Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Running for health

Keeping oneself fit is the order of the day and I noticed this while on my cycling round close to my residence. 


There was a run and walk event organised by a community who calls themselves Movember Run.

I just kept following them and it was good to see that the participants were from all age groups  



There was a lady with a child in her arm. I asked her "did you run with the child?" to which she replied "Yes, I actually wanted to do the 3 km stretch but ended up doing 5 km just to keep the child entertained" 



Noticed a couple of guys who were running barefoot 


Close to the finish line I saw these overhead tanks tastefully painted. 


After the event there were cooling down sessions with a yoga instructor showing the right way to do it. 



And as usual there were photo sessions and selfie sessions 




and some were concentrating on taking the picture of the prestigious medal 


I noticed some photo booths too at the finish venue and some of the participants made it colourful. 





I was later told that the Bollywood actor Manjot Singh did the flag off and gave away the prizes, but I was not around at that time.
Made a short video on what I could capture in the morning.





Thursday, November 1, 2018

Madikeri in Coorg

I was reminded of Asterix and Obelix when I read this on the menu card "To fight like warriors, you must first eat like warriors"



Had been to Madikeri (Coorg) last week to attend a wedding. 
We stayed at a place by the name "Udaya Home Stay"  The sight of the hammock right at the entrance makes you feel relaxed. 



The warmth and the hospitality of the hosts was genuine. 



Breakfast was complimentary and we had akki roti with scrambled egg and chutney on the first day. 


The next day it was Paputtu with egg curry 


I liked the fire place in the common room and they still use wood (as compared to the modern electric heater) 


The sheaf of grain is supposed to bring prosperity to the house 


The stay in Udaya was just relaxing and we wished we could have stayed for a few more days. 
One of the eating places that we liked was the Coorg Cuisine (which is opposite the post office) The pandhi curry is one of the popular dishes there and so is the bamboo shoot curry. 



The above mentioned menu card was from the same place. 
One of the pages from the menu card - Coorg cuisine is known for its meat dishes, the best known would definitely be the 'pandhi curry' or pork curry. The key ingredient, known locally as kachampuli gives the dish a unique sour taste, besides the dark and delicious look. kachampuli's Latin name is Garcinia Gamagachi. 
It grows in Coorg's rain forest and all along the western ghat mountains surrounding Coorg. Garcinia reduces fat, cools the body, purifies the blood and fights cholesterol. It is used in many Indian Aurvedic preparations. 


The Kodavas of Coorg is one of the few tribes in India who are allowed to posses a gun without a licence.

Visited a Honey bottling plant which was walking distance from Udaya Homestay. I found the area clean and well maintained and the product tasted really good. It was much cheaper than the bottled honey you get in the commercial market. 



They were good enough to open one of the containers and show us where we could see the honey in the crystalline form 



At the town square I found two statues and one of them had these wordings "Lest we forget" 



The usual tourist crowd was not to be seen. Probably due to the hyped news by the media about the recent landslide. I found these two boys carrying home firewood. 


Driving down to Madikeri is the best option, but those who don't want to drive, KSRTC Fly buses ply from Bangalore airport to Madikeri. The drive is very very comfortable and the roads are good.


On the way back we went by the Airavat bus (again KSRTC) Talking of KSRTC, I found that they are the most efficient and well organised road transport company in India. Very polite and customer friendly.