Exciting Menus

Recently we had gone shopping in Mulund and then visited a very old and famous Kirti Mahal hotel for a cup of coffee . On seeing the menu card I could not resist the temptation to click . Here it is------

Being a Comp Techie !!!

Last week , about 10 days ago I switched on the comp and was aghast at reading on the screen that there was a problem in the booting of the comp . Windows failed to load . In desperation I sent an sms to Rahul . Pat came his reply 'Damn , will call sometime later ' . I realised that it must be a major problem .

We had Windows Vista installed . As per his instructions we got hold of a Windows XP cd and was thrilled to be a computer Wizard for sometime as I was ' Operating on the brains of the Computer following instructions from Rahul . First delete the C drive and then install from the new cd . The computer started but we did not get the sound as well as the internet working . Again a call to Rahul . He then explained to me that the drivers were for Windows Vista and we had installed XP . As we all were comfortable with XP we did not want to go back to Vista , Rahul promised to trouble shoot in a few days . As our computer is IBM --branded we did not have separate driver cds for individual hardware .

On the phone he asked us to see on the CPU the model number ----- how did he know it existed and where exactly to locate it ---- I was thrilled at the way things were happening -- like the movie where the Airhostess is guided to land the plane from instructions from the control tower .

He then mailed us the links to drivers from the IBM website with detailed instructions on how to install the drivers . I went to the neighbours house , opened my gmail , downloaded to the desktop his mail and individual .exe files for the sound , video and ethernet . Then copied them on the pendrive and back to my comp . The sound and Video drivers were easy to install --- oh what a great feeling to hear the familiar startup music of windows booting -- as if the computer has recovered from a coma and was singing .

Installing the driver for the ethernet was a different experience . As per his instructions I went succesfully till the drop window showing PRO100 .I tried various ways to get through but failed . Again an sms to Rahul ' Can I call you ? ' ' 2 mins I will come out and call ' he replied . He told me to open the PRO100 box and to read the various items . I could not make head or tail of it . How could he imagine the comp in front of his eyes while walking in the veranda or the garden out there from wherever he was calling . Suddenly he stopped at a point and asked me to read out again and said try that out --- it was the last item in the list -- I forget the name now -- presto the net started --- oh that was a great experience . I also had to download Nero and as I could not open a pdf file I had to download acrobat reader .

When I narrated this to my dad he was happy and said that in each profession one can guide remotely . He told me how I ask the patients to read out reports and by asking a few questions can come to some sort of a conclusion to the diagnosis and treatment . Yes I did agree to that , as when the patient is about to read a report I can imagine the format in front of my eyes and ask him to go to a particular item on the report instead of him going all over it .

A good change from diagnosing and treating a Patient to being a Comp Techie to revive a sick Computer .

Hyderabad trip

This post should have been before the Ganapati festival .



We had planned to go to Hyderabad sometime , to stay with Rahul . I noticed that 15th August , a public holiday came on a Friday so we all had a long weekend .We left by the Devgiri Express --an overnight journey through Nasik , Aurangabad , Nanded ,entering Andhra Pradesh at about 11 am next day---on the way I noticed the landscape was full of rocks piled up in a unique way ---was it a specialty of Andhra Pradesh ?

Rahul and Jean had come to pick us up .After resting in Rahul's apartment we went to Jean's house for dinner. Next day we had planned a trip to the Salar Jung Museum ,Chaar Minar and then to see the Hussein Sagar lake.

On the way to the museum we went through the sprawling campus of Osmania University .I was pleasantly thrilled when told that each faculty had its own beautiful structure and a lot of surrounding green campus .The roads were wide and clean---conducive atmosphere for studying , thoughts did go back to Mumbai and the few privileged colleges and institutions that have clean green campuses.

Salar Jung Museum is really well done up after the renovations as told to me . We had a lovely time enjoying the collections and especially the marble sculptures of Rebecca. It is a pity that for security reasons we are not allowed cameras inside. The veiled statue of Rebecca is something out of the world , simply unbelievable . How can one possibly carve out a marble stone and give a transparent effect of a veil on a lady , even the facial features were excellent ---no words can describe it , one has to see it.

Next was the visit to Chaar Minar--- oh what congestion on the roads----did not miss Mumbai here -- typical of Girgaum , Kalbadevi and Bhendi Bazaar area.

I had read and heard a lot about this structure and was happy to be on top of it than at the congested ground level.

We could see most of the tall structures of Hyderabad City like some Government buildings , a famous Hospital , a Software company offices--can't recollect the names--- and in the distant the Golconda Fort. From the top was also visible the famous Mecca Masjid , which we visited next and where an explosion had taken place a few years ago.

Next halt was for a sumptuous Hyderabadi Biryani and then onto the pride of the city --- the man made ' The Hussein Sagar Lake ' . This area is wonderfully done up .

It was conceptualized during the time of the popular chief minister Mr.NT Rama Rao and was completed in the time of the next popular CM Mr.Chandrababu Naidu. This lake has a garden ,children play area and eatery stalls to the north, the small boat ride jetty was closed for maintenance.

To the south is the Lumbini Park area---

--another site of the bomb blast a few years ago--- where apart from the gardens there is a jetty for big launch rides . Well it was time to go back home after a tiring but enjoyable day .We also had to leave back for Thane the next day afternoon .We returned to Secunderabad from the southern point of the lake so that we could pass the statue of Buddha in the Lake .As we cruised along I could manage to click a beautifully lit Buddha statue in the backdrop of the lake.

Bye bye to Hyderabad --till the next visit.

Annual Ganapati Decoration

Back to writing a post after a long time .

Ganapati Festivities has just ended on Sunday . Every year I make some decoration for my Ganapati using some important event that has taken place in that year .This year was the Olympics and after seeing the photos of the main stadium The Birds Nest , I had made up my mind to use this theme .

It was a bit difficult as I had 2 photos from the India Today weeklies. One photo was in the night, beautifully lit , as seen in the picture below ,

and the other was a daylight one probably a rear view of the stadium .

I had to take measurements from the magazines and convert it to a scale to fit into my space in the drawing room unit .

In the end it did come of well but it could have been better . I had to abandon some items to the right of the stadium as seen in the night photo . I was happy to get the effect in the lake --the reflection of the structure of the stadium ---using a picture of a lake from a calender and covering it with a transparent gelatin paper .