictly formal - irrespective of the person being a blood-relative to you or not.

There usually is a code of conduct for every human life.* And how people respect their relationships is mostly based on this code. The lack of common sense in this code turns into the lack of least concern to others' existence and their equality in their relationship.

So, if you are expected by people around you to impress them by behaving like they want you to, you need to realize that their behavior too is governed by expectations - their own expectations of you and others' expectations of them. This is not a healthy barter system in case of emotional relations because such relations are above these lowly parameters. They are dictated not by expectations but by comprehension - a mutual comprehension of thoughts shared and not shared, of deeds done and not done, of words meant and not meant.

My experience of relationships so far has largely been restricted with only one very strong emotional bond with a family person who was not chosen by me. The rest of the relations that give me strength in life are all chosen by myself. In fact, the relations in which people not chosen by myself expect me to think of them the same way as they do of me have only caused me lot of trouble and mental pain.

*Every such code is governed by a certain set of moral values and principles. These rules are formulated by the kind of upbringing and the education you are made to receive (academic) and the education you choose to receive (literary and multimedia). This Code largely dictates what you perceive of your fellow human beings and hence what your fellow human beings perceive of you. (Some make conscious attempt to write the code for their lives and some unknowingly let external influences like movies and sensational news write the code for their lives.)

A welcome new year break to Wayanad

A few glimpses of God's own country:

An Insight Inside

     What makes a person?

     Is it the people who love you and the people whom you love?

     Is it your achievements in life or the hardships you have gone through to achieve them

     or is it what you have become in the process of achieving them?

     It might be a mixture of all of these...

     Whatever you have gone through to achieve your goal not only gives you a dollop of ego

     but also boosts your self-respect. And I don't think that's bad. Being proud of what you have

     accomplished is a very healthy ingredient of "living" life. 

     But expecting people to acknowledge your pride is obviously very foolish.