on my way

Figters Back

2011-08-05T14:17:00.000+05:30

Yes I know, it has been a really long time since my last post. Almost 8 months gone. Really sorry for not keeping in touch. It happens you know, the gaps increase between your posts, and you loose touch of that whole discipline that you work hard for months to achieve. But what the hell I'm back. And I'm here to stay!

It's the same old with me, how are y'all doing?

Okay, some interesting pictures from last Saturday's X fighters Jam at Galle Face Green!

The atmosphere was just breath taking. The crowd was superb. The noise, the whistles the applause made it a good spectacle.

I'm a big big motorbike fan. I love to watch stunts and do all sorts of crazy things! I was properly broke. I couldn't even dream of affording a 500 Rupee ticket. I got a 100 rupee ticket, showed a sad face to the cops, got inside the 500 rupee stand, and somehow crawled my way onto the media tower. And here is what happened next!

The first few jumps were quite boring. Just jumping over empty space.

Then came the interesting stuff. Man, these stunts were just sick!

The first time I saw a back flip live. I could feel my blood rushing all over me! Gave me some kind of unexplainable high.

and yes, he actually let go of the bike in mid air!

I dunno what he was trying to do, but looks way cool!

Man this was one hell of an experience! Really glad I went that day! Waiting for the Jams to happen again next year!

Twas a quick post I know, I know. I hope you enjoyed the pictures! More pictures are on the way.

see you guys soon!

Cheers!

Diamond Jubilee

2010-12-21T10:02:00.000+05:30

The Sri Lankan Navy celebrated their 60th anniversary on the 9th Of December. The lads had put up quite a grand exhibition open for the public right up till the 12th and was extended to the 15th on request. It happened at the light house premises in Fort, Colombo. I had the chance of visiting it with my university friends. Here is a glimpse of what was going on.

The light house premises was closed to the public for many years and was open recently. I had never been there all my life and was really excited to visit the place.

This was the big entrance that led to the grand exhibition.

We visited the exhibition on the 15th, the last day. That evening the Navy did a show with speed boats and it was quite stunning.

Behind, is the Port expansion project in action. Formerly known as the the South Port is now being extended to accommodate more vessels.

Yeah yeah, my signature sunset picture ;) Gallicissa, there you go.

Yes, they had huge ass guns on display. Not a big fan. I saw many people keeping small kids on these guns and taking pictures. Many many posers were caught in the act :P

This was funny, there was a diver in a tank. The poor guy had gone numb and tired after being in the water for along time and waving at people.

All my life I wanted to see this temple, but I never got the chance. This was one of those desires you die for but never share with anyone. It was lovely!

The Fort, lighthouse. Was brilliant and beautiful. Loved it!

Had a good time with Chavie and Inosh. Thank you. Looking forward for more meetups.

Oh btw, I bloody miss you, and love you, JiJi :$

Hope you guys enjoyed the post,

Cheers!

overflowing

2010-12-12T21:00:00.001+05:30

I had the privilege of visiting Batticaloa once again. This time it was to help out with missions team I work with from Church. We have been helping widows and kids who have been affected by the war now for a little more than two years. It has been a blessing working with the team.

I went up there last Saturday to help with the the Christmas Program we are organizing for the kids there.

Batticaloa took a different shape this time. It had been raining really heavily and it had made the lagoon overflow. The atmosphere was filled with silence. It was very different from the Batticaloa I visited before.

We were on our way to a School in Vavuna Theevu which is towards the A5 from the Batticaloa town.

This man who was transporting grass was having a hard time getting across to the town. The lagoon was making waves and they were sweeping across the road. Looked beautiful, but was not that great for the people who took the road.

See how the road is covered with water?

These kids has come to the School to play. They were having a ball.

The friendly one, love the little fella!

I was always fascinated by the guys who carried firewood. Especially cause they carry an insane amount of firewood on those small bicycles.

Look at this guy :O Just amazing.

The smiles we were able to bring in to these people's lives give this awesome feeling of happiness and fullness. It just can not be explained. Once you put your hands in to it, you won't feel like taking em out :) Looking forward to do more work in the years to come. (This picture was taken by Kalu Kella)

On a different note, I have been neglecting this blog now for a while. Finally, Darling made me make a stand and start running it again. I'll try my best to post as often as I can. I apologize for not commenting on any of your posts recently.

Everything is better than awesome for me. When you find the best thing in the world it's a little hard not feel awesome and proud :P *runs around* heeeee B-) You just keep overflowing, and you refuse to stop. How do I keep up? ;)

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Come out soon!

2010-11-23T00:52:00.000+05:30

I always find it hard to keep this blog alive when I have all the time in the world on my hands. Like, during my previous holiday, I didn't post at all. I guess everything falls into place for me when I get extremely busy. I know it's weird, but I'm cool like that. I have been spending time these days helping darling find a good university to transfer to. recently I figured out the options available in countries like Malaysia and Singapore are superb. What do ya'll think? Other than that, I'm helping out with the construction of our new studio. I'll keep ya'll updated on that. It's turning out to be super!

I still have not got the chance to step out of home. Have been spending hours in front of the computer screen. So, very little pictures these days :\ I rarely take my camera out. Really wish I could make a trip down south or something. Was planing to do something with my university friends, everyone seems to be busy.

Got a few pictures over the past couple of weeks.

If ya'll can remember, this is the view from my roof top. The signature coconut trees :P

This was a few weeks back, if you look closely, you'll be able to see the aircraft. I love how it has left the trail. I aircraft is almost invisible. I find it cool.

This picture is quite old, it was taken at uni a few months ago. I really miss sipping Nescafe and eating chocolate biscuit with my buddies. Can't wait to see them again.

I love how the navy boat is placed right under the sinking sun. I have not seen my sunshine in a while. Miss her terribly. Hoping to see her soon, and waiting for her to let her light shine down again ;) JiJi!

I have a few more pictures on the way. Will upload them as soon as possible. Sorry for not keeping in touch with your blogs. I'll do soon. Hope you enjoyed the post.

GOD bless

Cheers!

Mohawk dude

2010-11-09T09:41:00.000+05:30

After reading super awesome posts from Gallicissa, I have developed an interest to watch birds. I still have not got a chance to do a proper birding trip or anything of that sort. I'd love to do one soon. Where I live is not that very "bird" friendly. Even the little trees we have left are being chopped off -__- we used to have a crazy load of parrots come in to our garden but now, nothing! I have found myself spending hours looking at the garden next door. A few birds come there, once in awhile.

Anyway, here is a glimpse of what I caught on camera.

My first ever bird picture. The fellow was seated on our gate. Check the Mohawk out :P

This guy was trying to escape the rain.

I'm really bad with the names. I dunno any thing :\ Some help would be appreciated :)

I hope you enjoyed it.

Cheers!

Sunshine

2010-10-29T09:01:00.001+05:30

First of all really sorry for not reading and commenting on any of the blogs I read. I have been struggling to manage my time with exams and church and what not. So exams finished on Wednesday! Heee! I know. I have been waiting for this for a long time but you know what? I miss being busy. I have loads of pictures to share and I'll try my best to put them up soon.

*Cough Cough* So many interesting things have been happening. Me-shak has found his sunshine, blush blush! No really, she is all I want and a million times more. The best part is, she can tolerate me and all my stupidness and all. She is THE best thing that happened to me. It all happened in a very short time, like 4 to 5 days, and my oh my! it was heavenly :D Me-shak bought her flowers and made darling happy yesterday.

Sad part is, darling will be taken away from me in August next year, for 2 long ugly years. She is going to become a doctor lu. She is going to a faraway land. I miss her when she goes to the wash room, wonder what I'll do then. I know there is skype and MSN and all, but still :|

These pictures go out to my sun shine :D

Oh yeah! Thats how she came, with so much splendor and majesty! and I bloody love her!

I hope you guys enjoyed the post!

Cheers!

Galle Face Skies

2010-09-30T06:29:00.003+05:30

Okay, quick post, Cause I have to show these pictures to you guys. I couldn't wait till my exams were over. Last week on Saturday, after a very hard day of work I decided to drop in to Galle face to enjoy the breeze. The atmosphere was awesome and I agree, it is now the best place to hang out. There is no other place where you'll get what you get there. The sun set, the cheap food and the kites, Just awesome.

Okay the main reason I went down there was cause I had never gone there after I got my new gadget, and that particular day the sky looked awesome. Check these out,

Now you see, what I mean?

I love the colors in this one, and the guy there has done a good job with leaving the foot steps behind and all.

The navy boat in a distance and the sun, what more can you ask for?

This picture was taken a few days before the Galle face visit. Gave me the chills when I saw it. What do you think?

Sorry about the hurried post. I have to be in class at 8.30 :P

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Light

2010-09-17T09:55:00.000+05:30

I actually got the opportunity to take some time off and pull my self together again. I have been going off track for quite a long time and I't was hard to sit and rethink of my priorities. I guess sometimes you just get carried a way and forget what you really have to do. I have a big problem, and that is I just don't know to say no. I fall into a lot of trouble cause I get pilled up with so much to do. Then I rush through everything and do a shitty job. I don't mean to but I have no option. So now I have been learning to say no, I'm giving more time for my studies and the important things in life and it's Good!

Okay enough of boring talk, check these pictures out.

This picture I took when we had a power cut a few days back.

This lamp was used to decorate a auditorium I went to.

This was one of those rush hour shots. I like how it turned out.

I was all ways fascinated about light. How it's capable of directing and eliminating darkness. Without light, life wouldn't exist. There is so much we could learn, from light. I would say, "everything is falling to place again". The sun is coming out, and I'm loving it!

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

The Chill

2010-09-08T07:42:00.000+05:30

Not long ago, I had some really good friends of mine, Chavie and Inosh come over. Since our mid term exams and all, had finished, we really needed a break. The break was not a big one, so we decided to make the best of it.

We did our usual trip to the beach that evening. I'm telling you, the Palliyawatta beach is getting better by the day. It's more like a big carnival now. Lots of junk food, music and what not? It's becoming more crowded each day. The setting is perfect for a good evening hang out. I would say without a doubt, it's better than many other beaches found around Colombo. The ambiance here is perfect.

With my new gadget in hand, I was able to take some neat pictures.

Here is a picture of the beach. This was taken from the pier like thing built into the sea.

This is one of the best sunsets I've come a cross. The colors, the sky, Perfect :)

This picture was taken with about 20X zoom. If you look closely, you'll be able to see a ship.

The moon showed up when we were about to leave. It was really gorgeous. The colors were very contrasting.

I'd say it was a perfect day. It couldn't have got better. Although I still wish my friends Yujith and Heshan joined us that day. Looking forward for the next time I'll get to chill out at the beach.

Hope you enjoyed the post,

Cheers!

Ira Handa

2010-09-01T20:26:00.000+05:30

I have been blessed with a camera with super optical zoom. I don't understand as to why I got this. I usually never get stuff I want. All ways get stuff I don't want . I have been experimenting with this fine piece of work for some time now. The only issue with this camera is that the slowest shutter speed is 4 seconds. So for long exposures, this is not the best. Although I all ways try to crank up the iso and get the maximum of the awesome gadget.

Not long ago, I tried taking a few pictures, I guess I ended up with a few neat shots.

If you look closely, the craters of the moon (Handa) are visible in great detail. The shadows are also really prominent.

This I took when Chavie and some other good friends of mine came over. This was taken at the Palliyawatta beach in Hendala. The setting sun(Ira) looked really cool through the massive 26x zoom lens.

I have more really cool pictures of this trip. I'll save them for the next few posts.

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Haputale

2010-08-26T09:00:00.001+05:30

After so much of waiting my midterms finally came to an end. It hadn't occurred to me until recently, that once we start the semester we don't have much of a break. I dunno if it's a good thing, lots of work and little play makes Jack a dull boy.

Anyway, leaving all that a side I got a chance to take a short break and go to Bandarawela to take a look at a camp site we are planing to go to. On our way we passed, I would say one of the best sites you would ever come across in Sri Lanka, Haputale. I'm sure Kirigalpoththa would agree.

Haputale is located roughly 170Km from Colombo, the capital. The Climb is very famous among tourists because of the view. The road runs along a edge of many mountains showing travelers a spectacular view. Sadly this trip was made before I got my new camera. The pictures you see below were taken using "Kalu Kella".

The clods, the shadows it made, the green, was mesmerizing.

Mountains were covered with tea plantations, which made it even more mind blowing.

The sunlight that escaped through thick clouds and hit the mountains added wonderful patterns to the scene.

The gorgeous tree that I love, I still dunno why.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Thaipusam

2010-08-17T12:33:00.002+05:30

I was returning home after the guitar class I do on Saturday. As I walked out of the building the class is held, I started to hear awesome oriental music. I walked to the top of the road and was shocked to see what was happening.

It was a Hindu procession. There were a good 75 - 100 trucks carrying people on hooks. Thats right, people on frigging hooks. I have seen similar stuff before. Nothing I had seen before could compare to the grand scale of this giant even. So much of "Kohomba" leaves were used to decorate the event, so much so it gave a jungle effect to the scene.

Thaipusam, as I later found out, is a a festival celebrated by Hindu's all over the world. Thaipusam is celebrated to commemorate the occasion where Parvathi gave Murugan a Vel(spear) to vanquish a evil deamon called Soorapaadam. Kavadi dancers, kavadi dancers on hooks and many devout believers take part in a procession that lasts for several hours. The procession takes a set route, usually from one Temple to another.

I'm usually fascinated by extreme things people do, and all ways try to capture it on film. Sadly I did not have my new Gadget with me. Although "Kalu kella" was right there with me. I managed to get some decent pictures.

Thu guy on top swings the tree, it makes the Dancer to swing which intern pulls on the hooks , which intensifies the pain. More pain, more god-Merit.

Children are brought to these believers on hooks to be blessed by the spirit which is in them.

Sometimes two, three believers are hanged in one truck.

This is one of the most extreme ones I saw. He had a hook on his fore head and even on his inner thighs. I couldn't fathom what I was seeing for a while.

If you look closely, you can see how the hooks are pulled when the dancer swings himself from side to side. This dancer had a extra rope attached to the tree he was hung to make himself swing.

I stood by the side of the road for quite sometime looking and enjoying this magnificent festival. It was another splendid occasion which popped the thought of how amazing the world is. Just imagine how boring it would be if the world was not so colorful. The world has so much flavor because of the different cultures it has and because of what the people of those cultures do.

The world is one AWESOME place

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Sky Watch

2010-08-13T11:18:00.001+05:30

So yesterday, I tried my hands on some night sky pictures. The lowest shutter speed on my cam is 4 seconds, which is not really enough for low light landscape shooting. Although, some pictures were kinda cool. The moon has just started showing up on the west sky. Really fascinated with the super beauty they portrait. I should be studying, my mid term exams are scheduled for next Wednesday. I just finished a maths assignment and thought I would distract myself with something. It really works. Anyway, all that jazz apart. Here are the pictures.

There is star right above the moon. I was in awe and was speechless for quite a while. I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

So long? Yikes!

2010-08-06T19:59:00.001+05:30

First of all my apologies for not commenting on any of your posts. It has been a long time since I posted anything. I have been so so busy during the last few months. I mean this is the longest I have stayed without posting anything. Well the main reason was my uncle getting married. The guy lives in Japan. We had to do all the planing. Gosh it was crazy.

The greatest thing about the past few weks is that I got my camera. The one I was dying for, for a long time. I wanted a Rebel T1i but it was way too expensive. I thought I'd settle for a Power shot sx20. So my uncle who was getting married was supposed to bring that for me. The guy comes, hands me a box. Now I'm guessing inside is the Canon but to my surprise it was not. It was a Pentax x90! I've never heard of it before. I was a little upset, ahh make that "very". My heart sank when I saw it. So I pull it out and start messing with it.

The cam was quite good, it was actually better than the SX20. Only scene is I'm a Canon fan boy and it was hard to make up my mind about me not using a Canon. It had a great 26x optical zoom. I have never heard of that kinda zoom in a point and shoot. The ISO could go up to 6400. It had a good shutter speed of 1/4000 sec. It also had a good battery. And in no time I fell in love with it, and now I'm officially a "Pentaxian" (Looks at Chavie).

Say hello :P

So these days, I am hammering away pictures. I try and carry it around everywhere I go and she has been nothing but a blessing. Here are a few shots I managed to take.

The very familiar sunset, from my roof top.

Once again. sorry for not commenting. I hope you guys understand.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Transparent

2010-07-05T19:42:00.000+05:30

Not long ago I bought this dialog broad band package. It's kick ass until you hit 5g's and then it becomes unusable. I can't look at a web page forever no?, so I decided to take a break :) sorry for not commenting on any of the posts for a while. I'll do, as soon as I can get some free time on my hands.

So not long ago, I did my first wedding gig. it wasn't much, but I was really happy I was apart of the best part of he ceremony. So the bride's brother decided to sing a song for his sister during the reception. And out of songs he chose Annie's song, it's not a awesome song to play but managed to do a decent arrangement for him. He sang, I played, she cried, then like the best hug I have ever seen. I couldn't watch. It was great, couldn't have asked for a better first gig.

Leaving all that jazz aside, I managed to take a few shots here and there. I think they look cool. These pictures were taken at Galle Face Hotel.

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Lanterns and Lights

2010-06-24T09:30:00.031+05:30

This post was in the pipeline for a long time. Actually the pictures are almost a month old. On the 27th of May the Sri Lankan community celebrated Vesak in great grandeur. It was the first Vesak celebration since the 30 decade long civil war was over and that it self, added extra flavor and color to the festival. Sri Lankans from allover the island joined together hand in hand to make this Vesak season one of the best any Sri Lankan had seen.

Vesak is celebrated by all most all Buddhists to commemorate the birth, enlightenment (Nirvana), and passing away (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha. It's a time of celebration which is much anticipated by not only the Buddhist but by the whole community itself. Streets, houses, buildings, basically anything deco-ratable is colorfully dressed up with lights and lanterns and flags and what not?

I too had a blast this Vesak, well I did something that I wanted to do for so long and I finally did it. I do not have the licence to ride motorcycles. On the 27th I had a grand tour of the "Vesak Themagula". I rode with no licence at all on a big ass motorcycle, to one of three locations the "Themagula" was held, "Bauddaaloka Mawatha". The others being "Gangaraamya" and "Lake House" were also splendid. The street was filled with so many people, I could barely choose my direction, I was pulled all over the place the crowd went. Here are a few pictures I managed to capture in all that rush.

All credit goes to the Sri Lankan army for putting up this excellent piece of art.

One of the best I saw this year.

This is the traditional "Atta Pattama", diamond shaped lantern.

Sri Lankans proudly celebrated Vesak in style, unitedly as one nation this year and I'm glad I was alive to see it. I hope this same spirit will linger on till the end of age.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Palliya Watta

2010-06-16T10:43:00.000+05:30

With so much time in my hands I have not posted in a while and I though I'd scribble some thing today. I find it really weird that I love it when I'm busy and not so much when I'm not. I manage to do a lot more when I have lectures and meetings and church and all that going on. Somehow I squeeze in at least 5 to 6 posts a month when things are all over the place.

Any way, not Long ago Chavie came over for a while and we decided to head out to sea, wait wait, that sounded wrong. No sailors here!, we wanted to head out to the beach, you know?, just to chill. We were fully hacked up after exams and all, so decided to take it easy for a while.

The sky was a little dark that day, since it had been raining and all.The Hendala beach also called the "Palliya Watta Beach" is quite popular these days. It gets packed on weekends and poya days. So there we are walking down a jungly lane to get to the beach and I'll say with out a doubt, we saw The beach at it's best that day.

The sunset was much more clearer that day. And the sea was a bit rough. And it was white.

Zoom in and see the ship moving towards the sun. Pretty cool :D

The sun set was amazing. Chavie and I watched in silence, till the sea gulped the big ball up.

Look how the waves are clashing against the rocks, "In all it's fury", I must say!

Colombo, late afternoon.

Colombo, late evening.

I guess I'm a sucker for sunsets, It took me so long to realize it, hmmm :D Bliss!

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Two months? Ghaaa

2010-06-08T13:03:00.002+05:30

These days are extremely boring and a utter waste of time. After working quite hard for so long this two month vacation is really getting to me. Wonder why they have to give a two month vacation? I don't think they have any justification for that. I was reminded by a friend not too long ago, that every vacation we get during the three year course adds up to one year. Why do we have to waste one whole year when we can finish what we do in two years? I don't like wasting time. I like chilling but not all day long for two whole months.

Having unraveled my sudden realization of truth, I thought I'd share a few pictures. Here goes,

This dragonfly was taken in the Passi Kudah, beach. Baticaloa has a insane population of dragon flies. Not that it was mentioned anywhere, I just realized. every where you look there are plenty.

One more of the little fella who was so caught up in nibbling some thing that he let me get really close to him. Take a closer look and you actually can see the lad's wings.

Now thats how they transport fire wood in the North and east parts of Sri Lanka. Zoom in and take a closer look. The guy is transporting a lorry load of fire wood.

This paaruwa(boat used for fishing) is waiting to head out to sea.

Fisherman mending his nets, after fishing all night.

I love this picture for some reason. The guy looks extremely cool and he is chill-axing :P

Probably the craziest thing I have done. I was that close to the elephant, and he had attacked a villager minutes ago. I feel stupid now for doing it. This was some where in Habarana.

Some thing I have learnt during the past week is you have to

forGIVE to forGET.

It has been working for me, why don't ya'll give it a shot?

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Passi in all her Glory

2010-06-01T09:30:00.010+05:30

My mom didn’t have to put up a fight this time, I agreed with no issues at all. I usually don’t like to attend weddings and parties where my greater family is also a part of the chaos, my guys are a little problematic. This time I agreed with no hassle at all to go for a Home coming ceremony in Passikudah, Baticaloa. You might have already realized why I agreed without any hesitation. Well if you didn’t, one of the best frigging beaches found on this paradise island is right there, in Passikudah.

I was a little afraid the ride would be really tiring since the host of the trip and the party had hired a not so comfy bus. It was one of those Ashok Leyland buses, not the nasty, ugly, angry looking ones that play shitty “octa pad” music, but the decent ones with a good head rest seat and all. The plan was to leave by 5 in the morning but you know as usual it was 7 when we left, the codda(coordinator) had fallen asleep.

It was raining heavily, the night before and the roads were all muddy and ugly. The bus speeded through the winding roads splitting puddles in half, up until Kerunegala. The road from there on is quite straight. So as usual I was shouting out loud, to stop in the “Kurunegala Kaley” to have poll roti and bim maal,and no one heard me, Jesus Christ!

Being the “kiri panu gaaya” fellow, I couldn’t sit for long in the seat. So I decided to go sit in the foot board step, the place I usually end up on any trip I take in a bus. I managed to hit a few good shots here and there.

We arrived at Passikudah at around 4 in the afternoon. Everyone was full “hunter”, so they quietly walked into their rooms to get ready for the party. The party was horrid, the food was, *I’m going to puke face*, but it didn’t matter. The only thing playing in my head was the Sun rise over the eastern sea of Sri Lanka! I told amma I had to go see it. I asked them to join me; they said okay, I went to sleep with the alarm set to 5.15.

So I wake up from my not so comfortable bed, the ground, to the sound of my “Kalu Kella” calling me to go see the beach :D Everyone was fast asleep. I woke them up and all they said was, uuhhhh, and they went back to bed, even Nunga! I put on my red mal mal Shorts and headed down to the beach, which as I was informed was not so far away. I had no clue how to get to it. So now I’m down the pathway leading to the main gate. I was hoping the gate won’t be closed, and as usual, the exact opposite to what I hoped happened, the gate was locked with a inch thick Ibba(padlock). I was a little reluctant to jump over it because this one had major spikes on it. But what the hell I was late, so I did it, *proud*.

So I was expecting to hear at least the waves crashing but, nothing coming*crazy Indian hand motion*! And for my luck I met a fisherman on his way to his boat and I got directions. As I headed down the bend and turned, there she was in all her glory, calm as ever, blue in color, sexy, wiggly, waiting for me! I was so turned on :P And this is what the rest of my story looked like.

So when I walked into the beach, it was really blue. I was just struck in awe. No one was on the beach. Not even a dog, not even a crow, pin drop silence.

Waiting for the sun to come.

Result of boredom, trying to be artistic :P

Waiting........, if you didn't know, it's the hardest part :D

There she came, with a great smile.

The army post on the beach, how lucky :) *sigh*

It's the center of the bay. It's quite dangerous dipping here. Two boys, ## , not too long ago

I hung out at the beach for as long as I could. When will I get another chance? It was amazing. I can't explain, the beauty she was showing off that day. So far the best I have seen. It was worth all the hassle.

Check out my Flickr photo stream for the whole set of pictures. The sunrise looks really cool, really :D

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Loving the Rain

2010-05-24T11:40:00.001+05:30

I have been loving the rain thats has been storming down with all it's glory during the past two, three weeks. It's really nice to be treated with some cold weather especially after the heat wave and all that. I have been loving sleeping till late which I detest usually, but theses few days I woke up and said "man...., how can you get out of bed?" and went back to sleep :D

I managed to get some cool pictures during the little breaks the rain took. Here are a few of the cooler ones :P

I have been enjoying the rain big time and I pray for more rain :)

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Machan!

2010-05-14T09:58:00.001+05:30

Ambo, after all those hectic studying days to fill our minds with utter nonsensical gibberish the 3rd of may was the day every one in class was looking forward to. The final exam was our C++ exam and I was loving it , I know all boring stuff but it gets me man, I enjoy it :) Which reminds me I haven't compiled in quite awhile and I have to before Everything gets replaced with all these guitar stuff!

So exams finished on the 3rd and we had decided to go on a "wul tour" (meaning just rasthiyadufyne) around colombo. The first thing to do was to fill our growling stomachs, and with out a doubt we head down to pilla. Have super good "Masala cheese kottu" and some "Lime coke". Although not sure if Chavie enjoyed the Kottu, he just had a few spoons. Any way everyone looked high after the kottu. We decided to head down to Galle face.

These pictures were taken while we were hanging out in the bus stand for a while until the bus came.

Galle face was sexy as usual. Isso wade, sea breeze, the spray the sea brought was amazing and soothing. We hung out there for a long time chatting since we wouldn't see each other in two months. I know, we have a two month vacation. *as waha, kata waha, duru wewa!*.

I all ways feel proud too look at this flag post :)

The foamy sea that day, reminds me of Alexendria, although it was not so rough :)

I wish Chavie joined this picture some how.

Galle Face never fails to satisfy us. Each day, offers something new. Head down there when ever you are free, satisfaction guaranteed.

Cheers!

Girls and Cooties

2010-05-13T09:44:00.001+05:30

Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong

That’s why I decided to write this song.

This wonderful lady is driving me crazy

Why on earth is she taking it so easy?

It took a while for this fling to mould

And I have mentioned it not to a soul

Now it's getting very obvious you see

When all my friends start talking to me

I see all of them become cold

When the stories to them I unfold

Of the craziest things that happened to me

During the past two weeks or three

I take great pride in the things I do

The way I give her a hint or two

Of how much I love her, and how much i care

And how much I miss fiddling with her hair

Her voice, her smell, how she turns in a while

Nothing could buy her million dollar smile

How much, How much I long to see her face

From this week to the next I'm left in dismay

As much as I blabber so much of her

Not a clue she has of me loving her

When will she know? How will she know?

When will she tell me if I got to let go?

Tell me soon I pray

So that I can head my own way

Great tales of love they say

Happen in very subtle ways

But mine as you can see

Is as sad as it could be

Girls don't know how boys some times feel

All they care about is their six inch heel

Maybe if she could open her eyes

She could figure out my disguise

I’m sure she too has something on her mind

Although she is acting blind

Now it's time for me to conclude

All girls have cooties some boys include

Hoping this dark cloud would pass away :(

So that there will be a brighter day :D

Cheers!

Swinging in style

2010-05-07T16:49:00.002+05:30

First of all, really sorry for not commenting on any of the blogs, I was having exams all this days and I couldn't even lift my head. Now everything is cool and life is back to normal, although not for long :(

Anyways everything has been going smoothly, what are you guys up to? I have been fixing a lot of guitars theses days. it's really fun to mess with guitars, at least fir me :P I received a Fender Stratocaster for repair. I have been enjoying fixing it since it is the first time I got to mess with a Fender.

It's 70's Strat and it's amazing. it's purple in color. Look really majestic. It's a great guitar to play old licks. The pickups are amazing and it has a great feel.

I thought for a change I'd play something this time. I love playing guitar and this time it's on a Fender. it's actually a dream come true :D This guitar was fully refurbished overhauled by me. So if you need to fix any guitars you know who to call :D

Here is me playing sultans of swing by Dire Straits. I recorded this with Kalu Kella, sound is not that great. I'm playing to a backing track :D

Some of the hammer ons and pull offs are not clear. The phone failed to pick them up.
I hope you enjoyed the post. oh yeah, and sorry i look terrible :S

Cheers!

Things I love to do

2010-04-06T08:29:00.000+05:30

The past week has been really great for me, “everything is going according to plan”, I would say. I hope everything goes well. I have been waiting for this to happen for a while. I’ll make sure I write a post when it does happen. Till then fingers crossed :O

Leaving all that jazz aside, I thought of writing a post about the things I love to do.

My greatest desire is to hang out at the beach, I love both the mount beach and the wellawatta beach. I have not still got a chance to visit Kal-kudah or Paasi-kudah, which I dream about much often! Unawatuna and Hikka are good but I seldom go there :S So Wellawatta and Mount are my only options.

Wellawatta Beach.

Mount Beach.

I love hanging out at my place, it’s not that great but, the sunset is pretty cool. Every day the sky shows off the different colors it can make. She has something new to offer every day!

The sunset from my roof top.

I love Galle Face. I know lots of people say it’s “goday” but I find it very cool. Mainly because of the beach and the sexy pier. Galle face was really good last week, I had a good load of fun, with great people. The aroma the “isso wade`” produces is just amazing. The “achcharu”, the “shawarma”, make it one big carnival.

Both these pictures are from the pier at Galle Face.

I have developed a great desire for train journeys. This once I took the train to Wellwatta and now I want to do it every day! It’s a whole different world in there. The people in trains are really different. Not like the ones in buses. Most of them are very pleasant and graceful, and the bouncy ride just chills me out.

This is from the train, I think it looks cool :)

I love playing the guitar, I have no picture of that to upload :S

Sorry for not posting last week, I got really busy for no reason. I hope you enjoyed the post =D

Cheers!

My Love

2010-03-22T10:30:00.003+05:30

The love I have for the beach never seems to die. I much await to escape from the busyness of life, and spend a few hours listening to my love sing. The walks I take whenever I can spare a few hours have become events I look forward to, the most. The best part is, when you are out there, right next to her, you forget every thing. All the assignments, the exams, and what not? She helps you take your mind off things so effortlessly. The breeze that comes along with her mesmerizing voice refreshes your soul, your mind, your all. The beauty she presents each day in a different way can not bypass your mind! It will surely find a place in your heart.

I have been able to hang out at the beach a little these days. Was able to get these pictures.

This is form the pier in Wellawatta, one of my favorite places in the beach. Mount Lavinia is visible far away.

This picture was also taken in Wellawatta. I took this while I was taking a walk one Saturday.

This is also from Wellawatta, right after the train station. I was running late for a meet up that day, snapped this and soon and ran off.

This was taken in Galle Face, I went there with a few friends couple of days ago.

Look how the rays of the sun is escaping through the clouds. There was a patch of sun rays on the water and it looked so cool.

I think this looks awesome.

The rays of the sun is just breath taking.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. All the credit goes to Kalu Kella.

Cheers!

look what i found!

2010-03-17T21:14:00.001+05:30

It was almost a year since we got Lassie, a one of a kind German shepherd. She's one of those dogs who doesn't give a shit. No matter who comes in to the house, I've never heard her growl. She's too friendly, i would say!

One fine day I was playing fetch with Lassie, with a wretched tennis ball. Lassie gets hyper at odd times. She some times can't stop running around the house. I do this wired slow dance to make Lassie hyper. This day I did it bloody well, and God, din't she start running. I heard my mom yell from the kitchen, asking me to stop messing with the dog. I did.

The ball was missing, the one which was in Lassies mouth. I started looking for it around a bushy tree my grandma had planted. And look what I found!

I didn't go to mess with the nest, it looked so fragile.

Later that evening I was able to capture this.

Another picture from my roof top, the best one I would say!

I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

Story of the Pier

2010-03-11T07:37:00.001+05:30

Yet another day, I was walking down the Wellawatta beach. I t was bright and sunny. I was loving it. Great day indeed. I decided to go passing the Navy post at the very end of Marine drive. It was the first time I had gone that way. There was a pier kinda thing, made of stones. Looked pretty cool, regardless of the stench coming from the "Kunu ela"(Beautiful canal) behind it. So i go along this pier and look whom I bumped in to.

Bright and sunny day, fabulous beach!

The peer at Wellawatta.

He looks really shy doesn't he?

He was the only good looking one.

I finally sang a song and made the fellow come out =)

I was completely soaked after I finished taking pictures. I had to "Bada gaala"(crawl) and go along the rocks to get to the crabs. The rocks were really slippery and the soggy stuff on the rocks felt terrible when the squeezed in through my toes. Since the tide was low I made it to the other side. Kalu kella was faithful enough to stand by and do her job.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Cheers!

Re-united

2010-03-06T08:00:00.003+05:30

I was really tired that day, after the very boring lectures. I supposed to meet a few friends later that evening. I was to do some discussing with them about this documentary we were doing. Any way I got there too early as usual. I tend to go very early to places. One of my wired attributes of many. I have noticed people getting really frustrated when I arrive early, I don’t care any way.

I had about two hours to kill. On my way I thought, I’ll play Sudoku till my friends come. I did end up playing Sudoku for a long time, which I’m obsessed with. Still I had almost an hour left.

I thought I’d take a walk. I usually take long walks; another weirdness of mine, which people think is stupid. I love looking at shit. That’s what makes me walk. So I start walking. Looking what Wellawatta-ians(if that is even a word)were up to that day.

Suddenly I hear this lovely voice calling out to me. A voice that sounded so familiar, so known. It sounded as though it was calling out my name. She was singing my name in different tones and pitches. As the signals of her voice grew stronger and started mesmerizing my mind, I could feel my feet getting swifter. I start walking to the voice. And around the street corner, my oh my, didn’t I see her, in all her glamour and majesty. It was my love, my best friend, my obsession, my home away from home my better half. It was her, my love who I managed to forget so conveniently.

Little did I know that I was so close to the beach, she was right there under my nose. Since I was a little kid I have been attracted to the beach in many obscure ways. She has been such an attraction I would do anything to spend a moments hours with her. She is somehow present in most of the moments that hold a special place in my heart.

And at that moment, when i saw her, I fell in love again, so fast and so innocently, it was like we never departed.

That evening, this is what she offered me at the shore in Wellawatta.

The sun is almost there. Waiting to go down and cool =D

If you look closely you'll be able to see the world trade center in Colombo. This is how Colombo looks like from wellawatta.

You can see Mount-lavinia far away. It's one of the best places i love to hang out. Especially this place called Boo-Baa. It's right after the Mountlavnia Hotel, towards Moratuwa.

Thus ends the story about my lustful relationship with the beach.
I hope you enjoyed the post.

Cheers!

The party in the east

2010-03-04T15:20:00.000+05:30

Last year, during the latter part of April, I was considering giving up chilling and doing some serious studies. It was then that heat of the Advance level exam, which was due in August 2009, started to get to my bottom. I hadn't done any studying, at all. I was involved in all sorts of stuff outside school, so my attendance to school was not that great. I didn't go for any extra classes because every single class I go to, I fall asleep before the lesson begins. I assume everyone will agree if I say, those naps you take during class are the best naps you would ever take.

This good friend of mine calls me up, out of the blue!, and asks me if I would like to be a part of a relief team that helped people in the east, people who were affected by the war. The obvious answer, anyone who loves to travel would give when they hear the word “EAST”, “Yes”, came outta my mouth without any hesitation what so ever.

So, this trip was organized to go visit the pals in the Far East. I was very excited regardless of m exam in August. My mom started nagging as usual, although this time she had a valid reason. I’m a pro at convincing, so "අම්මට ගුලිය බැස්සුවා"(begged my mom).

Early march, the lads and the ladies meet up, around 12 of us, at some 2 in the morning and leave to Baticaloa. I couldn’t get proper sleep due to the excitement the trip brought along with it. We left as early as possible, since we had a good load of work to do.

6 to 7 hours down the line, weather had changed, van was moving at an extremely slow speed down a terribly broken road, which seemed to lead to the cesstpit of hell. The ride was so bumpy, many of the girls in the van puked.

Before I knew it I was there, I was in Baticaloa. A very depressing place, signs of war all over, lean and ugly looking trees. Not what I expected. Anyway I made up mind, to have a good time there, regardless of what it had to offer.

The guys had planned to visit a few villages in Batticaloa and Thiru-kovil, Ampara. Everyone hoped for the best, since the war and all, was not over then.

We head down to a village between “Mahaoya” and Batticaloa name “Kithula”, at around 12 in the afternoon. I assume you would understand how hot the sun was. It can be called one of mother earth's best ovens. Many villages there are formed around Army or STF camps. This was one of them too. The STF that day had organized an “Avurudu Uthsavaya” for the kids in the village. We joined them, broke past the language barrier and all other differences there is, and and had tons of fun. Later that day, we met up with a few villagers, had some good chit chats. "Interesting personalities", I would say, and they had very wired sense of humor. They were super excited with what we had brought for them from Colombo.

(A "Kanaa-mutti" competition.)

(The climbing of the greased tree)

(Young Kilojan has to walk about 3 miles to get a decent re-fill of water)

(This is their backyard, miles and miles of vast open fields)

I took these photos on our way back to the place we spent the night. It's from a place called "Rugam" between Kithula and Mahaoya.

(Thoppigala along with a mountain range can been seen from here during the early hours of the day. "Kalu kella" refused to get a picture of it, since it's a considerable distance away.)

If you look closely you'll be able see two fisherman on a "Paaruwa"(some what like a canoe) fishing.

Early, the following morning, we arrived at a village in a remote part of Batticaloa. A village called “Karadiyanaru-kulam”.You can find it down the road to “Thoppi-gala” (which the SL army rescued not long ago).

The guys from the STF mentioned that the folk from “Karadiyanru-kulam” were considered the lowest cast among the tamils in that area, which is really sad. I thought all that jazz was forgotten long time ago.

(The junction from which the road to "Thoppigala" starts.)

Poverty ruled this village, so much so that some children in the village hadn't been to the Batticaloa town. Funny story comes in to my mind. When this team had once visited Karadiyanaarukulam before, they had seen some villagers trying to wash their wretched clothes, which they usually don't wash. They had been murmuring to them selves, as though they were scolding some one. Our lads got a little inquisitive and couldn't wait to check out what was going on. They had approached them and had seen that that they were using some wired kind of soap, stuff the guys from Colombo had never seen. Wanting to know more they asked the villagers what soap it was. They had mention some NGOs had given the soap to them, and then said that it was terrible. One of the lads had taken the soap in to his hand to check it out. He then, couldn't stop laughing. When everyone asked as to why he was laughing, he had given them the soap. It was god darn KRAFT CHEESE!!!! I guess now you would understand what kind of people we were dealing with. People who didn't know what was cos-tic soda and milk.

I met a girl. Her name, Lakshmi. She was only 20, she had five children. The eldest not more than six years. Her husband died whilst serving for the LTTE. Poor soul. Many villagers there do not have any document of Identification, not even a birth certificate. The village has it's own traditions. Everyone sleeps with every one, much like the Bold ant the Beautiful. And my oh my, don't they love to reproduce. They pop out kids in style, like god damn tennis ball shooters.

Most of the villagers live under trees during the day. The heat is unbearable, especially in the little huts they have constructed with much effort using aluminum sheets NGOs have given them.

We gave them pictures the team took the previous time they visited them. They were stunned. Never had they seen a photograph of themselves. They were very thrilled with those little bubble blowers we gave them. It was very nice to be treated like celebrities for once, damn!

(The girl in blue, far behind, who is standing with a baby in her hand is Lakshmi)

(Madi-malar loved her picture)

We now have a pre-school up and running for the little ones in Karadiyanrukulam.

The Batticaloa town is too beautiful. It's surrounded with the sea and the lagoon from either side. Awesome. It will make your heart skip a beat, when you see the sun rise from there.

(This is how the lagoon looks from inside the town)

We left for Thrikovil, Ampara, after we toured the deserted streets of the Batticaloa town.

We arrive at Thrukovil, Ampara late that night. The folk were very exhausted. After having dinner we had a small sing song, which I enjoyed very much. Just before we went to bed a cry echoed through the village. Someone had come across a “maa-pila”, a very venomous snake. Bastard!, destroyed our sleep, which we were dreaming about for hours. We had to deal with that before we could do anything. Once we got rid of the small fella, we decided to hit the sack. And sweet Lord, didn't we know to sleep!

(This was the maa-pila)

Next morning, we visited some lads in a village name"Kudi-Nilam". We met up with a lot of kids, had a good load of fun. We brought them popsicles, which they craved for, from this old fart who was very fussy. I don't know why i feel like I have hated him for years. Anyway the little rascals enjoyed it all the way.

(I love this picture)

It was now time to go home. We left thirukovil in the afternoon, right after having lunch which the villagers prepared for us in much gratitude. They say when you cook out if love, even the most abysmal food is extremely delicious. Who ever told that, I understood what she/he was trying to say, just after I had that meal. It still makes my mouth watery, every single time I think about it. Crabs and prawns and what not?

As usual, every one was with a face like Galle face, when they realized it was time to leave. The east didn't have much to offer. What ever it offered, it offered with all it's heart. I think thats what made the difference.

We took a road that ran through the lands of“Pottuvil”, to get back to Colombo.

(Some where in "Pothuvil")

("Be-e-ay-utiful", isn't it?)

I learned to appreciate life so much more after this trip. We have so much, yet we can’t stop nagging and complaining. We all ways want more. The folk in the east have absolutely nothing and still they are so happy, it's like a party over there. We should learn to appreciate life more. Appreciate what we have more. I very surely say, you will enjoy life much more, if you learn to be a little more appreciative. The smallest things in life will bring so much satisfaction.

I know the post is very long. I have minimized it as much as possible. I hope you enjoyed it. I have shrunk the quality of the images because I had quite a few images to upload. I have so many more amazing pictures from this trip. I'll post them on flicker or something some time later.

Cheers!

Kalu Kella

2010-02-25T19:24:00.000+05:30

I have kabal Camera phone, I call her my “kalu kella” She barely works. She’s touch sensitive. That is, you can’t hold her too hard, she starts malfunctioning. I have to flash her, for sure, once every 4 months. She’s running on her the 3rd LCD display. She gives me so much trouble. I don’t earn so it’s very hard to support a lady like that. Any way I still love her very much. She has never let me down when those photogenic moments came by.” All ways stood by me”, I would say. She helped me to capture so many moments I enjoy going through over and over again.

So here I am, writing a blog, which I never thought I’d do, all because my “kalu kella” wants everyone to see what she is capable of. She is not loaded with all that much, but she makes sure, she gets the job done.

All of these pictures were taken from my roof top. I think they are pretty neat. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Do leave your comments behind, please; I’d appreciate it very much.
This is my very first blog. I hope I didn’t sound terrible. I tried my best, honest =)

I guess I’ll stop writing now and share a few pics, “Kallu Kella” managed to get a hold of.

Cheers =)