Reading List for Dec-12

My running is back on track. I bumped into another interesting book, Running With the Mind of Meditation and since I'm a runner who is occassionally into meditation I bought this one. Its back books that help me at office. Little longer list than usual due to holidays ahead.

Running With the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind
As a Tibetan lama and leader of Shambhala (an international community of 165 meditation centers), Sakyong Mipham has found physical activity to be essential for spiritual well-being. He's been trained in horsemanship and martial arts but has a special love for running. Here he incorporates his spiritual practice with running, presenting basic meditation instruction and fundamental principles he has developed. Even though both activities can be complicated, the lessons here are simple and designed to show how the melding of internal practice with physical movement can be used by anyone - regardless of age, spiritual background, or ability - to benefit body and soul.

Do More Great Work: Stop the Busy Work. Start the Work That Matters
You work hard. You put in the hours. Yet you feel like you are constantly treading water with "Good Work" that keeps you going but never quite moves you ahead. Or worse, you are mired in "Bad Work"—endless meetings and energy-draining bureaucratic traps.

Do More Great Work gets to the heart of the problem: Even the best performers are spending less than a fraction of their time doing "Great Work"—the kind of innovative work that pushes us forward, stretches our creativity, and truly satisfies us. Michael Bungay Stanier, Canadian Coach of the Year in 2006, is a business consultant who’s found a way to move us away from bad work (and even good work), and toward more time spent doing great work.

When you’re up to your eyeballs answering e-mail, returning phone calls, attending meetings and scrambling to get that project done, you can turn to this inspirational, motivating, and at times playful book for invaluable guidance. In fifteen exercises, Do More Great Work shows how you can finally do more of the work that engages and challenges you, that has a real impact, that plays to your strengths—and that matters.

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
Best-selling author and popular speaker Garr Reynolds shows readers that there is a better way to reach the audience through simplicity and storytelling, and gives the tools to confidently design and deliver successful presentations. Whether the reader is in research, technology, business, or education–this book will show them how to take what could look like a really dry presenation and reinvigorate the material in totally fresh (and sometimes interactive!) ways that will make it memorable and resonate with the audience.

Garr combines solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity to help readers along the path to simpler, more effective presentations that will be appreciated, remembered, and best of all, acted upon.

The Naked Presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations with or without slides
When we learn to present naked, we reach our audiences by communicating the essence of the message, stripping away all that is unnecessary and embracing the ideas of simplicity, clarity, honesty, integrity, and passion. If "slideware" is used, the slides never steal the show or rise above serving a strong but simple supportive role. The ideas in the presentation may or may not be radical, earth shattering, or new, but there is freshness to the approach and content that makes a lasting impression.

In this invaluable resource from the author for the best-selling books Presentation Zen and Presentation Zen Design, you will discover how to get to the core of your message and deliver presentations that are as natural as they are memorable. Whether you are just in the planning stages or need advice for a talk that begins in an hour, you'll find wisdom in The Naked Presenter that you can use to connect deeply with your audience and deliver a great presentation.

Reading List for Nov-12

I'm always fascinated how we form habits, how we get rid of them, how some stick and how some wont'. Most importantly, these days I'm concerned with how do I inculcate some "good" habits for my sons. When I read about the "Power of Habit" in a different blog, I immediately bought a copy of it. As if tt was not enough of inspiration for running, I've got one more inspirational book lined up. Finally, I'm intrigued by things that went wrong with Lance Armstrong and decided to read his book.

The Power of Habit: Why we do What we do in Life and Business
In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
 An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author Haruki Murakami.While simply training for New York City Marathon would be enough for most people, Haruki Murakami's decided to write about it as well. The result is a beautiful memoir about his intertwined obsessions with running and writing, full of vivid memories and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in athletic pursuit.

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike.

Reading List for Oct-12

As I try to resurrect my running that has stopped for a while, this month's focus is on some books related to running. Plenty of inspirational books lined up.

Run Less Run Faster: Become a Faster and Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary 4-Run-a-Week Training Program

The Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (known as FIRST) is dedicated to make running more accessible and limit overtraining and burnout while producing faster race times. FIRST is one of the foremost experts in the world on the science of running. The book can be divided into 3 parts as follows:
Part 1: Foundation of the "3 plus 2" format. This means you have 3 quality runs each week and 2 cross training workouts.
Part 2: The "how to" of the above. First key run is the "track repeats", next one is the "tempo runs" and the 3rd is the "long run", all these interspersed with rest and two days of cross training which could be one among cycling, swimming and rowing.
Part 3:Many chapters on nutrition, strengthening, injury prevention, stretching etc.,
It has invaluable tables for popular race categories starting from 5K to full marathon. Its an easy guide who is on a DIY regime of training for marathons.

Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultra Marathon Greatness
For nearly two decades, Scott Jurek has been a dominant force—and darling—in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead of the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile traverse over the old Gold Rush trails of the California Sierra Nevada. He won that race seven years in a row, setting a course record along the way. Twice he won the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile “jaunt” through Death Valley. Recently he set an American record of 165.7 miles in 24 hours—6 1/2 marathons in one day. And he was one of the elite runners who traveled to Mexico to run with the Tarahumara Indians, as profiled in the bestseller Born to Run. His accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary, but that he has achieved all of this on a plant-based diet makes his story all the more so.

In Eat and Run, Scott Jurek opens up about his life and career—as an elite athlete and a vegan—and inspires runners at every level. From his Midwestern childhood hunting, fishing, and cooking for his meat-and-potatoes family, to his early beginnings in running (he hated it), to his slow transition to ultrarunning and veganism, to his world-spanning, record-breaking races, Scott’s story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart all the stereotypes of what athletes should eat to fuel optimal performance. Chock-full of incredible, on-the-brink stories of endurance and competition, fascinating science, and accessible practical advice—including his own favorite plant-based recipes—Eat and Run will motivate everyone to “go the distance,” whether that means getting out for that first run, expanding your food horizons, or simply exploring the limits of your own potential.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.


Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.

Itinerant: Bike Ride 2 (western ghats)

I had done a solo ride in Jun in my bullet and this time since I had three more people with me, I got little adventurous and planned a route that covers all the major ghats as follows:
Bangalore-Bisle Ghat-Kukke-Dharmasthala-Charmadi Ghats-Kudremukha-Sringeri-Agume Ghats-Kollur-Hulikal Ghats-BaleHonnuru-KemmannuGundi-Bangalore.

Doing the above will perhaps would leave us only a few more ghats to try in Karnataka and it all appeared fine when we started on a bundh day afternoon and cruised peacefully to Hassan for the night stay.

Day 2 started from Hassan and after breakfast at picturesque Ossor Restaurant 5kms before Sakaleshapura, we veered off the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway near Donigala/Manjirabad fort towards Bisle. We were in a great place, lush greenery insterspersed with paddy fields but with bad roads. We took a break when we were about to enter Bisle forest. We realized that one of the tires of a bullet had gone flat. All the four of us were relatively new to biking, atleast Bullets and the inexperience cost us 3.5hrs to repair the same. Then came the treachorous Bisle Ghats where there are no roads of any sort. But it was a great ride in the middle of thick jungle, numerous water falls and without any sight of civilization. Reached Kukke 5hrs behind schedule had a good darshan, rushed to Dharmasthala and retired for the day.

Day 3 started with a refreshing drive through beautiful Charmadi ghats and great "neer dose" at a small, non descript shop at Kottigehara. Suddenly we decided to visit Horanadu temple too. After a mix of good and bad roads, reached Horanadu exactly at lunch time and then proceeded to Sringeri via beautiful Kudremukha forests. There was only one problem though. We had reached Sringeri around 5PM and it was too early to retire, the next stop according to the original plan was to go towards Agumbe, but we were not sure about acommodation there, so we decided to go to Tirthahalli and reached it around 8:30PM. Now Tirthahalli is decently big place, but has hardly has any basic stay options. So we decided to drive further down to Shimoga at 9PM.

This night drive from Tirthahalli to Shimoga turned out to be the high light of the whole ride. The roads are butter smooth and passes thru jungles and the famous Mandagadde bird sanctuary. Four of us were never more disciplined as we followed one another and each one of us taking the turn at the front. It was a wonderful journey as if we were on a mission of sorts.

Day 4 we decided to visit Kemmannugundi. Its another great place. Thought the roads are not well maintained, it was still worth going over there. After spending some time checking out the grand grass lands around this place, we headed back to Bangalore. Close to 1200kms in 3.5 days.

Some photos here.

Running Kaveri Trail Marathon 2012

Running Kaveri Trail Marathon 2012

"Run, don't stop, just 50mtrs, you can do it" - scores of people were cheering and I could finally see the finish line, after running nearly for one hour and twenty six minutes. Momentum took me forward, I crossed the finish line, got garlanded with the finisher's medal, sipped liberal doses of electral and finally the fact that I've completed Kaveri Trail Marathon 10K, sunk in.


I've run 10K several times in the last 9-10 months and with better timings. This one was special as for the first time I participated in a race of any kind. I missed running Auroville 10K as my son fell sick few hours before we were to leave, then I missed Contour's Women's day 10K as I chose to go to a farm house with a friend. Never thought running in the noisy TCS 10K as I didn't find much fun running around Bangalore CBD.

I thought I missed KTM too. I was getting severe pain in my limbs and the doc said "you have what we call shin splint syndrome with chronic compartments" and warned that I'll have to stop running if I've to eliminate the pain completely. And when I protested, said that I need to "manage" my runs, do a lot of cross training, do strengthening exercises and what not. I said yes to everything and he did approve my participation.

And I was on my way to Mysore on my Bullet (Classic Chrome 500). Though I need to be careful with food on the previous night of the run, I happily had two Masala Dosas in GTR Vidyranyapuram Mysore - which I reckon makes the world's best Masala Dosa. Got up at 5:30AM on the race day and went to Young Island resort in Srirangapatna from where the race was being organized.

Soon, we were taken to the starting point at Ranganathittu. There were about 900+ runners, music, DJs and all made for a great festive environment.

KTM has a great trail. Canal on one side and lush green paddy and sugarcane fields on the other. Running here gives an experience that is very different from running inside the cities.

The race was kicked-off. The width of the trail is just a couple of meters and we all rushed in with excitement. I had a simple strategy. Or I thought so. I was to run the first 5kms at 7min/km and the next 5kms at 8min/km. Was hoping a 1:15 in the best case (my personal best being 1:18).

Only after about 3 kms, runners spread out depending on their pace. I thought I was doing fine after covering 3kms in about 22mins, though a minute later compared to my routine runs around JP Nagar mini forest.

However, my breathing starts becoming heavier and I'd now start walking to catch breath. Lack of training starts showing up now. Big time. My goal at the beginning of the year was to run about 100kms a month. For the first few months I managed it, but too many travels and some non-running injuries means that I've run only about 50kms in the months of Jul and Aug put together. After walking for one or two minutes, I start running again but now unable to run even for 4-5 minutes at a stretch though I reduce the pace.

I now started stopping at every aid station that came my way. Drinking too much liquid is also a problem as I had figured out. Restricted myself to electral with some additional sugar and water.




One hour passed and I had not completed even 7kms (will normally do 7.5kms in one hour). It became hot and I became more determined and picked up some pace. I crossed 7km mark at 1:03 and 8th at 1:11. I have been training with Runner's High and the chief coach Santhosh was right there cheering every runner. He told me that the tough part is over and asked me to simply run. There were more folks cheering along the way and I ran the last 2kms non-stop to make the finish line at 1:27:10 (in my watch, still awaiting the official timing and certificate).


Later in the evening, I did some analysis:
- I've run 1st 3kms in 22mins
- Last 3kms in 24mins and
- the mid 4kms in whopping 41mins and this was the killer.

Many people ask me why I run? (as opposed to say yoga, cycling or swimming). I'm not sure about the specific reasons. But running gives me a great solitude and it allows me to be close to the nature. Its always a battle in the mind and I've learn some significant life lessons by running. But like several other decisions I've made in my life, I do not have a specific answer. I just enjoy it.

Frankly I've started getting bored with 10K. I had set a target of being in a position to run 21K by Dec'2012. It looks tough as of now. The immediate target is to run faster and come closer to 1hour mark for 10K before starting to focus on 21K. But I do plan to run 21K in KTM 2013.

I sincerely thank my coaches in Runner's High for their help, support and above all a passion to run that easily rubs on. I've been bugging a few close friends about my running and they are offering invaluable help, support and encouragement - a big thanks to them too.

All photos courtesy Runners For Life - organizers of KTM. More KTM pics here.

Reading List for Sep-12

Helping: How to Offer, Give and Receive Help
Helping is a fundamental human activity, but it can also be a frustrating one. All too often our sincere offers of help are resented, resisted, or refused—and we often react the same way when people try to help us. In this seminal book on the topic—named one of the top five leadership books of 2009 by strategy+business magazine—Edgar Schein analyzes the social and psychological dynamics common to all types of helping relationships, explains why help is often not helpful, and shows what any would-be helpers must do to ensure that their assistance is both welcomed and genuinely useful. Using examples from many types of relationships—doctors and patients, consultants and clients, husbands and wives—Schein offers specific techniques and illuminating examples that help us determine what type of help to offer and how best to offer it in any situation. These techniques not only apply to all kinds of one-on-one helping in personal and professional relationships, teaching, social work, and medicine but also can be usefully applied to teamwork and to organizational leadership.


Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High 
The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to:

• Prepare for high-stakes situations
• Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive

Crucial Confrontations
Re-read. Behind the problems that routinely plague organizations and families, you'll find individuals who are either unwilling or unable to deal with failed promises. Others have broken rules, missed deadlines, failed to live up to commitments, or just plain behaved badly--and nobody steps up to the issue. Or they do, but do a lousy job and create a whole new set of problems. Accountability suffers and new problems spring up. New research demonstrates that these disappointments aren't just irritating, they're costly--sapping organizational performance by twenty to fifty percent and accounting for up to ninety percent of divorces. Discover skills to resolve touchy, controversial, and complex issues at work and at home.

Reading List for Aug-12

Onward: How Starbucks fought for Its Life Without losing Its Soul
In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decision to return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became chairman. Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul. In Onward, he shares the remarkable story of his return and the company's ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity.

Offering readers a snapshot of a moment in history that left no company unscathed, the book zooms in to show, in riveting detail, how one company struggled and recreated itself in the midst of it all. The fastpaced narrative is driven by day-to-day tension as conflicts arise and lets readers into Schultz's psyche as he comes to terms with his limitations and evolving leadership style. Onward is a compelling, candid narrative documenting the maturing of a brand as well as a businessman.


The Achievement Code: The Three-C Formula for getting What You Truly Want
Michael Angier’s latest book offers a simple, but proven, formula for getting what you truly want. With the Three C's, Angier has distilled down from both ancient and modern teachers the true alchemy of success and achievement.
Whether they realized it or not, every single person who has ever achieved great things has employed the Three-C Formula. But not until Angier identified the Three Cs did the formula reveal itself. The Achievement Code outlines in simple, straightforward steps how to practice Clarity, Concentration and Consistency and actually get what you really want. Best-selling author, Bob Burg, writes in the Foreword, “It contains the basic principles of success upon which Michael has built his own ultra-successful life and business and upon which anyone else can do the same. In these teachings, he lays the foundation from which anyone can decide on a certain goal and by t

Reading List for Jul-12

Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance
Properly understood and harnessed, fear and uncertainty can become fuel for creative genius rather than sources of pain, anxiety, and suffering. In business, art, and life, creating on a world-class level demands bold action and leaps of faith in the face of great uncertainty. Fields draws on leading-edge technology, cognitive-science and ancient awareness-focusing techniques in a fresh, practical, non-dogmatic way. His approach enables creativity and productivity on an entirely different level and can turn the once-tortuous journey into a more enjoyable quest.


Influencer: The Power to Change Anything

From the bestselling authors who taught the world how to have Crucial Conversations comes Influencer, a thought-provoking book that combines the remarkable insights of behavioral scientists and business leaders with the astonishing stories of high-powered influencers from all walks of life. You'll be taught each and every step of the influence process-including robust strategies for making change inevitable in your personal life, your business, and your world.

Reading List for June-12

Travel to Austin and lots of time as I'd be alone in Austin means, I can catch up with some interesting books. This is what I plan to read this month:

Bring me the Rhinoceros: And other Koans that will save your life
Recommended by a blogger that I follow, this sounds like an interesting book, though little tough to understand the true meaning and gain insight. Bring Me the Rhinoceros is an unusual guide to happiness and a can opener for your thinking. For fifteen hundred years, Zen koans have been passed down through generations of masters, usually in private encounters between teacher and student. This book deftly retells more than a dozen traditional koans, which are partly paradoxical questions dangerous to your beliefs and partly treasure boxes of ancient wisdom. Koans show that you don’t have to impress people or change into an improved, more polished version of yourself. Instead you can find happiness by unbuilding, unmaking, throwing overboard, and generally subverting unhappiness. John Tarrant brings the heart of the koan tradition out into the open, reminding us that the old wisdom remains as vital as ever, a deep resource available to anyone in any place or time.

Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Brilliance


Caught this one too while reading a blog, the title appeared very interesting. Properly understood and harnessed, fear and uncertainty can become fuel for creative genius rather than sources of pain, anxiety, and suffering. In business, art, and life, creating on a world-class level demands bold action and leaps of faith in the face of great uncertainty. But that uncertainty can lead to fear, anxiety, paralysis, and destruction. It can gut creativity and stifle innovation. It can keep you from taking the risks necessary to do great work and craft a deeply-rewarding life. And it can bring companies that rely on innovation grinding to a halt.

Influencer: The power to change anything
From the bestselling authors who taught the world how to have Crucial Conversations comes Influencer, a thought-provoking book that combines the remarkable insights of behavioral scientists and business leaders with the astonishing stories of high-powered influencers from all walks of life. You'll be taught each and every step of the influence process-including robust strategies for making change inevitable in your personal life, your business, and your world. You'll learn how to:

• Identify a handful of high-leverage behaviors that lead to rapid and profound change.
• Apply strategies for changing both thoughts and actions.
• Marshall six sources of influence to make change inevitable.

Itinerant: Solo bike trip

Got my Royal Enfield Classic Chrome 500cc bullet in May. After the run-in was over, planned a 900km solo trip to western ghats, as per the following plan:
Jun 1st: Bangalore - Mysore (stay at my village near Mysore) (about 150 kms)
Jun 2nd: Mysore-Madikeri-Talacauvery-Panathur-Sulya-Ujire (about 420 kms)
Jun 3rd: Ujire-Charmadi-Hassan-Magadi-Bangalore (about 330 kms)

Let the pictures tell the story:

In front of my ancestral home in the village

Near Bhagamandala, just before the ascent to Talacauvery, my first experience of hair pin bends and real "ghats". Thought the monsoon had not started it was cloudy and there were few short spells of drizzle along the way.

Panathur Forest. There is one less traveled and lesser known road from Bhagamandala to Panathur in Kerala, which is the shortest route from Talacauvery Kanhanghad and Kasargod. This road is narrow, twisty, descends fast and goes through a thick jungle. I took about an hour to cover 30kms and encountered about 3-4 jeeps in this period. Elephant dung was visible on the road. Didn't dare to stop and get down anywhere, until I passed the forest.

Charmadi was as majestic as ever. Got up early and was on the road just to see the mist covered ghats of Charmadi and I was not disappointed.

It was a great experience, especially given that I started riding bikes only in Feb 2012 and prior to the trip had a riding experience of only about 800kms or so.The "Bull" is great, especially once you cross 60kmph - its as comfortable as driving a car.

Next one is planned in Sep/Oct exclusively in the district of Shimoga.

Reading List for May-12

Infinite Possibilities: The art of living your dreams
Lately, I've become a fan of Mike Dooley, following his "Notes from the Universe" series. Mike Dooley knows that we create our own reality, our own fate, and our own luck. We’re beings filled with infinite possibility—just ready to explore how powerful we truly are. Manifesting the magnificence of our dreams isn’t about hard work, but rather about belief and expectation. These principles transcend belief, realizing the truth about our human nature.




Manifesting Change: It could not have been easier
Manifesting Change breaks down the metaphysical mechanics behind every physical manifestation through exercises, stories, and analogies that illustrate just how the Matrix will show the flow of events that will, or will not, trigger changes in your life based upon your thoughts, words, and actions. It will help you understand what you really want, why you really want it, and how to go about getting it with supreme confidence. Set life’s magic in motion and accelerate the arrival of all that your heart desires with this complete master’s guide to creating the life of your dreams.

Update: My goals just got bigger after reading this book. Great read.

Enjoying Small Pleasures

Nice bike ride to my village, rains, books, small pleasures, renewed vigor, contemplation, bigger goals - great 4 days from 29-Apr to 1-May.

I've spent the months of April and May, for the first 18years of my life in my village, a tiny hamlet about 25kms east of Mysore. The sight and sound of Apr/May pre-monsoon showers (gusty winds, lightning and thunderbolts, quick and piercing rains) and ofcourse mangoes always makes me nostalgic and transports me to the village. I normally spend atleast 2-3 days in Apr in the village doing nothing and indulging in some small pleasures.

Small pleasures are fabulous. Always. It includes eating different varities of raw mangoes, Amatekaayi, Nellikaayi, Belada hannu (sorry do not know what they are called in English), all with uppu-khara (salt and chilli-powder). And more importantly plucking them directly from the trees by climbing them or by throwing stones. While I was young, there was an added excitement of "stealing" these stuff from the nearby farms, but now farmers are happy to let me take as much as I can. Other stuff in this season are Sugar Cane, Groundnut, Alasande etc., - all taken and consumed in the farm itself. This time was no different. Feasted on all these. There was a fury of rains and the weather so nice that at times I felt it was monsoon time. Added bonus was the lush green paddy fields where I can sit doing nothing for hours, a quaint Kapila river, the local canal full of water and ofcourse some books. I'd let pictures talk.

The bike ride began an hour late at 3PM under overcast skies. I hate the busy Bangalore-Mysore highway and therefore took the serene NH209 and planned to reach the village via Kanakapura, Malavalli and T.Narasipura.

Around 5:45 and just after Malavalli we (my cousin was with me) hit torrential rains. It is not advisable to stand underneath a tree in such conditions and by the time we got a bus-stand we were almost completely drenched. The fury came down a bit but it was still persistent. I was worried about covering a desolate stretch of about 7-8kms where there hardly is any road. And we decided to start so that we can cover maximum distance when there is still some sunlight. We had to cover only about 30kms or so, but in those rains it took us about an hour and it was a great ride - lighting dancing right above you, thunderbolts going off right next to you with deafening sounds, no humans anywhere to talk to and it was fun or even I'd call it a Zen like solitude (no pics unfortunately as the mobile/cameras were tucked inside the so-called water-proof backpacks).

Next four days were pure bliss. This easy-chair is great to park oneself on (haven't been able to find one more of similar kind) to relax, just listening to chirping of birds, the sound of the wind, observing the busy squirrels and cool buffaloes and cows, seeing sun play hide and seek - almost everything is just perfect (only thing you don't want to hear is the "hissssss" for there are all kinds of snakes including the dreaded black cobra).


The country side is fabulous too. Best part is the lush green paddy field.

Did some running too in this beautiful stretch of about 2kms with paddy fields on either sides.

This is river Kapila. It was much more beautiful before the sand mafia set their eyes.












Magical four days just passed as if it was only a few hours, and almost everything was pleasurable. Small pleasures are great. When was the last time you indulged in small pleasures?