Bangalore Flower show

The Flower show in Lalbagh, Bangalore on the eve of Republic Day is such a delightful event.

India's Old Currency

The first set of British India notes were the 'Victoria Potrait' Series issued in the denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. These were unifaced, carried two language panels and were printed on hand-moulded paper manufactured at the Laverstock Paper Mills. The security features incorporated the watermark (GOVERNAMENT OF INDIA, RUPEES, two signatures and wavy lines), the printed signature and the registration of the notes.British India Notes facilitated inter-spatial transfer of funds. As a security precaution, notes were cut in half. One set was sent by post. On confirmation of recepit, the other half was despatched by post.

This series remained largely unchanged till the introduction of 'King's Potrait' series which commenced in 1923.

The introduction of small denomination notesin India essentially in the realm of the exigent. Compulsions of the first World War led to the introduction of paper currency of small denominations. Rupee One was introduced in 30th November, 1917 followed by the exotic Rupees Two and Annas Eight. The issuance of these notes was discontinued on 1st January, 1926 on cost benifit considerations. These notes first carried the potrait of King George V and were the precursors of the 'King's Portrait' Series which were to follow.

Regular issues of this series carrying the portrait of George V were introduced in May, 1923 on a Ten Rupee Note. The King's Portrait Motif continued as an integral feature of all Paper Money issues of British India. Governament of India continued to issue currency notes till 1935 when the Reserve Bank of India took over the functions of the controller of Currency. These notes were introduced in denominations of %, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10000.

The Bank's issues to January 1938 when the first Five Rupee note was issued bearing the potrait of George VI.

This was followed by Rs 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938.

In August 1040, the One - Rupee note was reintroduced, once again as a war time measure, as a Governament note with the status of a rupee coin.
As an added security feature, the security thread was introduced for the first time in India.

The George VI series continued till 1947 and thereafter as a frozen series till 1950 when the post independence notes were issued.

Slumdog Millionair

Slumdog Millionair ..... a brilliant movie by Danny Boyle

A same old rags to riches story, but very well told, offering you a roller coaster of emotion, drama intertwined with a heartwarming lovestory.

Vikas and Simon have done their research and the result is a shocking reality of the slum life which we barely know but exists out there...

True-to-life view of the slums of India, shocking to admit but true to its core. The director captured the emotion and hardship which might lead a person to do wrong, and yet though it is easy to take the wrong path it is not that quiet difficult to take the right one, such is the story of Salim and Jamaal from the slums of Mumbai. Though both came from the same background and faced the same dire situations Jamaal chose to be good and Salim chose to be bad.

Dev Patel made a perfect Jamaal Malik. Performaces by all the stars was excellent.

Homage to the heros

Quantum of solace

'Quantum of Solace' is more like the sequel of the adventures of James Bond from 'Casino Royale'. Bond captured Mr. White, and is right in the middle of an unnerving car chase as the movie starts. Bond and 'M' interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper to steal Bond's casino winnings is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. While Mr.White says that to know about us means to know that we have people everywhere, at that moment a fellow MI6 agent shoots and the chase that follows is quite exciting. This time bond shoots hanging upside down, then came the score "another way to die".Bond finds out that the lover of Vesper, because of whome she betrayed Bond was a cheat, this causes him deep anguish, M is worried that Bond is out for revenge, she also doubts the loyalty of her own people. Forensic intelligence links the MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta against General Medrano and is using Greene to get to him. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious criminal organisation known only as 'Quantum'. On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources(water, well Bond fought for money,power, oil, diamonds, even space but this is new, he uncovers a plot by 'Qunatum' to keep all the water for themselves in a deserted area) is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in Bolivia, giving General Medrano control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land which is, however, a main source of the South American water supply. In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists, and even 'M' herself, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop Quantum from getting its way.

My Notre - Dame

Notre - Dame

In the heart of Paris stands the capital's most beautiful religious monument, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, a master piece of harmony and balance.

In the dinning room of our house, stands my Notre - Dame as the most unique center piece anyone could have on thier table.

Construction :

Its construction spanned almost two centuries.

Mine, spanned almost 2 weeks of relentless cutting paper and glueing them together.

The first stone was laid in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII le Jeune and construction was completed in 1345.

The first paper was cut on june 13th, 2008 when I was really bored and I found the book which my brother bought in Paris.

During a little more than a century and a half everyone participated in the great enterprise, in an immense demonstration of faith.

Immense boredom owing to frequent power cuts in Banglore, and lack of anything better to do lead to the under taking of such a tiresome mission.

Guilds of masons, carpenters, glass makers and sculptors united their efforts under the direction of the architects, Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil.

My husband, tired of me not cooking him proper meals decided to finish it off, so that I will be back to my original self.

The fascade extends 40 m (130ft). The total length is 130 m (423 ft) the totla height of the tower is 69 m (224 ft). These few figures give us the indication of the immensity of the building.

Scaled down to 1/250,(1cm=2.5m) with the base of 22 x 63 cm and maximum height of 38 cm, with over 300 pieces to cut out. These figures give the indication of the complexity of my building.

For centuries and even before its completion the great cathedral has pulsed with the heart of the capital.

For days and even before its completion it has been the topic of discussion in and around the friends circle.

Nothing was too good for the house of God, and the builders did not hesitate to change the Romanesque portals of the transept, which was judged to be severe in relationship to the ornamental richness of the great Gothic facade.

Notre - Dame de Paris is certainly one of the most sumptuous bibles in stone offered to the centuries marvelling gaze.

And so is mine in paper...

Chandrayaan-I India's Pride

India on Wednesday became the sixth nation to launch a moon mission when indigenously built PSLV-C11 rocket blasted off from the spaceport here carrying with it Chandrayaan-I, which will map the lunar surface.
Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) home-grown rocket PSLV-C11 lifted off at 6.22 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre taking the spacecraft beyond the thick dark cloud cover over this coastal town.
After 18.2 minutes, ISRO's warhorse rocket had injected Chandrayaan-I, its maiden moon mission, in the earth orbit.
With the launch, India joined the elite club of moon faring nations -- the US , Russia , European Space Agency , China and Japan .
"The launch was perfect and precise. The satellite has been placed in the earth orbit.
"With this, we have completed the first leg of the mission and it will take 15 days to reach the lunar orbit," ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition L K Advani congratulated space scientists on the successful launch.
Chandrayaan-I is carrying an Indian flag which will be placed on the lunar surface when the Moon Impactor Probe lands on the moon during the course of the two-year mission.
"Our baby is on the way to the moon," Chandrayaan-I spacecraft director Mylswamy Annadurai said after the satellite was injected in the Transfer Orbit with a perigee of about 250 km and apogee of about 23,000 km, about 19 minutes.
About 18 minutes after liftoff, Chandrayaan-I separated from the rocket and began circling the earth in an elliptical orbit powered by its own engines.
At opportune moments, space scientists tracking the mission will fire the spacecraft's Liquid Apogee Motors (LAM) repeatedly to take it into more elliptical orbits.
Subsequently, the LAM would be again fired to take the spacecraft till it reaches 387,000 km from earth which is called the Lunar Transfer Orbit (LTO).
After Chandrayaan-1 reaches the LTO, its LAM would be fired again so as to slow down the spacecraft sufficiently to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit.
The next step would be to reduce the height of the spacecraft orbit around the moon in various steps.
After some more procedures, Chandrayaan-1's orbit would be finally lowered to its intended 100 km height from the lunar surface, which is expected to take place around November 8.
Later, the Moon Impact Probe would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 in a chosen area following which the cameras and other payloads would be turned on and thoroughly tested, marking the operational phase of the mission.
The MIP will not survive the fall but demonstrate technologies for a future soft-landing mission. During its crash on the lunar surface, the MIP will send high resolution images of the moon and also analyse terrain.
Of the 11 instruments carried by the satellite, five are Indian, three are from the European Space Agency, two from the US -- including a radar that can search for ice under lunar poles -- and one from Bulgaria .
Beyond 3-D mapping the moon and scanning for mineral deposits, the mission will test systems for a future moon landing