Meenakshi Resort

Team outing from office this time to Meenakshi Resort in Jigani. As it was near to Electronic City it was an easy option for me to drive there directly. The resort was an average one with only few activities like mist dance, go-karting, rope climbing etc. But the covered cricket ground was good enough for many to start the day with cricket.

The day was very hot and sunny as you can see from the pictures & most of us were completely drained-off by evening. Good thing was that they had some decent cottages for staying over. It wasn't looking very impressive from outside but was different inside. Four of us stayed there over night and came back next day morning. Overall it was good experience especially because of the desperate need for an outing after months of hectic work.

Meenakshi Resort entrance and cottages

Dining area

 Basket Ball court & go-karting or whatever you call it is.

Mist dance

Happy Onam

Sarah's first Onam

Trying Ona Sadya (Onam special Lunch)

Flow Free

I am not a very fan of Computer or Mobile games, though I used to play NFS & Commandos in PC. Recently came across a mobile puzzle game called Flow Free. Wow its really addictive - Connect matching colors with pipe to create a flow. Pair all colors, and cover the entire board to solve each puzzle. It starts with 5X5 boards till 9X9 boards with 30 levels each. Including bonus levels there are total 300 levels. I started playing it regularly and solved all 300 levels. It was really interesting.

There is also a time trial option in which we need to finish maximum puzzles within a time frame. I have started playing that and managed to solve 7 puzzles in 30 seconds. By this time my wife was already frustrated with me spending all time holding mobile and playing this game. I asked her why you don't you give a try. She too started playing it and as expected become addictive soon. Then starts the competition between us. We were competing for solving the maximum number of puzzles within 30 seconds, where my record was 7.

This picture shows she is trying hard to break my record.

F/1.8, 1/25, ISO 400, -0.7, 35mm No Flash

PS: I have bought the Nikon 35mm 1.8G lens and this picture is taken using that.

Now guess what, she did it, solved 7 puzzles in 30 seconds and started with 8th when it timed out. Now its my turn to raise the bar to 8!!

Screen shots of the game status

50mm Prime

Came to know about a place where they are giving lens for rent in Bangalore, Book My Lens. Registered there and rented out the Nikon 50mm Prime first. Wanted to try some outdoor photography, but the rain on weekend forced me to stay indoor with my friend. So we tried some indoor photography and this one came out really good.

Another two of my favs portraits are this one and this one.

I liked the 50mm prime for its bokeh and low light capabilities, will try out the 35mm as well and planning to buy one of them.

Blackberry

Read a lot "Blackberry phones are famous for its message capabilities", I wanted to experience this and got a chance finally. Yes, its very convenient for messaging, e-mail, phone calls, good clarity sound, battery backup etc. basically everything that is required for a "phone". However I found the service plans for BIS is very expensive compared to normal Data plans so stopped using it. Its very useful for people who travel frequently.

This is a prepared shot of the phone, after many tries from different angles, lighting etc. Another photo which took a long time for me to prepare is this one.

 Blackberry Curve 9300

On the other hand following two pics are instant shots, not at all prepared. Another instant shot which I liked very much is this one. I never thought these pics would come good when I captured these. 

The magazine she(my wife) is reading is "Vanitha" which means "Woman" in Malayalam. Its a very popular malayalam magazine. "Woman reading woman" would be my caption for the photo.

Paddy's Day

Again this year for St.Patrick's day we travelled 120km to Dublin to see the parade. This time the parade was short compare to last year's. It started around 12.45 and lasts for about an hour. Almost a million people is said to be visiting Dublin city to see the parade. Here are some of photos from the crowded Dublin city on paddy's day...

    

   

Hogenakkal waterfalls

A famous waterfall in south India, 170Km away from Bangalore. Main attraction at Hogenakkal is the ride on the coracles, round small boats, over Kaveri river. They charge about 150Rs per person and they will take you everywhere near the waterfalls.

The boat weighs >100KGs and they carry it 

St. Patrick's Day

Its one of the biggest celebration in Ireland, we went to Dublin the capital to see the parade. Here are some photos....