Mo Chitra

Mamli, Bablu & Chandana

2007-07-17T09:52:00.000+05:30

Chandana was a neighbor for a couple of years and a very good friend of Mamli. Her father shifted to Bangalore recently (he works for Motorola). These photos were taken a day before they left.

Meghu & Chikoo (And Mani, Of Course)

2007-07-17T09:43:00.000+05:30

Mani sent me these photos of Chikoo & Meghu recently.

Mamli & Bablu, Srisailam

2007-07-06T17:35:00.000+05:30

Roapway to Patal Ganga, Srisailam

2007-07-06T17:32:00.000+05:30

Srisailam Trip, June 2007

2007-06-18T13:58:00.000+05:30

We visited Srisailam on June 2, 2007. This time my in-laws were with us. The last time we had taken my parents (Oct 2004).

We drove from Hyderabad, leaving at about 7.20 am on Saturday morning. I drove most of the way, with Nana (my father-in-law) taking over for a stretch just before the first Ghat section before Srisailam.

Arrived at about 12.00 noon and checked into the AP Tourism's Punami hotel. The rooms were okay. Double bedded, AC and clean. Not worth the 1000/- rupees they charge but they are the best available.

We took a ride on the Patal Ganga Rope way that afternoon. The ride is short but nice. Very crowded though, with the usual Indian disregard for queues. I had to shield Mamli (my daughter) and literally push people away so that we get in. Anyway, that is nothing new. You find similar behavior where you go, be it a tourist place or the newest Mall. The only difference is the people who push you around. In the Malls they are expensively dressed but as uncouth as their poorer counterparts elsewhere.

The temple experience was the typical South Indian commercialized bullshit. Temples here are no longer places that you go to worship. There are money generating machines where the poor Gods are prostituted to the populace for money. Rather sad. I have seen the same thing in Tirumula and other South Indian temples. And even when you fork out cash, you are still cheated by the Temple authorities. They behave like a pimp that wants to get the maximum number of clients each night for his "girls".

The Shri Shri Jaganath temple in Puri, Orissa (my home state), provides a sharp contrast. You have to be a Hindu to enter. But you can enter at will and stay for as long as you want. There are no queues or Darshan Tickets! My time with my God is ours. And I don't have to pay anybody for the privilege of seeing my God and praying to him.

Bablu's 3rd Birthday Video

2007-04-09T17:48:00.000+05:30

Holy 2007

2007-04-09T16:28:00.000+05:30

Bablu's 3rd Haircut

2007-04-09T16:22:00.000+05:30

Bablu's 3rd Birthday

2007-04-09T14:22:00.000+05:30

Bablu turned 3 on March 21, 2007. Padmaja made a simple cake that day as we were planning a party a couple of weeks later.

We organized a small party for Bablu's friends and their mothers (yes!) on April 6th (Good Friday). Bablu wanted a Drum Cake (a cake shaped like a drum).

All of Bablu's friends were there. Padmaja & Mamli slogged through the day to get the cake and other party food ready. Bablu & I lazed around till it was time to decorate with the balloons and Happy Birthday banners :-)

Bablu was very excited to start with. Later though he got tired of his friends playing with his toys :-)

Well, the chap is a big boy now! Still drinks milk with a spoon though :-)

9th Marriage Anniversary - Sahib Sind Sultan, Hyderabad

2007-02-04T17:55:00.000+05:30

Feb 2, 2007. Our 9th marriage anniversary. It was a Friday and we returned from work at the usual time. I had booked us a table at Sahib Sind Sultan, the new restaurant in City Center, Banjara Hills. We first went to the Srinagar Colony Temple to pray at Shiva's shrine.

These snaps were taken in Sahib Sind Sultan.

Bablu's Haircut

2007-02-04T13:44:00.000+05:30

Bablu had a hair cut yesterday morning. This one was his third. The first time all his hair was shaved off. The second time was a regular hair cut. This time I decided to take some photos to post here.

Getting started.

Down, down...

Okay, the sides now...

How much longer ???

All done!

Mamli, Bablu & Shreya

2007-01-30T15:23:00.000+05:30

Mamli, Bablu with Sandip's daughter, Shreya. Sandip Mishra & I were school mates and neighbours. He is a HR Manager with Oracle Hyderabad.

Annual Sports Day At Mamli's School, Nov 2003

2007-01-30T14:54:00.000+05:30

November 2003. Annual Sports day at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School, Jubilee Hills. Mamli was in UKG.

Mamli, Padmaja & Gautam, Nov 2003

2007-01-30T14:01:00.000+05:30

I bought a Canon PowerShot A80, my first digital camera, during a business trip to the US in Nov 2003. These are the first photos I took when I returned home to Hyderabad. Mamli was almost 4 years old & Padmaja was pregnant with Bablu.

Mamli & Moloo

2007-01-30T13:41:00.000+05:30

Dec 2003. Padmaja was pregnant with Bablu. Mamli was really into a big sister thing. She had this stuffed monkey that she played brother-sister with. Poor Moloo (the monkey) got all her attention till the day Bablu was born (March 21, 2004). The poor chap was discarded the day Mamli's little bro came home :-)

The Four Year Old Mamli

2007-01-30T13:30:00.000+05:30

These photos were taken in late 2003, when Mamli was a little less than 4 years old.

Lunch at Palace Heights, Abids, Hyderabad

The children's play area at Vengalrao Park, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

Mamli at home

In her new dress

My Parents House in Bhubaneswar

2007-01-30T13:19:00.000+05:30

QAI International Software Testing Conference 2004, Pune

2007-01-30T12:32:00.000+05:30

I presented a paper on Performance Testing of web applications in the 2004 QAI International Software Testing Conference held in Pune, India. I was working for Applabs Technologies at the time. Applabs offers software testing services and the CEO Sashi Reddy (my boss) wanted to break into the performance testing services market. He put me in charge of this effort and I put together a team, a process, and the tooling. The QAI presentation was based on my experience with this.

I found these pictures last weekend while going through my photo archives.

That's me! You can barely make me out in the dark. I am standing behind the podium in the white T-Shirt.

Bablu's School Celebrates Annual Sports Day

2006-12-19T20:31:00.000+05:30

After the race...

All done. Returning from the student's tent...

Watching the rest of the program...

Mamli enjoyed her younger brother's first school event...

Bablu's School Celebrates Annual Sports Day

2006-12-19T20:24:00.000+05:30

Getting ready to go to school.

Bablu participates in the Vegetable & Fruits Race

The race is run...

Bablu Playing Computer Games

2006-12-07T19:47:00.000+05:30

Bablu has started playing games on the home PC. All by himself. Earlier he used to watch while Mamli played but these days he insists on playing by himself. He has mastered Feeding Frenzy & Putt Putt Saves The Zoo. Feeding Frenzy is a fast game and needs quick mouse movements. I was very surprised to see him managing the mouse neatly. And winning at the game.

Mamli & Bablu With Samar - Nov 2006

2006-11-23T21:38:00.000+05:30

Mamli & Bablu With Samar - Nov 2006

2006-11-23T21:32:00.000+05:30

Mamli & Bablu at Home

2006-11-05T20:26:00.000+05:30

These photos were taken in our old flat some time ago.

Mamli busy with her homework.

Bablu with his laptop, because Dady is using his :-)

Baba's US Visit (May - June 2006)

2006-11-05T17:51:00.000+05:30

Meghu & Chikoo

Baba, Mani & Meghu

Baba feeding Chikoo at home

Samar with Meghu

Bablu In The Mask of Zorro :-)

2006-11-05T11:18:00.000+05:30

Tuesday evening I returned from work to find Padmaja climbing the wall. She was trying to teach Mamli and help her with her homework. Bablu in the meantime was being exceptionally naughty.

I took charge of him and we went through a series of activities starting with crayoning. I had earlier downloaded and printed out some "Printable Coloring Pages". They come in handy to keep a child busy for a little while. Mamli used to love them. Bablu's attention span is of course much shorter :-)

Anyway, we went on to playing with paper. I built a couple of paper planes, a boat etc. Bablu however was very pleased with his Mask of Zorro.

Bablu Listening to ABBA

2006-10-05T22:42:00.000+05:30

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Videos

2006-08-07T16:17:00.000+05:30

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 1

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 2

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 3

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 4

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 5

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 6

Mamli & Bablu Dancing to Rang De Basanti - Part 7

Jana Gana Mana - Indian National Anthem (From YouTube.com)

2006-08-07T15:35:00.000+05:30

Bhumi.in - Build a School - Aug 15, 2006, Midnight

2006-08-03T15:28:00.000+05:30

Licked the Government!

2006-07-19T21:53:00.000+05:30

I was able to install and run TorPark and view all the blocked blog sites. TorPark does slow down things a bit but it is secure. Great product! Download, unzip and run!

I could also use the office VPN service to log into the office network and then go out through the proxy server to any web site I like. That works too. Only problem is the sysadmin at work now knows where I have been :-)

I hope the idiots running the govt of India wake up to the fact that they have put their way too large foot in their even larger mouth yet again.

Government of India Blocking this Blog!

2006-07-19T10:08:00.000+05:30

My ISP, Iqara, is blocking access to Blogspot and this blog! It seems the Government of India has asked ISPs to block certain blogs that spread hate about India in an attempt to curb terrorism. The ISPs in true Indian fashion have blocked all blogs irrespective of author and content. This blog for example is primarily a photo blog that carries photographs of my family!!!

This impinges on my freedom of speech which the Constitution of India gives me as a fundamental right. It is a sign that the blasted Congress Govt is holding the Indian people hostage. Communits! Facists!

Wake up you idiots. Don't tamper with stuff that is too big for your miniscule intellects to comprehend.

I request readers to please lodge a complaint with the Government of India, the leading newspapers and other authorities. Please help us fight the idiots in our government. I will post some links later today.

Dalits at HCU - Part 2

2006-07-17T20:52:00.000+05:30

More of the Dalit Banners at HCU...

Dalits at HCU - Part 1

2006-07-17T20:45:00.000+05:30

The Dalits at HCU have their own Student Union and have plastered the campus with banners welcoming the new batch of students in the name of the Dalit Union etc. Not suprisingly, I did not find a single banner for any other student union. And I was looking specifically for a Brahmin or other higher caste union's banner.

My All Time Favorite Cartoon Strips

2006-07-03T17:38:00.000+05:30

Ah Ha!

Why does this sound so familiar and omnious at the same time?

Happens all the time! It's all my fault! Everytime!

Yes!

Cool Stuff :-)

2006-07-03T17:33:00.000+05:30

I am sure this one will strike a chord with anyone who, like me, hated Maths in school :-)

Doesn't say anything new but does say it well...

I really love this one. Seems to say it all! :-)

Eat Street, Hyderabad, June 27, 2006 - Dance On! I Don't Wanna Go Home!

2006-06-29T10:12:00.000+05:30

Eat Street, Hyderabad - June 27, 2006 - One last Dance!

2006-06-29T10:11:00.000+05:30

Eat Street, Hyderabad, June 27, 2006 - Mamli & Bablu Take A Train Ride

2006-06-29T10:09:00.000+05:30

Eat Street, Hyderabad, June 27, 2006

2006-06-29T10:03:00.000+05:30

Battery Operated Laptop Light

2006-06-21T10:40:00.000+05:30

Cool!

Bablu's First Day At School - Part 2

2006-06-19T17:58:00.000+05:30

Let's Do It! (And get it over with!)

Do I really have to do this?

How am I going to school? That little yellow bus?

Oh Okay! Daddy is driving me today...

Bablu's First Day at School

2006-06-19T17:30:00.000+05:30

Wake up little boy! It's time for school...

Do I have everything? Tiffin Box? Water Bottle? Napkin? Extra Shorts (Just in case!)...

All set!

Am I sure about this? What if they are mean to me???

First Attempt at Night Photography

2006-06-17T22:19:00.000+05:30

Birthday Celebrations At Work (Oracle, Hyderabad)

2006-06-09T10:05:00.000+05:30

An Indian Railway Station - May 2006

2006-06-09T10:01:00.000+05:30

View from a Train - May 2006

2006-06-09T09:59:00.000+05:30

Sleeping on Train Floor Near the Dustbin!

2006-06-09T09:49:00.000+05:30

I took these photos on a Nokia 6600 while traveling from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad in May 2006. This family was sleeping on the floor of the 3rd AC compartment, right next to the wash basin and the dustbin. The bin incidentally was overflowing and there were flies everywhere. The woman had put the child's feeding bottle on the floor and was alternating her attention between the two children. I saw the feeding bottle knocked over by other passengers moving to and from the toilets (right behind the wash basin) a number of times. The woman would just pick it up again and use it!

The children's father was sitting on the coach attendent's berth. You can see his foot on the right side of the photos.

Bhubaneswar Flat - Ghara Prathista

2006-06-09T09:43:00.000+05:30

Indian Railways - Train Journey to Bhubaneswar from Hyderabad - April 2006

2006-06-09T09:33:00.000+05:30

Viresh's Birthday Celebrations - Oracle, Hyderabad

2006-06-09T09:31:00.000+05:30

Bablu & Mamli (Mobile Phone Photos)

2006-06-09T09:25:00.000+05:30

Many Faces of Bablu :-)

2006-06-07T11:44:00.000+05:30

Misc Photos

2006-06-07T11:43:00.000+05:30

(USA) Airforce 1 Landing in Hyderabad Airport (India)

2006-06-07T11:35:00.000+05:30

These photos were taken by a friend of mine from his apartment as Airforce 1 landed at Hyderebad Airport during Bush's visit to India (2006).

Bhubaneswar Flat - Ghar Prathista (April 30, 2006) - Part 3

2006-06-07T11:31:00.000+05:30

Bhubaneswar Flat - Ghar Prathista (April 30, 2006) - Part 2

2006-06-07T11:29:00.000+05:30

Bhubaneswar Flat - Ghar Prathista (April 30, 2006) - Part 1

2006-06-07T11:27:00.000+05:30

Bablu's First Haircut - Part 3

2006-06-07T11:24:00.000+05:30

Bablu's First Haircut - Part 2

2006-06-07T11:21:00.000+05:30

Bablu's First Haircut - Part 1

2006-06-07T11:20:00.000+05:30

Baba, Mani, Meghu, Chikoo & Samar - Disney Land, Florida (2006)

2006-06-07T11:15:00.000+05:30

Monica's Wedding - Florida, May 2006 - Part 4

2006-06-07T10:58:00.000+05:30

Monica's Wedding - Florida, May 2006 - Part 3

2006-06-07T10:54:00.000+05:30

Monica's Wedding - Florida, May 2006 - Part 2

2006-06-07T10:53:00.000+05:30

Monica's Wedding - Florida, May 2006 - Part 1

2006-06-07T10:50:00.000+05:30

Interesting Stuff

2006-05-30T21:34:00.000+05:30

Photos from 3 different cities (Khandala, Hyderabad & Bhubaneswar.

Get your own Cartoon. Check out the samples the artist has provided...

Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan's Public School, Jubile Hills, Hyderabad. Message left on the black board of Class 2D by the class teacher on the Annual Sports Day

Advert for a English language course! Taken on a Nokia 6600.

Roadside Sweet Shops on Cuttack - Bhubaneswar Road

2006-05-30T21:06:00.000+05:30

These photos were taken on a Nokia 6600 in early May 2006. There are a large number of sweet shops on the road between Cuttack & Bhubaneswar. They sell Oriya sweets, mostly Chenapadha (cottage cheese cake), Salepur Rasagolla, a kind of rasagolla from Salepur town (Very different from the Bengalli type), and other sweets. I love eating in these shops and normally stop there everytime we visit my grand mother (maternal) in Cuttack.

My mother checking out the sweets on sale.

Salepur Rasagollas

More shops

To Puri And Back - Part 8 - The Rest of the day

2006-05-30T14:53:00.000+05:30

Puri - The rest of the day - The Sea!

Puri - The rest of the day - price list in front of a chai (tea) shop.

Puri - The rest of the day - Night on Bada Dandha - The logs of wood in the background are meant for the Chariots of the Lords Jaganath, Balavadhra and Ma Subadhra. They will ride these chariots on Ratha Jatra when they visit their aunt for a week.

Puri - The rest of the day - Night on Bada Dandha.

To Puri And Back - Part 7 - Lunch at Mayfair

2006-05-30T14:37:00.000+05:30

Puri - Lunch at Mayfair Hotel, Puri. My Dad, Padmaja, Mamli & Bablu

Puri - Lunch at Mayfair Hotel - My Parents.

Puri - Lunch at Mayfair Hotel - My In-laws

Puri - Lunch at Mayfair Hotel - Bablu is happy with his plain rice :-)

To Puri And Back - Part 6 - Entering Puri

2006-05-30T14:36:00.000+05:30

On the Road to Puri - Entering Puri.

On the Road to Puri - Welcome to Puri!.

On the Road to Puri - Bada Dandha - The Big/Great Road - This is the main road of Puri and ends at the Lord Jaganath's temple.

On the Road to Puri - May in Puri! Hot and humid...

To Puri And Back - Part 5 - The Dak-hina Kali Temple

2006-05-30T14:28:00.001+05:30

On the Road to Puri - The Dak-hina Kali temple on the road to Puri.

On the Road to Puri - Padmaja & Bablu outside the Kali temple.

On the Road to Puri - The temple pond, with devotes taking a cleansing bath before offering prayers.

On the Road to Puri - The eternal lamps at the Kali temple. These lamps are kept burning all the time.

To Puri And Back - Part 4 - On the road

2006-05-30T14:20:00.000+05:30

On the Road to Puri - My father-in-law's car. The ladies and kids are in there.

On the Road to Puri - 19 Kms more...

On the Road to Puri - A bullock cart.

On the Road to Puri - The same bullock cart. Now showing the bullocks and driver.

To Puri And Back - Part 3 - More Pipili

2006-05-30T14:16:00.000+05:30

On the road to Puri - More Pipili.

On the road to Puri - Yet another shop in Pipili.

On the road to Puri - Pipili wall hangings.

On the road to Puri - Pipili handbags and other stuff.

To Puri And Back - Part 2 - Pipili

2006-05-30T14:05:00.000+05:30

On the road to Puri - Mamli & Bablu at a shop in Pipili.

On the road to Puri - Pipili's main road is lined with shops selling Pipili's famous patchwork products. This small town produces exquisite patchwork products.

On the road to Puri - More shops at Pipili.

On the road to Puri - Yet another shop in Pipili.

To Puri And Back - Part 1

2006-05-30T13:55:00.000+05:30

These photos were taken on our Puri trip on May 4, 2006. We started from Bhubaneswar at about 9.00 am in the morning with two cars. Padmaja, Mamli, Bablu, my parents & my in-laws. We travelled by car. I took a lot of these photos from the moving car.

On the road to Puri. The Pagoda outside Bhubaneswar.

On the road to Puri - 45 Kms still to go. A shot of the Orissa countryside.

On the road to Puri - Paddy fields in the Orissa countryside.

On the road to Puri - A road side Ram temple.

Antique Cars!

2006-05-30T13:50:00.000+05:30

Mausa's Antique Car :-)

Closeup of Mausa's Antique Car

This is an old car that has been sitting in a shed next to Mausa's house in Cuttack for the last twenty years or more. It wasn't as badly overgrown with weeds the last time I saw it.

Still Life

2006-05-30T13:32:00.000+05:30

The coconut tree outside our bedroom in Bhubaneswar (Dad's house)

Bablu's Sandals

Padmaja's (my wife) powder case and puff

Cuttack landscape. Taken from a moving car in the first week of May 2006

Dad's Cacti Collection Cont...

2006-05-30T13:21:00.000+05:30

Dad's Cacti Collection

2006-05-30T12:43:00.000+05:30

Birthday Cakes

2006-05-30T11:53:00.000+05:30

Mamli's 6th Birthday Cake

Bablu's 1st Birthday Cake

Mamli's 7th Birthday Cake

Bablu's 2nd Birthday Cake

Cars :-)

2006-05-30T11:43:00.000+05:30

Our first car (1999 - 2004)

The new car (Sept. 2004)

The kids

2006-05-30T11:19:00.000+05:30

Mamli (Durgesh Nandini), our first born

Mamli & Bablu (Jyotiraditya), our son

Bablu (Jyotiraditya), our son

Bablu being naughty! And crayons are tough to wipe off a floor!!!

Runway 9 & ICRISAT (Hyderabad)

2006-05-30T11:04:00.000+05:30

Runway 9, Hyderabad, with the office gang

Ganesh Statue at ICRISAT, Hyderabad

Flower bed at ICRISAT, Hyderabad

Home & National Police Academy, Hyderabad

2006-05-30T10:36:00.000+05:30

Plastic Flowers. Older than my daughter :-)

Sandstone statue in P K Mishra's garden (Police Academy, Hyderabad). Made in Orissa

The wife and kids

Clouds

2006-05-29T22:20:00.000+05:30

Hello World,

This is my photo blog. Mostly family, places and the usual odds and ends. :-)

Regards,

Gautam Satpathy