After 26 long years, Sir Alex Ferguson recently retired from the post of Manger at Manchester United FC. Here’s a small tribute a living legend. 
Chal Bharat Chal
I recently came to know about a NGO named “Chal Bharat Chal”. A group of folks from my earlier college, SDM have come together to start this initiative. Chal Bharat Chal plans to work on education, entrepreneurship, general rights & duties of an Indian citizen and much more.
Please check out their website: chalbharatchal.org and do join them on FB: facebook.com/Chalbharatchal :) People out there are really doing a good job and your support in any way is encouraged.
And yes, I am glad to have been part of this NGO in a very small way. Here’s the logo I did for them. 
A Night Trek to Narayangiri Hill, Jalamangala
Its 2 o’clock at night and me along with some of my friends were at height of 3845 ft, on top of a hill with cool breeze flowing around, under the beautiful and starry sky. Hmm.. the conditions does sound a little romantic, doesn’t it? 
Well that’s how exactly Narayangiri Hill, Jalamangala was when we visited there last Sunday.
It was a night trek that we took up from Bangalore on Saturday night, April 13, through the Bangalore Mountaineering Club. Jalamangala is a village that is around 85 Kms away from Bangalore. We started our journey with our guide Mr. Swamy, along with 15 other bunch of people at 10 PM from Bangalore. By midnight we there at Narayangiri hill, in the middle of a jungle, all ready to explore the place.
On top of the hill is a temple maintained by the villagers & a family also stays there. So due to this there were a few lights put up all along the top of the hill. But they won`t be enough to do a night trek & carrying a torch becomes a must here. We trekked for a little more than an hour with a couple of small breaks. The trek is completely of beginner ‘s level but yes there are a few places where one needs to be a little careful. What makes this interesting is, you are trekking at night. 
As I said earlier, on top of the hill was cold breeze and a beautiful, clear, starry sky. We later spent the night by chit chatting a little and sleeping a little. When we woke up early morning at about 6, our body and especially our teeth were literally trembling due to the cold. But thanks to the sun rise, that didn’t last long.
Trekking down the mountain took us about 40 mins and after that we were to get our hands on Zummering. Zummering is a climbing technique through a rope, usually used to climb mountains. But here we were to climb a tree.
Zummering was the final part of our night trek and after that we headed back to Bangalore. Well this was one heck of an adventures trek I tell you, short and fully worth the time & money we spent on it. And yes, kudos to the Bangalore Mountaineering Club for a perfect execution. We are quite hopeful that we might go for more treks in future with them.
One could also trek to Jalamangala without the help of clubs like the Bangalore Mountaineering Club. But I tell you what, going to a trek through clubs makes it an easy affair. Bus booking, safety precautions, guide, sleeping arrangements and all other things are taken care of by the club. Oh yes, stuffs like Zummering was also possible because we went through a club. So if you are looking for a short, sweet & a little adventures trek, then Narayangiri Hill, Jalamangala is definitely worth giving a shot.
Book Review: Shiva Trilogy 3, The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripati
Disclaimer: There aren’t any spoilers in this book review. If you haven’t read the book you can still continue reading the review.
The Oath of the Vayuputras is the final edition of Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripati, a book that is creating history in the Indian literature. To summarize the book in one sentence, I would say, The Oath of the Vayuputras is a beautifully written & gripping novel, but with a disappointing end.
The story begins where it was left in the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. Shiva discovers his friend Brahaspati is still alive and the reason of him being still alive. Shiva finally discovers evil and I must say the interpretation of evil by Amish is brilliant. According to the author evil and good are nothing but two sides of the same coin. Evil serves its purpose & its actually the good that turns evil.
Shiva consults the Vasudev Pandits to finalize on evil & there we come to know how Shiva became the Neelkanth. From there on Shiva beings to gather all his possible forces for a holy war against the evil. But things are not easy for the Mahadev as he finds two of the greatest and largest empires of India have allied against him. At a point of time Shiva realizes he needs the support of the Vayuputras, else he cannot win the battle.
The chapter where Sati, the better half of Shiva fights with the Egyptians is my favorite part of the book. Sati, the warrior princess and her skills are perfectly described here. Its this part of the book that makes Sati the hero in the fight against evil. What makes me feel the book has a disappointing end is that, in the final act Shiva himself breaks one of Lord Ram`s principle. Throughout the journey Shiva believes the good has to overcome the evil in the right manner, but this doesn’t happen in his final act. In the earlier stage of the book, Shiva has to take a decision on Lord Partheswar, General of the Meluhan army. He doesn’t allow his anger to make the decision & that was the true mark of the Mahadev, god of the gods. But unfortunately he is unable to do the same in the final act. I wouldn’t want to discuss this part much as I am afraid I may give out the story and I hope I haven’t given out anything so far. 
From the literature point of view, Amish`s books may lack a little but this has been made up by his excellent story telling skills. There are moments in this book that will surely make your hairs stand. Some people did find this book too long. Well I personally didn’t feel so. It starts on a slow pace and gains pace as the story goes forward. But yes some parts of the book could have been omitted, some parts did need more explanation and some characters did need more focus. When compared to the earlier books, The Immortals of the Meluha and The Secrets of the Nagas, The Oath of the Vayuputras is a little let down only due to the ending. But overall its a good read.
You can read my review on the earlier two books, The Immortals of the Meluha and The Secrets of the Nagas hereShiva Trilogy: Book Review.
The universe bows to Lord Shiva. I bow to Lord Shiva. Har Har Mahadev.
Image courtesy: ShivaTrilogy.com
Watch the trailer of The Oath of the Vayuputras here:
To my hero, my champ, Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Cricket is just another sport in this world. Its just another 11 players game. But there comes a time when you become a fan of one of those 11 players & then, that player goes on to become your idol. There comes a time when a player starts to have an influence on you, your thoughts, your emotions. There comes a time when just looking at that player on television (on field, off field or even in an advertisement) brings a smile on your face & also gives an immense satisfaction. There comes a time when the mere presence of that player at the crease increases your heartbeats. There comes a time when you shed a tear watching that player achieve great success.
There have been just 2 players in my life who came under that category, Sachin Tendulkar & Rahul Dravid. And now, there is a third player to that list. Its you, Mahi. Its you, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
I did shed a tear when Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double century in ODI cricket against South Africa. I did shed a tear when Sachin was lifted by the Indian team after winning the World Cup 2011. I did shed a tear when the great Rahul Dravid announced retirement from cricket. And last week when you scored your first double century in test cricket against Australia, I did shed a tear, Mahi. All of them were happy tears I tell you, except the one for Rahul Dravid`s retirement. I have lost count of how many times I have been to You Tube to watch the final over of World Cup 2011 where you hit the winning six. And I don`t know how many times will I watch the highlights of your double test century. Believe it or not, watching your cricket videos is really a stress buster for me.
You have won India a T20 World Cup & a 50 over World Cup. You have got India to number 1 position in Test rankings. You, MS Dhoni are the only Indian captain to have achieved success in all 3 formats of the game. Yes there have been tough days, 8-0 overseas Test match defeats, England winning in India 2-1 after 28 years. But then who doesn’t have tough days? When India lost the test series at home against England, I did feel if it was the end of MSD era. My apologies for doubting your abilities Captain. May be I was over reacting. May be it was the frustration of seeing India play so badly for such a long time. But somewhere I knew that Mahi will bounce back & bounce back harder. The same happened in the ODI series against Pakistan. India was 5 down for just 29 runs and you took it to 227 with a superb century. Not to forget the very hot climate of Chennai which made your knock even more special.
Whenever someone questions your ability, your commitment, they should watch you run between the wickets. They should watch you converting 1 run into 2 & converting 2 runs into 3. There is no doubt that you are one of the fittest player in world cricket at the moment. After losing the England series you didn’t run away from responsibilities. You said “the easiest thing for me to say right now is, ‘I quit captaincy’ and be a part of the side. But that’s like running away from responsibility”.
So with 22 test victories you are now India`s most successful Test captain. I know statistics & numbers wont matter to you. And that`s why I guess you didn’t remove your helmet even after scoring a double ton. From a small town guy to one of world`s highest earning sport star, MS Dhoni, you truly are an inspiration to many. There is one thing everybody can learn from you & that is “keeping your nerves cool”. You have achieved great success & you have also faced failures in your cricket career, but the calmness maintained in both the situations is simple tremendous.
Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Singh Dhoni, take a bow..
Image courtesy: ESPN Cricinfo
Like, Share & Win INR 500
What`s the easiest way of earning 500 bucks?
Joining the The Creative Godown Facebook page & sharing the contest picture on your FB timeline. Yup its as simple as that. 
The Creative Godown is my designing initiative where I showcase my work from the field of graphic designing & animation.
The contest is open till March 10, 2013 or till the Facebook page hits 500 fan count, which ever comes early. And then I shall choose 1 lucky winner who shall walk away with INR 500.
For those who are already a fan of this page, all you have to do is share the contest pic. That`s all. The prize will be a gift voucher worth INR 500 from any one of the leading brands such as Flipkart, Myntra, Landmark, Crossword, Puma, Croma, Lifestyle, etc. The winner is free to choose which voucher he/she wishes to have.
So, what are you waiting for? Head to the FB page now: www.facebook.com/thecreativegodown
Enjoy the game …
Enjoy the game & chase your dreams. Dreams do come true. – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
New Year 2013
Here`s wishing one and all a very happy new year, 2013. Let there be peace and happiness!!
Below is a small illustration featuring the new year message in some of the most common languages spoken across India. It features the following languages from top to bottom: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam and Urdu.
Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODI Cricket.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar recently announced retirement from One Day International cricket. Well, words fall short to describe this person, his achievements, his humbleness & much more. The only thing that comes to my mind right now is, thank you, thank you dear God! And here`s a little tribute from my side to the little master.
PSY Gangnam Style hits 1 billion views on You Tube.
The video that has gone viral all over the world, that has broken all records, the PSY Gangnam Style has hit yet another record by crossing 1 billion views on You Tube. Whoa!! Now that`s huge! Here`s an illustration that I have done for it.
