One of My All Time Favorite Poems by JRR Tolkien

The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he saws his bow
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a hornéd cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair,
And these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
A dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a jig that would wake the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'It's after three!' he said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
as the Sun raised up her head.
She* hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

A Blast From The Past ..

Was chatting up with a couple of third standard friends of mine from IIS, Jeddah (www.indianschooljeddah.com/). It was indeed a nice experience to find some long lost friends who you were good friends back in the third grade, Thanks to Orkut. So now I am in touch with quite some guys, who I studied with in my third grade in another country ain’t that simply great ?? I also managed to get in touch with some other friends of mine … form various schools.

The reason for writing this particular blog is not simply to express my joy of finding these long lost buddies of mine but to for you and I to ponder how people change so very drastically with time. Those third standard friends then did not then have a personality, did not know what they wanted in life, knew nothing at all, not even to find their way back home! Today some of them stand as monuments of excellence, some getting there and some who have a long way to go. Why? Why is it some have made it and some have not? Individual capabilities is it? Or is it the way one has been molded at school, at home and by the surrounding environment. Or is it both ?

Its always funny to see some people doing better than others, I feel it is cause many fail to understand and recognize what their true potential is and what one is good at doing. Of course there could be a hundred other factors like hard work, financial capabilities (as it changes the opportunities one is offered), luck (if you believe in its existence) and so on …

It is indeed very ironical how apples of the same basket have turned out. Seriously ironical I’m sure you would have some kind of similar story to tell !

Coorg ...

I had been to the beautiful hill station of Coorg. An amazing place which is known as the Scotland of India. We were fortunate that the climate was good. I was also able to go for white water rafting which was an adventurous thing to do. I also managed to take a dip at the Iruppu Falls one of the biggest falls which plunge down from a 170ft. It’s a beautiful sight to see and experience the force and beauty of nature, a change form the monotonous city lifestyle we all lead.


The Nagarhole National Park (officially known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park) was a big disappointment. The reserve boasts of tawny, black-striped Royal Bengal Tiger (in larger numbers than in Bandipur National Park), panther, chita, and sloth bear, leopard, jungle cat, jackal, wild dog and sloth bear, elephant, spotted deer, sambar and also over 250 species of birds. Well all that and probably more animals! But what did we see just some spotted dears! When I asked the driver of the safari he explained that there are no animals except for the dears! He didn’t how ever tell me what had happened! It is indeed sad to see a wild life reserve which boasts of so much being completely wiped away.

I also had a chance to go to the Namdroling Monastary at Bylakuppe Village in Kushalnaga which shows off proudly to the second largest Tibetan settlements in India. The temple serves not only as the prayer hall for the Tibetans, but also as a school for their young monks. It’s a beautiful sight the temple stands magnificently amidst the surrounding scenery, where you feel suddenly transported to another realm.


Here some photos to relish !

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbuXLVo2as2Lnw

How We Welcome Foreigners in India … An Experience

My boss was planning a trip to visit the team from the US, her perception of India was hazy and I believed that it would change for the better when she comes down. But who am I kidding the life I in Bangalore is something only a few percentage of the Indians lead. There is a good percentage of the population below the poverty line. So India today is a mix of cultures and living standards. We do have a lot to improve in the infrastructural front even in the most developed cities. Well my boss’s perception didn’t change much I guess. But she did learn of the lifestyle we have and that we had adopted pretty much of the western culture they follow.

She did have a bad experience at the airport when the customs officials did not want to release her baggage for she refused to bribe them Rs12000. It was awful to come to the understanding of the way some government officials’ work. I was wondering if this is how we welcome foreigners to India ? If bribes start at the airport till where would in individual think it would go.

I was happy that we were good hosts to the foreigners who came in. On the other hand though crossed my mind, of what one of my friends mom had told me sometime back. She said why ? why is it that we pamper foreigners, they ruled over India for a long time, looted us, and trampled over India and now we pamper them so much, have we forgotten what they had done to us? Also the fact remains that you would never be pampered when you go abroad.

I had a good time with my boss, she had bought all of us gifts form Victoria’s Secrets. Parties at TGIF and Leela’s.

Some basic facts; India has a population of 1.25 B and 36% live below the poverty line. (http://indiabudget.nic.in/es97-98/chap101.pdf) some stats show 25 % below poverty(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India).