Night at Coimbatore Bus terminal!

It is 2 AM in the morning and we(my four friends and me) are stranded at the Coimbatore bus stop trying to hop onto to a bus that will take us to Palini en route to Kodaikanal. There were buses on that route, but for some reason we couldnt fathom, they were choc-a-bloc full, yes in the wee hours of morning. We had been at the terminal for well over a couple of hours. Some of us were a little bleary eyed. I wasn't. Feeling a little hot(it was still and humid) I get up and walk to this shop in my purview. It was more of a shack. Nope, I wasnt getting pot :). This is the conversation , if you could call it one

Me: " Jara ek mineral water bottle dena. Thanda hai kya?"

Shopkeeper(old man): Gives me a bewildered stare like I have really asked for weed.

Then I point in the direction of the bottles. The old man nods and smiles and gets me a one- litre bottle

Me:"Issey bara hai kya, two litres wala".
Seeing the look on his face, I put my left palm at the top of the bottle and the right at the base, and feeling rather foolish(well more foolish than I usually feel:)) I raise my left hand to show a bigger a bottle. It works :). He flashes a big smile, and I do the same.He then shakes his head to tell me that he doesnt have a two-litre one.So I take the one litre one and take out a Boomer from the bottle in front of me. The old man then mutters something and this time its my turn to give him one of his blank stares. He then scribbles 14 on an old Tamil newspaper lying around. I see it and we smile and I pay the money and head off to my friends.

0230hrs: We are told the next bus is at 3 20AM, and we decide to barge in, no matter how crowded it was.

0320hrs: As the bus pulls in, there is frenzied running everywhere and taking the cue from others I rush towards the bus as fast as my suitcase and ruck sack would allow. There is chaos already at the sole entrance with all sorts of all people trying to get in. We somehow manage to get in, luggage and all. I grab the only seat that was left, beside the driver. As I sit there, the driver tells me it is the conductor's. I tell him I will move once he comes. The conductor does show up after a couple of minutes and I start to get up, but he asks me to sit. Damn decent of him. So there I was, in the first seat. Couldnt help remembering how as kids we used to fight over this very seat in our school bus.

0330hrs: The bus pulls out of the terminal, and even though it was dark outside, I was feeling really chuffed with the view through the windshield. Empty roads and just the drone of the engine. We reached Palini around six and got a bus from there to Kodaikanal, needless to say without the kind of fun we had that night :)

The Final at Roland Garros That Was

The second grand slam of the calendar year is the Roland Garros. It is truly unique and poses different challenges to the players. One reason could be attributed to the surface- the red clay. It is slow, meaning you just cant peel off winners straight away, you have to earn that right by working hard in the rallies, moving the opponent around the court with heavy top spin and pulling the trigger at the right moment. A case in point is Sharapova's semi final exit, at the hands of a lesser player. Well most players appear lesser to some guys when we are talking about Maria ;)

So what I am trying to say is that at some stage in the tournament, no matter what your seed is, you will have to battle through find that something extra , your fitness levels will be tested. Not that the other surfaces are not demanding, but here your movements are tested to the hilt.

Coming to the men's final, it was what the organisers must have hoped for. Number one and two going at each other, hammer and tongs. After a shaky start from both players, which is understandable given the occasion, the pace picked up and it was Federer who was making the play initially, and had several break point opportunities. But credit to Nadal, he hung in there, and played the big points well, going to Federer's backhand with his characteristic top spin meaning that Roger had to play his single handed backhand at his shoulder level, which is a very difficult thing to do. This pattern became the norm for the entire match,Nadal forehand to Federer's backhand. So after a good start, the number one seed lost his last two service games and with it the set 6-3.

With the first set in his pocket, Nadal had a firm grip on the match or so one thought. But Federer is Federer, and he changed the pattern in the second set, mixing his top spin backhand with the slice , and even serving and volleying as a surprise weapon. It paid off, and Nadal wasn't dictating the play anymore. Sometimes you wonder why he couldnt have tried the same thing in the first set, where he got into baseline wrangling match with Nadal, where there can be only one winner. Second set went to Federer. With the match well into its second hour, both players started showing the first signs of weariness. Here is where the fitness levels comes in . Now make no mistake, Roger Federer is a truly great player, a great anticipator of the ball, glides through the court, an artist at work.But grinding his opponent isnt his forte, which is a pre requisite here and his fitness levels arent the greatest. Usually he doesnt need to play long matches on other surfaces. His artistry coupled with sublime touch at the net ensures that the match is wrapped up without breaking too much of a sweat. Nadal ,on the other hand, isnt nearly as gifted as Federer but his game is built on grinding the opponent into submission with heavy top spin. Not as elegant as Roger, but mighty effective especially here. Plays a high intensity game and can run down almost any ball. A backhand winner on the run at full stretch frow way behind the baseline is testimony to the fact. His war- like demeanour on court may seem off-putting to some, but I must confess I rather like it. He plays hard, but fair.

I appear to have digressed again. Coming to the third and fourth sets, it was Nadal calling the shots. For whatever reason, fatigue or otherwise, Federer just couldnt find his rhythm. An early break in both the sets was enough for Nadal to close out the match, and close out he did, with the Federer forehand going long. It was the third consecutive championship win at the French for Rafa, emulating the legendary Borg who did it 1978-80. It was a special moment for someone so young at 21. For Federer, it was obviously disappointing. Like he said at the post match conference, he had the chances but couldnt take them. Next up, in a little over week's time, is the grass of Wimbledon, considered the mecca of all slams by some. The recent turn of events not withstanding, Federer will still be the man to beat. As the saying goes "Competitors come and go but the Champion remains."
Waiting with bated breath for the matches to begin. Till then cheers!!

PS: I have put the stats off my memory. Will be glad if you can point out any discrepancies.

The Southern Odyssey

Its been a week since I got back and with my joining Accenture still a distant month away, there is plenty of time to put my feet up and keep it that way:). Reason enough to resume blogging. Like I mentioned in the previous post, was out with friends Nadeem,Gopal,Sridhar and Sandeep on a southern tour encompassing Tamil Nadu and Kerela. Did these places

Ooty-Most of Ooty was already familiar as I had visited it on numerous occasions as a child, with Dad being posted at Wellington. But it was still nice to be there with friends. Some of the views atop the hills were really good.For those who read the previous post, yes we did go through Wellington and it felt as if the clock was turned back to the summer of 1990 . It felt surreal to be at a place where you had once grown up almost two decades ago.There was a lump in my throat after we left the place behind. Ok enough of namby pamby stuff. Next up was Kodaikanal. We did a lot of solid viewing there too , of not just the beautiful landscape[wink] . Needless to say, we werent disappointed :) But the icing on the cake was the three hour trekking. Some of the views overlooking the hills were exhilarating.Moving clouds shrouding the valley was a sight to behold. After Kodaikanal it was down south to Kerela, this place called Tekkdi on the Tamil Nadu-Kerela border. Famous for its Periyar lake and Periyar Forest Reserve, we spent half a day at the lake.The lake, meandering its way through the forest was truly magnificent, and the boating was even better. There was a gentle breeze blowing, which was so rejuvenating. Kerela is indeed rightly called God's own country. There is a languid elegance about the place which is unique to this state. Boating in the Alleppi backwaters was an experience to savour- coconut trees on either side, blue sky above and and the glassy still waters below,it was the true definition of tranquility.

Next stop was Kanyakumari-famous for its sunrise and sunset . Come the sunrise,the waters would go golden almost as if the sun were rising from beneath the ocean. We have some great shots of the sunrise. We also visited Swami Vivekanada's Rock Memorial. It is said that the Swami meditated on that rock for three consecutive days- Dec 25,26,27 in 1892 I think it was.

The last leg of our tour concluded at Trivandrum, where we spent an evening at Kovlam beach. The next day,early morning we boarded the train to take us back to Hyderabad. As they say "All good things must come to an end".

P.S: Couldnt figure out how to get the shots arranged. You will have to put up with the garbled medley.

Lady Sridhar, isnt she lovely ;)















Rose gardens