A certain hairy fairy has consented to ferrying love notes and silky dog ears to the object of my desire :DDDD

Dave Lee. Save us.

If youre a Bastardized-Nglish-song-listening Bangalorean new to radio, youd think all it takes to be an rj is big tits/(in the absence)allure, chamakchamak accoutrments, an age somewhere around 15, and a projected iq somewhere below 3. Yesterday my fingers stubbed on a range crank on my 50-yr old radio, and out came the sound of shindigo's day-trippin' pavitra: 'Now all you guys out there, pinch one pinch of cardammom and place it on your plate. Now guys, use your etiquette. Use your fork inside-out and poke your crotch under the tablecloth. Now don't let your host see this under the tablecloth. Now You're listening to bangalore's definitive lifestyle show. Ime pavitra *erotic breathe-out*' If it wasn't that it would have been someone trying out Barker's irrelevant manic voice modulation to make up for lack of content. My follices began sprouting hair and my finger stubbed the crank off. I scrabbled across the floor, fetched an aluminium vat, held it to my chin, and wept.
I miss Dave Lee Travis.
The only worthwhile Bungalore RJ I know is Anjaan. and i dont know if he's still around.

!

BABY VIJAYANTI AND PUPPY MANOHAR

Alek Wek: The-black-and-white-cow

I hate gorgeous. And what exactly does Oprah Winfrey mean in her interview with model Alek Wek, by: "If you had been there when I was growing up, I would have thought of myself as beautiful"? Why does Alek even have to explain herself on beauty. Why does she even think she might be beautiful and to whom. O, its the industry you vye in. The agency that picked her, was only thinking: novelty. On one score atleast. Not on others. She belongs to the tallest race on earth.
And her name? Alek was named "the-black-and-white-cow" after a Dinka tribal good luck symbol. Luck. yes. Bitch.

Award-winning reviews

Perumazhakkalam: Great all-round acting. Touching realism.
Kamli: Nice Theme. Okay. A little patchy.

Rimbaud ou Rambo

To seminal minds and open hearts

Considering I was in the running for some transgender agony aunt post in bombay last month, there must be some valuable crap I can dispense to indie females who really value the open air, open xchange and rewarding company. MINUS romantic intrigue.
A common bleat heard from someone who hasnt got the mix right is: she winds up in crappy social situations. Advised in the hetro section:
1.If you're a female: walk out at the first suggestion of bitch domination from the female agent of a situation.
2.Get you own transport. Even a moped will do. Depending on anyone, makes them think they call the shots. Soon you find youre pulling punches because of a service.
3.Never ever accept a girlfriend's plea to join her on a date with her 'guy' (whether she admits to the intrigue or not). Even if theyre in a big groping group. For crying out. They can get someone else to witness their shimmies.
4.If you think getting a guyfriend along to the above situation will make the above fix easier for you, be prepared for some action that night. Even of you have no feelings for him. What did you expect?
5.If youre the fresh-faced kind of girl who has no yen for games, you owe it to your self-respect to preserve that nature. Sharpen your sense of smell.
Smell a fucking rat. Sharpen all your senses. Rape the rat.

Today evening

Films and beer into morning.
I shall be dressed in my best babasuit. yall.

spotted!

Kishan, Sheshadri and Kiran spotted the following birds on 13 - 11 - 2006 at Hessarghatta Lake. Time - 6.30 am to around 10.00 am. List by Sheshadri:
Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) call
Common Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Pond Heron
Large Egret (Casmerodius albus)
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
Asian Palm Swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis)
Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
Rufous-backed Shrike (Lanius schach)
Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata)
Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligata)
Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
Greenish Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides)
Large Grey Babbler (Turdoides malcolmi)
White-headed Babbler (Turdoides affinis)
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Nectarinia zeylonica)
Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica)
Shikra (Accipiter badius)
Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Pale Harrier Female and Juvaline
House Crow (Corvus splendens)
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
Indian Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) Call
White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)
Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
White-throated Munia (Lonchura malabarica)
Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)
Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)
Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)

Legal B-grade eagles

As a lay, except for a semester, I recognize the humility with which you must approach the Law and the machinations of the Legal system. Then 2 things caught my eye in the journals today:
One thing noone, however humble they are, must have to tolerate, is mystification and delays. But this is what we have on the plate today:
1. Apex court rejects plea for probe against Kumaraswamy
Maja: Apex Court? What's that?
Me: Just a fancy way of referring to the Supreme Court. Don't let that imtimidate.
Maja: weeji. ok. I won't. Let me get over it first. *simmer, twitch*
(5 minutes lapse)
Me: Ok. Finished reading the article?
Maja: O ya ya. I'm not too happy with so much of what I read here.
Me: Like what?
Maja: Well, why was a valid plea for action against offences, rejected?
Me: What kind of offences are we talking about?
Maja: Offences under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (and other relevant laws)
Me: Ok. But what were these offences exactly. And who is suspected of being guilty?
Maja: The petitioner, that is the guy who brought the case before court in the first place to intitate proceedings...
Me: I know what a petitioner is. Get to the point.
Maja: OK ok.
Me: SO? What offences and by whom?
Maja: Offences of this kind - Acquisition of huge property and amassed wealth in the State.
Me: Who does the petitioner makes these allegations against?
Maja: The Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy, his family members, and Minister for Forests, C Chennigappa.
Me: My My!
Maja: Exactly.
Me: But one second. What's wrong with acquiring a lot of property and wealth? If you're rich you're bound to have lots of money, right? What's wrong with that?
Maja: Weeji!!! What are you saying ya???
Me: Well what? I'm being reasonable. If you're rich... that's the definition after all, right? Don't just over-react. Explain.
Maja: All right. I will. From my sketchy knowledge of some citations in past cases, and from what I think is reasonable as well, I will tell you something.
Me: What?
Maja: It is not the fact that they are in possession of some wealth and property, that is being alleged by the petitioner.
Me: Then what?
Maja: But that their assets are disproportionate to known sources of income; possibly also that their path to acquisition of property was easier by virtue of position; possibly also that they have acquired property that was previously disallowed from claims for private possession, etc. I don't know about these last few. Other laws and not just the PCA have been cited, please note.
Me: Ok. Hey you have a point even with just the first point. I remember the disproportionate assets cases being brought against Jayalalitha as well. And I don't know what became of that.
Maja: Me neither.
Me: So did the Supreme Court admit this petition?
Maja: I'm sorry. But I have to compose myself. This part sets my teeth grinding.
Me: O. Take your time then
[Maja grinds his teeth against a grindstone. Sparks fly.]
[5 minutes later]
Maja: I'm back
Me: So did the Supreme Court admit this petition?
Maja: No. It didn't. It rejected the plea.
Me: What??? On what grounds!?? Pray tell.
Maja: Well let me just use Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal's own words here:
"we have serious doubts about the bon fides of the petitioner. It seems obvious that someone is behind the petition of this type."
Me: Well!! Obviously someone's going to be behind a petition!
Maja: And that's what the counsel (for the petitioner) replied, "Undoubtedly".
Me: Well i'm glad he said so. And then what happened?
Maja: To this the Bench replies: "let them come to court. We cannot permit them to fire from somebody else's shoulders. Why can't political parties who are behind (this?) come to this court"
Me: I don't get this at all. But please read the remainder of the Bench's text.
Maja: Right. Bench: "We have serious doubts about the bona fides of the petitioner who is a memeber of the legal preofession. It is not approporiate for a member of the legal profession to lend his name to file a petition of this nature. We are not converened about the merits and demerits of the allegations raised in the petition...we are concerned with the bona fides of the petitioner approaching the court in a PIL."
Me: !
Maja: Wait and this is how it concludes: Bench: "Let a proper petitioner approiach the appropriate forum. We decline the prayer in the petition with costs quanitifed at [...] to be paid to the Legal Services Authority."
Me: I have so much to contest in this statement!
Maja: Lets meet on this in the evening, ok? Need to meet the dentist
Me: Ok then.
[TO be continued ...]

Hi Sky,

Turn dark very long and quickly, and if it can't be helped, you may:
send chains that drum in crumbles, like beady conversation.

WARNING: Do not illuminate.

In the city,
Bright mornings have killed 5 people so far this week.
Each of them had woken alone on their chequered sheets,
And stepped outside in bright emptiness. It is reported,
The brutal morning light had illuminated piles of cement,
Unweathered demolitions, and their own dull skin.
Back in their homes,
Each of them died in different ways.

WARNING: The quality of light on bright mornings.

Why my little heart will beat for birds

Hello everyone. This prim bright upstart is not just anyone. My friends, this is the White-capped Redstart (Chaimarronis leucocephalus). I would also like you to see what a White-capped Redstart looks like when in a poetic mood. And how it looks when it is utterly dispassionate.

Welcome back, Ortega

But a little disturbed about his retired spirit. More than a little.

Yallis-in-chains/Got weed?

We went for the more despairing parties and merveilleusly lost contact during its time. 5 hours into the tease when it was at the crest before disintegration, I would find myself, negotiating on tiptoes among the ruins of limbs, some inanimate, in the dark. All the while clenching the 11th batallion beer, peering at the more interesting remains. When I peered too close and found a stud staring back I would grab some tray or glass lying around to make it look like hard business. I would gratify myself with the common sight of boys/men kissing inert, stunned girls. They would go no farther than that if they had only come this far by now. What's this? A copy of 'Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams'. Rohit kicked my foot and held out a fresh joint with 'always clockwise stupid'. Lifted my beer trophy to tell i would stick to that tonight, had to teach next morning. Unexpectedly he tripped me with a martial move of malice. And I was down beside him, my beer foaming quietly on the carpet and paper. Heaving myself on the elbow, I got up on my knees, picked up the bottle still warm from recent grip, and bonged it with felicity on his cocked knee. He crumpled and howled dimly and sorrowfully, crouching pathetically to his side. I was sorry. I stroked his dear head and nape, put my nose in his hair and ear, delicately releived him of the reefer, took it to the balcony, and smoked it myself.
***



In other news:
Offering 500 buxom bux to anyone who can correctly identify that piece of Palace Grounds outer wall that carries the graffiti: 'Alice-in-chains' 'Got Weed?'.

Thoma in Leh, snapping himself all the way. So very proud of my first coco taking off on his own the minute he was let off in bombay, going straight to the airport and taking the first available ticket he could afford, far away. Next drink to you. And me.
Doing the same thing.

Bari Theke Paliye

Thank you. I have been resting very well. To wake up to all these difficult choices. It must be horrible to be alive, or the greatest fun. Meanwhile, attended a screening of Ritwik Ghatak's 'Bari Theke Paliye'. Though I thought I might sit squirming throughout after chacha's tacky bulbul song sequence, things turned around after we're shown his getup is a little hoax. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Though i suspect my loudest chuckles were also in response to the pious subtitles. And though in the end, everything turns out well for 8-year-old runaway, Kanchan, we're noting that he has played some morally ambigious games with the acquaintances he causally strikes up on his roamings; he leaves them as soon at the first sign of trouble. While only once does someone get the better of him; a boy his age who steals his shoes. He does get unseriously beaten up in the coal yard by a pair of adolescents, and i like the flair of their closing line to Kanchan's ingenous q:"You steal??" with,"What did you think, we read the scriptures?"

Inauthentic insites

All phots curtsy: Sudha
At roughly the same time history dates the stirrings of the Renaissance in Europe* (14th C), an ominous conquest was laid and a complete victory soon registered at its doorstep: the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantine, was taken by the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet (Mohammed) the Conqueror. The gcrandiose creative expression in the Vijayanagar kingdom in the face of constant enemy overtures from around and afar, took place at the same time. Whether this is a coincidence, or a demonstration of the surge inspired by overwhelming threat, something frenzied and euphoric was happening in a kingdom that was the Vijayanagara Empire. Though no one could say it in any way rivalled the technical innovation and mastery of the Reniassance, if there was ever a first Renaissance (rebirth) in any geographical area of what is today called India, with something to show for it* as well, it was here: in this capital city of an empire that spanned all of South India (including Goa).

It would not be unreasonable to suspect this frenzy was conducted in the knowledge of an immanent successful attack from the surrounding hawks of the Deccan sultanates, that for the period during which the kingdom was at its greatest, had been successfully beaten down, notably by the most inspired and successful king since the city's fouding, Krishnadevaraya. An unprececented victory in the defining battle to capture Raichur from Adil Shah, sealed Krishnadevaraya's distinction. A trained fighter, he personally engaged in the battle, charging the second line in despair of victory when the first fell, to register what all accounts put as the most sensational triumph of the Kingdom. Nuniz's account of this battle is, as Sewell put's it, vivid. Check it out here, under "The Siege and Battle of Raichur, and Close of Krishna's Reign".

But with Krishnadevaraya's death and the accessssion of Achyuta, Vijayanagar was more compromised than ever with all the inherited wealth and creation from previous rule without the great reign of inspired leadership. The catastrophic defeat of the great Vijayanagara it had become and to which it would never return, came in 1565, in the reign of Rama Raya, at the hands of the combined forces of the formerly divided Deccan sultantes.

As for the the destruction, it would have to be considered disingenuous at some stage. Not only because of the effort it would have taken to damage any part of a structure that in several cases was made of granite and monolithic, but because some remarkable structures, that may have been easily broken up, were left untouched. I am thinking the members of the rampaging army were simply awed on these occassions, or at least their commander was sufficiently shamed by the magnificence of the work, to order his men of violence, destruction, and base mob skills (like him), to let it be, move away, and take a break; or less virtuosly, the stone was too much of an effort to break. But considering that after its fall in 1565, the capital city was subject to repeated invasions, the explanation for unbroken structures would have to something more inspired. Unless. Unless once again, since the invaders were all alike, they trusted the wisdom of the marauders who preceded them and left untouched what the previous armies had left untouched. (Naturally, all wooden structures were torched and we can only imagine the brilliance of its addition).

Though much of the destruction may be credited to the sultans of the Deccan, later invaders would include the Maratha armies, the menacing Haidar Ali and finally, Tipu Sultan. Sewell convincingly points out that nothing remarkable would have come of the Vijayanagara empire, indeed it would never have existed, had the many assertive and quarrelsome local leaders not conceded* that to put up any successful resistance against the forces they agreed were enemies, they would have to acceede to a leader among them and project something like a united front. Compromise and amalgam, pulling at the joints; it barely held together at all; that it did, is to the real, repeated and persistent thrust of enemy armies.

***
This was a kingdom of legendary wealth; Paes and Nuniz record the flamboyant display of city life; rubies, pearls and diamonds were not infrequent payments at the sprawling bazaar that traded every commodity they were familiar with and others, raiments, a variety of grain and pulses in abundance, citrine from plentiful orchards. It is said the Portugese Empire fell with the Vijayanagara. (Deepa who taught children at Hospet for some time, recalls a bit of the lore that the children piped, most of which has turned out to have recorded basis. One question that still confounds me, is: what exactly was this great wealth based on? trade. but the speciality? The children had told her that everyone in the city knew that the wealth came from the prostitute trade. This would also explain Sule Bazaar, the name of which the guidebook dismissed as unimportant and possibly misleading, predictable because of some implications on pride of the writer. But also diamonds - the 'mines of Golkonda', on the north bank of the Krishna river became proverbial. Also, explorer Sassetti has much to say for the wealth made from the horse trade).

There are many versions of the genesis of Vijayanagara, and though I am emotionally attached to one mentioned by explorer Cuoto of a sheperd who was anointed King by the ascetic Madhava, I think the most probable has to do with Harihara I and his brother Bukka who had served under Tughlaq. There is a suggestion that they were taken to Delhi, were converted to Islam and sent back as Tughlaq's deputies in the South; once out of the reach of Delhi and back South, they slipped into their own skin, reconverted and put their lot behind the successful pricipality of Anegundi. (This is a version Naipaul mentions in 'India: A Wounded Civilization', though its a version that keeps it to Harihara I.) The people of the city never forgot that Harihara I was once sold (made muslim) and served on the other side, and it is probably for this reason that he never dared call himself king.

LOOKING ABOUT
We saw every place in the book expect those on the other side of the Tungabhadra. I guess we were so content with the Sacred and Royal Centre. We also gave the recently excavated Pushkarani a miss; now this is more regrettable since from pics it appears so well preserved it's hard to believe it isn't some shady PR trick. We started out with the Kadalakai Ganesha then the Mustard ganesha, then the Krishna temple and the Krishna Bazaar with a sacred tank next to it. Plantations were only recently cleared.

ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING, CONSERVATION
So then these are the places that had that jnsq that appealed to me. Somehow the vaunted Vitthala Temple didn't give it to me. But just as a dyk - the wheel of the stone chariot were designed to and do revolve. Everyone went about banging the musical pillars and I have to admit that I did it too. I'm sorry. But tired after the first tap and ear stick, and instead gawked at a couple romancing through the medium of the pillars. These are the places that pleased me:
Royal Center
Hazararama (!)
Lotus Mahal
Elephant Stables
Sacred Center
Virupaksha
Ugraha Narasimha
Matanga Hill
And at every span of it, the shimmering Tungabhadra. I would want to return to visit the suburban settlements, particularly the village(?) of Anegondi. Of the several outstanding remaining monuments and structures, it was a surprise to me at least that only a few were under some UNESCO list of endangered world monuments, with help from them, with some identified remaining others maintained by the Govt. of Karntaka. Numerous others remain unmarked, and theyre up for unobstructed claim from the first guy who will get around to it. To make things more promising, in 2004, the group of monuments in Hampi was removed from the UNESCO list of world heritage in danger. Don't ask me what the consequences of that will be. I saw some seriously questionable restoration work-in-progress and work-in-place. Supposing to serve as support structures to pillars in the Achyutadevaraya complex that clearly needed support, were immense trapeziodal buttresses erected from block quarried from a defining hill of boulders that framed the view of the complex. Ofcourse they overwhelmed the structure itself. This is the least of the mindless meddling that will be the theme of Hampi. No comments. Just: What the point of being inheritors to a legacy like this if you can't accept it may be something? Hand it to these guys from UPenn who have put up some of the most impressive studies on Vijayanagara in the Vijayanagara Project, available on the net.

Aqueducts


Hazararama Temple


BEHIND THE SEENS
1. Personally
Back with the most unabashed tan of the siecle.
For me, the trip to Hampi and the time in Hampi became more than the sum of its events. In fact each event became more than just an event and took on larger meanings for me at a viable age. The significant sensations began when we guessed at the train to board. 5 minutes later, the TT asked us to get the hell out cos out bogie was further ahead and unconnected to the current bogie. We hoofed and ran because we knew there was no time left for the train to start. And then while we were still running guess what happened? The train began its movement and we actually let 4 seconds pass before we decided it was now or never. Selfishly, I climbed in first and badly and fell inside. S came in after and made it in better style. But this was not our bogie and as we stood in the interim point, we saw that this bogie was also unconnected and we had to come out again and jump to the next one at the next station if we wanted to board and bed at all. And as we stood trembling in the interim passage at the drag expected of us at the next station, a stud appears and tries to be saviour.

In 3 seconds I had my back and bag in his face; after a minute of frantic rattling, the train reluctantly decelerated for the malleshwaram station. And it turns out the 5 minutes stop is less than 45 seconds. There is no station or platform. Have you ever tried boarding a train from a ditch as deep as a platform is high? So not only did we run and trip on deep gravel jelly and bush with a few farmers in the dark knowing time wouldn't stop, but we had to get onto a step that was inches above out head and already moving. The run was about life and I weeped inside as I panted and scrambled again; it shouldn't leave without me. I hoisted myself, willing massive mechanical efficiency for life and everything I wanted. We had made it.

Got off the train at 7:30 the next morning, after seeing a huge lake and what looked like a nuclear reactor but was possibly the steel plant mentioned in a few documents. Walked up to the bus stop; put off by the sight of a man puking at the foot of the door of the bus we were supposed to take, we decided to take a rick to Hampi. We managed to slip out of the guesthouses he had tried to ram us into once he had reached us there. Found one on our own called 'Vishnu' and decided it was okay and cheap enough. We stayed in one of the many guestrooms in one of the byelanes off the main colonnaded thoroughfare stretching between the monolithic bull and Virupaksha Temple.

We walked down to the German Bakery which was run by a Tibetan family and overseen by a Mallu Ayappan. They played Bob Marley to death and had bunting with the Ethiopian tricolur. Walking back down to the main avenue after going as far as the monolithic nandi on the far left, we hired a heavy duty tvs (should have been a bullet). These guys are pricey and charged a bomb for just that. Also bought a tiny map and guide book. I saw many white-browed wag tails, a bee-eater, some parrots, a kingfisher, egrets, crows, swifts, and some others I couldn't name, also bats and reptiles, inside temples. Lots of cows, goats and buffellows were about. Carnival Pilgrims. Tribal tourists. But the cobra sitting next to me at the side gateway to sule bazaar has to earn a post all of its own. :(

Climb to Matunga Hill
We took the most trecherous climb up Matunga hill, following the steps to the left of the monolithic nandi. We really should never have made it to the final landing before the little ascetic shrine on top. The scottish girl up there, who is not a regular feature, told us she had come up an easier way but before we used it to go down, we saw the cavetemple higher up, and all 3 of us proceded to it, up a sheer side ascent before regular slabs. Sewell tells that the temple could date back to 3rd or 7th centuries, though the use of mortar suggests it would have been much later. One thing everyone can be certain of is: this little temple on top of this hill that gave this transcendant view of a land, would be very special for hermits, ascetics, spiritualists. I would love to spend a week there on my own some time.

+ the nightsky
+aqueduct
+WHo was Naipaul referring to?
+Tungabadhra - a tributary of the Krishna River


Notes
*Sewell dates the creation of Vijayanagara to 1336, during the reign of Edward III in England. The city was formally founded in 1336, by brothers Hakka (Harihara) and Bukka (Bukkarayya), who were the first kings of the Sangama Dynasty. Let us also note that the the Muhammadan advance on the Deccan began only at the
end of the thirteenth century

*Sewell: "...Prior to A.D. 1336 all Southern India had lain under the domination of the ancient Hindu kingdoms, -- kingdoms so old that their origin has never been tracedWhen Vijayanagar sprang into existence the past was done with for ever"

*Sewell: Its importance is shown by the fact that almost all the struggles of the
Portuguese on the western coast were carried on for the purpose of
securing its maritime trade; and that when the empire fell in 1565,
the prosperity of Portuguese Goa fell with it never to rise again.
a city with which for richness and magnificence no known western capital could compare

REFERENCES
Hampi - Guide Booklet
Naipaul's India: A Wounded Civilization
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/fevch10.txt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara
http://www.vijayanagara.org/

***

It's RajyotsavaMeanwhile some ppl are having animal sex

I realise I'm simply tired of people who are still nitpicking over what language you dare not know. Theyre just as narrow as people who stonewall outsiders because they dont dress or smell like them. So if i dont speak much kannada after being here so long, I should be ashamed of myself. GIve me a break. I'd sooner apologize for not knowing how to fly an LCA, when my uncle designed it. Guess what I'm thinking of? The whole of expanding space, ideas and histories. New languages and new styles.

This should also teach me never to alienate anyone, wherever theyre from, or wherever I am. But I'll keep away from (not: keep out) the stale, regressive and eternally earthhabit-bound.