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Kailash Manasarovar yatra: An ablution steeped in mysticism

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The mighty Himalayas Geologists believe that about 225 million years ago, India was a large island situated off the Australian coast. The Tethys Sea separated India from the Asian continent. Then, around 200 million years ago,  the Pangaea broke apart  and India began its epic forge northward.  80 million years ago, India was located roughly 6,400 km south of the Asian continent and was still moving northward at a rate of about 9 m a century. When India rammed into Asia about 40 to 50 million years ago, its northward advance slowed down by about half. The collision and associated decrease in the rate of plate movement have been interpreted to mark the beginning of the rapid skyward uplift of the mighty Himalayas. This immense mountain range, formed by tectonic forces and sculpted by an unceasing denudation processes of weathering and erosion, is virtually the water tower of Asia. It supplies freshwater to more than one-fifth of the world population, and accounts ...
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Soundhound

Soundhound is an app on iTunes app store. I was blown away by it's ability to search songs while you hum a tune into the microphone. It's ability to quickly lookup songs and lyrics by sampling your iPod is pretty accurate too. You can expect this genre of apps, Siri included, to change the music search space forever.
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Location: DSR SpringBeauty Apartment 124/1, Aecs Layout, Brookefield, Bangalore
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Conditions Apply...

On my work-day walks to office, I have started to listen in to the local FM channel RadioIndigo 91.9. They play contemporary pop tunes - not many are to my liking - but it's better than the rest of the stations. One morning I listed to an ad promoting a website and towards the end of the ad there was a real quick - I mean - really really fast "Conditions apply" message. The phrase was cued up to compress its duration as if trying a new mode of deception on the earnest listner. I found it interesting. Very. I remember how the print ads carried an "*" against a price tag which was carrying a discount and at the bottom it read "Conditions apply" is the lowest available font size. Again, deception at play ha ha ! The mother of deception is used by Mutual funds ads. Their  "Mutual Funds are Subject to Market Risk. Please Read the Offer Documents Carefully Before Investing"   should hold the Guniess record for the fastest sentence on TV - ...
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We all wonder who owns that car brand don't we? well, here is a nic graphic I found on the internet:
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Hills do have eyes, especially, if 'you' are on one

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Today I toured Srirangapattana near Mysore with my family. The first stop we made was on a little hill called Karighatta. I got a splendid view from the hill and was awestruck by the lush greenery surrounding the area. When you are on a hill, you are it's eyes. Apart from a stunning specimen of a Anthia sexguttata (Six spotted tiger Beetle), My little son told me that the grass in the area was very unique. Rightfully so, I could not miss noticing a whole lot of Eragrostis cynosuroides - commonly called "Darbe Hullu" in Kannada, growing around the place. My googleing on this found an entire legend on the grass on this hill, tracing it back to Varaha Avatar from Dashavatara!  Point is, India is a land of legends. Many of them are woven around local flora and fauna, as after all, there has to be some treatise to the creator of all this spendor right?  I do not complain. I am devouring this divinity with my eyes and I can't get enough of it.
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Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad is no more

C K Prahalad, a leader amongst modern thinkers is no more. It was shocking to me when I first saw a ticker tape news message below my 9:00 o'clock news today Morning. Having spent almost 7 years in Coimbatore myself, I remember missing a lecture by him at the Lakshmi Mills premises when I was in SI Viscose. Karthikeyan, my dear friend, had filled me in with CK's greatness and yet, somehow, I had missed the talk. in 2009, I picked up my first CK Prahalad book, The New Age of Innovation. I was instantly hooked onto his R=G and N=1 concepts. Greatness in such simple terms was almost startling. I for one, will surely miss CK. May his soul rest in peace. 
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Music: Ab Mujhe Koi, track from Ishqiya

What happens if you take a serving of Soul, blend in a heady dose of Hindustani classical raaga and sprinkle in a dash of Jazz? That, in my opinion is vsop music.  Rekha Bharadwaj has rendered a soulful classic and it is called "Ab Mujhe Koi", one of the tracks from the movie Ishqiya, Lyricist Gulzar, a genius of words has offered a real treat. There is a fantastic guitar solo that gives the song a very Jazzy tempo but blends into the background like a well behaved child when the Hindustaani Raag kicks in. A snare drum in the ensamble is the only pep in the offering and it is very arty. Overall, 'Ab Mujhe Koi' will be remembered for its subtle character. Hmm...like Pinot Noir maybe? That reminds me of what Miles says to Maya in the film Sideways when asked why he was so into Pinot Noir. Here's an abstract: "Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens...
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