" Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore, memoirs and travels.

In life ,farewells are the hardest feelings, be it with humans,innane objects, pets and that place we always call "HOME".Since childhood i have led a nomadic existence, shifting residences, schools and finally the adventurous profession of sailing as a marine engineer.

The first " Muhurat construction" of " Rudolph Cottage".In the photo R-L:  Cousin Jayshree.Ferts, Mum Greta.Furtado, Cousin Rocky.Ferts.Cousin Rocky.Ferts introduced me to Bangalore city when i first visited the "Garden City" in 1990.

Saturday(14/3/1992)A view of " Rudolph Cottage" under construction.This tiny cottage built by me took a unbelievable 5 years to be completed under 3 different sub- contractors ! Unbelievable but true.

Thursday(19/3/1992): - Whenever I visited Bangalore a stroll on M.G Road with a beer in one of the iconic pubs of Bangalore was my normal itinerary.

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Saturday(14/3/1992):- Dad Louis.J.Furtado on the terrace of partly constructed " Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore.

In 1988 we had purchased a plot of land at "Vijaya Bank Colony" in Banaswadi in Bangalore, my "brain output" as i realised Bangalore was a developing city of India.Since i was employed in the "Merchant Navy" and hence couldn't have much free-time on land i requested my mother to go to Bangalore and scout for some land plots, besides my maternal cousins,Jayshree and Sheela were settlers of Bangalore.My cousin Jayshree D'Brass(nee Ferts) was an employee of "Vijaya Bank" and since their bank was developing some agricultural land and later offering it for housing purposes to its employees as well as the public i decided to purchase a plot.It cost us approx Rs 30,000 in 1988 and it was totally barren land with half paved roads and cattle grazing in the vacant lands ,a miniature countryside of the suburbs of Mangalore, hence mum felt absolutely at home in this environment.

1998:-"Squirrel Nest" in our meter box.

We were the initial pioneers along with cousin Jayshree that built houses in this locality in the 1990's and i literally witnessed a village transforming into a township.Building "Rudolph Cottage" proved to be a 5-year plan as the initial builder stopped construction mid-way and we finally had to take the help of another local contractor.Construction work started in 1990 was finally completed in 1995, a time span in which mega-housing projects get completed ,let alone a Rs 2 1/2 lakh budget cottage.My mother took great pains in building this house in spite of all the troubles and hurdles put forward by the cottage contractor Mr Surendra.Babu and later, the second builder Mr Joseph.During the initial construction when it was half incomplete , she stayed in the mosquito infested house without electricity using wick lamps,torturous for a woman used to the luxury of electricity and free flowing tap water in Mumbai.I financed the entire purchase and construction but it was my mother who accomplished the task of getting the cottage inhabitable and not abandoned mid-way due to frustration,a common case. Traveling to and fro from Mumbai to Bangalore is no child's play, besides, our house-hold was undergoing a severe human relationship problem during this particular phase of our family life.I had just undergone a tumultuous "Engagement Breakup" in 1989 , painted as the devil incarnate, and had my back against the wall.In hindsight it seems Michael.Jackson was a lesser persecuted human than myself during this particular phase of my life, besides, in 2009, marriages are no more "Sacrosanct" forget about "Engagements".In 2011, "Engagements" are akin to "Regular Dating" with no commitments towards the institution of marriage.Luckily i escaped a "Mental Institution" during this phase almost having a severe nervous breakdown due to depression and persecution, some imagined some genuine.As they say,"Luck favours the brave" and i came out of this mess scalded and bruised but with my head held high and reputation intact. Picked up the pieces of my fragmented love life and proceeded with my profession and hobby's, gradually regaining control of normal human living.I had initially built this cottage with a view of my marriage since our Mumbai residence is only a single/bedroom hall apartment(531 Sq Ft) and future addition of a wife and possibly a kid or two later would have meant population explosion in "A/504 Vaibhav Apartments".

We had a small backyard garden. this "Hibiscus Rosasinesis" was a specimen from my garden. For a few years our cottage electricity meter box was the residence of a pair of squirrels..

                                                                                                                                                            Having a "Zero savings account" made me opt for a cheaper residence, besides, having spent my entire life in "SOBO(South Mumbai)" was reluctant to shift to a distant suburb of Mumbai for cheaper housing.The only option was Bangalore,a developing city in 1980's and thats how "Rudolph Cottage" was born. Either me or my parents could fluctuate residences between Mumbai and Bangalore, something common among salaried "Yuppie Indians" to which "Marine Engineers" belonged and i was earning reasonably well by Indian standards of wages. Alas, marriage plans ended up in "Cold Storage" and i decided to live the "Bachelor life" to the last tango in any city or place, a total nomad, the slogan being ,"You only live once, not Twice".Mum did the " House Warming ceremony" of this house inviting neighbours and her relatives, thrilled of owning her own country style house.Dad's relatives have also visited this house most prominently being Aunt Daisy( Sister Noelle Marie) who was the principal of a girls school and my cousin Wilson.Furtado and his wife Maria, settlers of Bangalore.Mum and myself frequently visited Bangalore when i was away from the ship on holidays and we really did have a nice time with acquaintances, friends and relatives.During this phase, since we only stayed here on holidays we didn't install a "Header Tank" with pumping arrangements for water and hence all our water arrangements were catered by Mr Rajappa, a man who supplied water in plastic pots to residents on his bicycle, charging a nominal sum.Sometimes, i myself would use the "Govt Hand-pump" installed near our cottage for "emergency water", pumping the same into the pots during excess household water consumption, the village style life. Living at "Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore taught me the value of water,and self management of frugality, untaught at "Harvard Business School" ,something i took for granted at our residence at Vaibhav Apartments in Prabhadevi at Mumbai."Rudolph Cottage" in the 1990's was a genuine "Farmhouse", rustic and beautiful and myself indulging in genuine countryside living akin to holidays in my parents ancestral homes of Barkur and Mabukala in Mangalore.

                                                                                                                                                                     It was only after my mum's demise in 2004 that i installed a "Pump set" with piping and header tank ,besides keeping bachelor "Paying guests", with water being supplied by water tankers to the underground sump storage tank. "Bicycle water-man" Mr Rajappa's job has become redundant in 2009 with the evolution of "Vijaya Bank Colony" from a sleepy village in 1990's to a bustling township in 2009, with "water-Tankers" replacing human "Bicycle-water supplier's".Co-incidentally, one fine day discovered that "Class 3" batchmate since the age of eight, Mr Biju.J.Karian lived a stone's throw away distance from my residence, a strange course of destiny .I owe Biju.J.Karian my career in "Marine engineering" as we were partners in fun and mischief during the innocent era of school and college days in Mumbai with destiny playing a major role in my career as a "Marine engineer" otherwise i was studying to become a "Lawyer".During Mazdock apprenticeship days our lives went different paths with Biju experimenting on the "Hep highs" of the yuppy generation of our era whereas i was into discovering the birds and the bees along with "Outdoor activities" in the "Middle-Class atmosphere". After sailing, we hardly met each other and later my own personal problems and psychological trauma's kept me busy and away from friends and acquaintances. Biju got married and i later heard that he had migrated to Bangalore as his wife Jeeva, a medical practitioner by profession had strong roots in that city. This came as a surprise to me since Biju was an outright "SOBO Bombayite" roaming in elite upper-crust social circles. Once, sometime in the 1990's i met Biju and told him that i had built a cottage in Bangalore to which he replied that he was in the process of building a bungalow somewhere close to my residence, a bizarre co-incidence as neither he nor me ever consulted nor met each other before building our houses in Bangalore. Telepathy ! The next time i visited Bangalore, we happened to meet and he took me over to his construction site in Horamavu, just 15 minutes walking distance from my house. Biju's bungalow is a prototype of the fancy "House and Living" magazine styled bungalows, beautiful and "Classic Old world Charm" interiors with frightful guard dogs. His present guard dog in 2009 , a Rottweiler named "Shredder" has an absolute suitable name, one of the best "Rottweiler dogs" i have seen, and i am commenting after once owning a prize winning dachshund, "Lucky", besides, regularly keeping in touch with "Dog Shows" in India. As usual i discovered the nooks and corners of Bangalore on my cycle, later carting this cycle to Mumbai where i still use it and raise eyebrows in a locality where the cycle is a traffic eyesore, people forgetting its advantages in pollution control and physical fitness.

House break-in on Monday(24/6/2002).

."Rudolph Cottage" had been broken in twice by burglars and in the melee i lost my replacement bicycle and a radio ,besides the burden of unnecessary sundry expenses. Strangely in the first robbery attempt on Monday(24/6/2002) for all the trouble of breaking into my house the thieves left empty handed. My " Horse racing budget" of Rs 19,000 along with binoculars were in the other bedroom and Sherlock Holmes would find it strange that they didn't enter the other room. Later i thought that mum could use this house in her twilight years as she liked the rustic village life with a private garden, cleaning and personally sweeping the garden compound, but, life had other plans. Mum suddenly succumbed to cancer in 2004 and our household just ceased to exist as dad was already into old-age and living on memories of the 1950's whereas "Post-economic liberalization Independent India-1992" had changed by leaps and bounds within my own generation .Dad himself had been to "Rudolph Cottage" twice with me during better days and so ultimately it was just me who made the visits to "Rudolph cottage" which i had rented to a group of "I.T professionals and youngsters" after mum's demise in 2004, a sort of hostel and proud to say that some of its occupants have migrated to greener economic pastures. Finally economic sense rather than sentiments made me realize that it was stupid on my part to maintain a palatial cottage at a "Loss Rental". As a singleton i could always live in a lodge or hotel in Bangalore, besides, my attitude towards living and life had changed beyond comprehension. After quitting "Sea Employment" in 2008 i decided to "solo-travel" to other untraveled parts of the globe, the last frontier of human adventure ,hence less time for upkeep and management of "Rudolph Cottage". The decision was finally made after much sentiments and nostalgia for i realized that change according to circumstances and situations in one's personal life is the only way forward, either for good or bad depending on destiny and personal adjustments. Haven't i quit employment in the "Shipping Profession" and still managing a decent living standard on "stocks and Mutual Funds"? The name "Rudolph Cottage" was not my brain input of megalomania but my mothers suggestion as this was a house planned, built and financed totally by my toil of blood, sweat and tears at sea. The house in Mumbai is my parent's house while "Rudolph cottage" wasmy very own  "Rudolph's Cottage"! Had personally planted various plants and trees during my occasional visits to Bangalore since 1990, with the evergreen mangrove tree planted sometime in 2000 being a centre of attraction. Accidentally a bonsai tree has also grown next to the Mangrove , a freak of nature.A guava tree which was on our plot on purchase has consistently borne fruits which are truly delicious unlike the market fruits .At least at "Rudolph cottage" i could try my hand at gardening since my Mumbai flat is too small, though its "Rain-forest" is awesome! Remember visiting the "Miss World Contest" organized by Amitabh.Bachchan's now defunct "ABCL" company and bowled by Prabhu Deva's "Huma Huma" dance recital along with "Miss Greece" being crowned the "Miss World". Shook hands with famous magician "P.C.Sorcar Jr(Prodip.Chandra.Sorcar) after attending his show at the Bangalore Town hall, baffled by his World famous "Indrajaal".Attended the "I.T Exhibition" In Bangalore somewhere in 2000, one of the largest such exhibitions in India and learnt about the "I.T Industry", visiting various stalls, also winning a "T-Shirt(www.myiris.com)" in a quiz contest. Discovered the passion of "Illegal Cockfights" among villagers in the suburb of Kalkare in Bangalore, something which fascinated me after the Manila visit in 1995.  

COTTABETTA ESTATE( Tata Plantation) :- Classic "COFFEE PLANTATIONS" in Coorg(Kodagu).This estate is also a tourist resort with cottage bungalows on rentals for tourists. They also provide a jeep safari of the coffee plantation. Tour Coorg(Kodagu)  once in your life-time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Visited the "Kodagu district" of Karnataka and stayed in Madikeri, described as the "Scotland of India', excellent forested area with coffee plantations and scenic hills with the view from "Raja's Seat" being just indescribable. The "Coorg region" is famous for producing some of India's best hockey players and soldiers, a real unique region. While in Madikeri visited "Abbey Falls" and later the "Talacauveri" , considered the "Source" of the Cauveri River and a holy pilgrimage centre for South Indians.I was surprised to observe the source of the mighty Cauveri river springing from the hillside of the Brahmagiri hills at a height of 1276 metres above sea-level into a tank on which a temple is built, geography practically experienced from the textbooks. Ultimately, memories and photographs are the only remnants of these wonderful times and travels during my residence at "Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore, my second home. First got a glimpse of the "Sukhoi fighter jet" at the "Bangalore Air show" held at Yellahanka,the first time that i visited an "Airshow" in my life.

                                                                                                                                                                  Thanks to my residence in "Rudolph Cottage", i could explore South India with Mangalore, Ooty and Mysore being regular haunts on long holiday stays ,besides, also having visited Chennai, Coorg and Hyderabad on other stays. Also visited the World famous Gold Mines of "Kolar" in November 2000, the World's second deepest "Gold Mines" on the outskirts of Bangalore before they were closed in 2003.Toured the "Mine-shaft area" and saw the "Twin Gold mine lifts" built in 1925 and run by a huge "D.C Generator" built in 1925 supplying 2200 volts at 25cycles/Sec and operational, absolute antique. Tourists were not allowed to go down 10,000 feet into the mine Shafts and this unique antique "Mine shaft Lift" working in tandem, one lift ascending and the other descending into the mines could be a tourist attraction in its own right. Tourists go to Nepal to see "Mt Everest", the Worlds tallest mountain either by an "Air Sortie" or trekking to its "Base Camp" ,similarly, i am sure that there would be tourists waiting to experience traveling to the deepest point beneath the earth, "The Kolar Gold Mines". The Kolar Gold mines city was the first in Asia to get Electricity and the "Kolar Township" near the "Gold Mines" resemble the hill-station Ooty or England, beautiful meadows and excellent weather.

Sunday(10/5/1998) :- A day in Ooty hill station that will forever be etched in my memory bank for the simple reason that it was a day of incredible events in this tiny hill station of India. In the morning  attended the "Ooty Dog Show" and got to see some of the most unique breed of dog's which included "Fox Hound's" and "St Bernard's".The climate of Ooty is suitable for cold climate dog breed's like the St Bernard seen being paraded in the "Dog Show ring". 

Sunday(10/5/1998) :- "POLICE BAND" performing at "THE HINDU NILGIRI DERBY" on the Ooty racecourse held in the afternoon. The race was  sponsored by the "Hindu group" of media publishers. A grand event in the annual racing calendar of tiny hill station Ooty akin to the celebration of the "Indian Derby" at Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai. Notice the beauty of the surrounding hills. 

Sunday(10/5/1998) "Rudolph Cottage" to Ooty :- A visit to Ooty and attended  the " The Hindu Nilgiri Derby" at the Ooty racecourse. This is the paddock of the Ooty racecourse  where the horses are unsaddled after completion of the race. Ooty has  a  small racecourse since it is built on a hill station  and the derby afternoon at the racecourse and my entire short holiday stay  in Ooty was a event of a lifetime. In Ooty it was the horses of Dr M.A.M.Ramaswamy that dominated the Ooty racing season as can be gauged in the photo with both jockey's wearing the racing colours of Dr M.A.M.Ramaswamy.I was at the right hill station at the right time  and the month of MAY is the time where all roads in South India lead to "OOTY HILL STATION". Ahoy !  Got to attend the annual Ooty flower show which was akin to being in a section of Kew Gardens in England. Excellent flowers and a Botanist could get lost in the midst of flowers and tree's at the "Ooty Flower show".

Now i realize the reason for Kolar being dubbed "Little England" by the Britishers during their tenure in India. Also visited the "International Technology Park" at Whitefields, a "World-Class" office cum mall, comparable to the best in the World. Later visited Shri Satya Sai Baba's Ashram and although a huge sprawling institution i personally found it less impressive than the "Rajneesh Ashram" at Koregoan Park in Pune.Later wrote an article on the "Kolar Gold Mines" in the "Readers Column" of Indian Express Newspaper(14-11-2000)" which was published. It was in Bangalore that i also witnessed and realized the meaning of the famous Andy Warhol phrase:- "15 minutes of fame". An exhibition tennis match was conducted on 10-11-2000 at "K.S.L.T.A", the "Bangalore Lawn Tennis grounds" near "Cubbon Park" featuring the World's retired celibrity tennis players including my school idols, Bjourn .Borg , Guillermo Vilas ,Vijay Amritraj, Pat.Cash and Anand. Amritraj, to name the most famous tennis names of my "Youth Generation".The tickets for the "Legends tennis tournament" were expensive as is the normal case for any "Star-studded celebrity event" but the crowds were pathetic, either, due to the exorbitant tickets or a lack of interest in "Tennis" or the fact that all these celebrity tennis stars were "Retired celebrities". The tennis matches were akin to professional wrestling with gimmicks and trick shots especially by Mansoor Bahrami, although some matches were truly vintage "Borg-Amritraj-Pat cash-Guillermo Vilas". Imagine Bjourn .Borg playing "Centre-Court" at Wimbledon in the 1970's with tickets selling in thousands of dollars and women oozing infatuation whilst in 2000 at an exhibition match he plays to almost empty stands. Thats fame and celebrity of the "15 minutes of Fame syndrome". Agreed, tennis greats like Bjourn.Borg will eternally be a part of "Tennis History" but the fact that peoples "Attention Span" of their celebrities can be as fickle as a taste for new recipe's is an indicator to human entertainment and show-business."Enjoy life in the present and never regret the past, with the future being your mirror", i presume Bjoun.Borg would agree to the same.

"BALARAMA" with his Mahout at the "Mysore Placae Grounds" in 2001 in preparation for the Dussehra festival..

                                                                                        

Friday(28/9/2001):- Above is a photo of  superstar jockey of that decade  B.Prakash returning back to the paddock on 'Straight Arrow" after placing 3rd in the race.In 2001 visited the Mysore racecourse with my mum  to watch "CONTINUAL" considered the wonder horse of its generation run to no competition and no bets.The punter in me decided to return home to Bangalore  on a winning note of a memorable day in Mysore and bet on my favorite jockey B.Prakash riding " Straight Arrow" in the last race of the day. Was relieved when " Straight Arrow" just narrowly placed within the first 3 and I got dividend on my Rs 5000 " Place Bet".In 2001 Rs 5000 for a "Working Class" employee was a real big investment bet. In the 1990's upto 2017  at times my betting in Bangalore and Mumbai made other punters nervous wondering if i had "Underworld Connections" or "Insider Information"  as I was so good at the speculation sport of " Horse racing ".Finally totally quit speculating on horses in 2017 after the monetary bankruptcy/scandal of Industrialist Vijay.Mallya.

Friday(28/9/2001):- At the Mysore Racecourse paddock.Whenever I stayed at " Rudolph Cottage" then a day's travel to Mysore was mandatory and if " Horse racing season " then a afternoon at this scenic racecourse overlooking the Chamundi hills.

On Friday(28/9/2001) took mum along with me for a tour of Mysore  and we visited the "Mysore Race-course' to watch "Continual" , the wonder horse of its generation win a race ,reminisces of Lester Pigott and "Clark Gable" in Mumbai. Later visited the "Mysore Palace" and photographed "Balarama" the "One-eyed elephant" that carried the "Golden Howdah" on Dussehra day celebrations. In 2009 "Balarama" is still on the job of the "Golden howdah", the centre of all eyes on "Dussehra Day". Visits to "Ranganathitu bird sanctuary" and Srirangapatnam were almost like a pilgrimage on every visit to "Rudolph Cottage".The Elton John concert at the Palace grounds was the biggest and costliest rock concert that i viewed in Bangalore, a house-packed evening of some of Elton.John's classic songs, one of my all-time favourite singers, least bothered about his "Homosexuality tag". Witnessed some of the best "Mujra Dances" at "Brigade Road Gardens", on par with some of the best in the World, sensuous and titillating, a case of Kamasutra revisited.I will never forget the night i cycled from Banaswadi to Brigade road for a night of "Mujra dance entertainment" at "Brigade Gardens" and returning home cycling along the lonely roads of Bangalore close to midnight. 

Also Experienced being conned for the first time in my life by a "Mr A.Raja", a "Club Promoter" who extracted Rs 5000 from me , my cousins and numerous other Banglorites on pretext of "Membership Fees" for joining a newly created club , called "I.T.CLUB INTERNATIONAL" in Banaswadi.I still have preserved his "Visiting Card" as a "Con souvenir" of the first con trick pulled on me, although in later years, as recent as 2008, i would be conned of Rs 11,000 at the Mumbai race-course, the story mentioned in my blog,"An uncommon face in the crowd".

Saturday(21/3/1992) The "GOVERNOR'S TROPHY" at the Bangalore racecourse :- The Governor arriving at the Bangalore racecourse  in a car with the cavalry escort.This is a Terms race for 3 year old horses and one of the prestigious horse races in the "Bangalore Racing Calender".

As usual, akin to Mahalaxmi race-course, the Bangalore race-course was my second home in Bangalore with sojourns in the pubs of Brigade road after attending the races on Saturdays or Sundays.

Saturday(21/3/1992) Bangalore Racecourse Jockey Robin.Corner leading winner "Turkish Channel" back to the saddling enclosure:-  Became a "UNOFFICIAL MEMBER" of the Mumbai and Bangalore racecourses since 1990  with Mumbai's scenic World class "Mahalaxmi Racecourse" being my "home turf" betting ground and "Bangalore Racecourse" located in the heart of Bangalore city my holiday betting ground when visiting Bangalore during my 19 long years at "Rudolph Cottage".On 2 occasions distinctly remember betting at the racecourse and from there directly boarding the "Udyan Express"  back to Mumbai. One unforgettable departure from "Rudolph Cottage"  distinctly remember like as if it happened yesterday when  i bet  a ton on a "Dr M.A.M.Ramaswamy (B.Prakash jockey)  horse for "Place" and had a "5 -Star Place Lunch" in luxurious comfort at the  "Taj West End" hotel situated opposite the racecourse before boarding the "Udyan Express" train to Mumbai . Ahoy !  Yes i was heavily addicted to "Horse Racing" but thankfully didn't go overboard and  the sport did wonder's as a education in my present profession as a "Stock Market Investor/Speculator" , a profession with the warning ,quote,"Most difficult profession to earn easy money". .

Will also remember the "Bangalore Race-course" for my second largest "Horse racing losses" on two consecutive days , losing Rs 35,000 in June 2007, catastrophic for a working class punter.Occasionally ,had small get-together party's at "Rudolph Cottage" with my cousins and their families and also with Biju and fellow classmate Leonard.Aarons ,with me experimenting in culinary cuisine, something which i have totally given up after the arrival of my house-keeper Sabina.Dias in Mumbai.Lots of memories of "Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore and i can't mention everything as memory fades with age and other intermittent busy activities of life.Finally i decided to sell "Rudolph Cottage" and informed everyone about the same with first preference given to any relative wishing to purchase it.Many prospective buyers inquired but as usual due to the price factor bargaining, a sale never materialized. My cousin Jayshree introduced a buyer but due to various nuances the deal did not materialize. Just two weeks ago mummy's friends daughter and our neighbour in Bangalore Mrs Dora D'sa introduced a buyer and to avoid any further "Jig-Saw puzzles" regarding the documentation of my house i decided to visit Bangalore personally and satisfy my own "Doubting Thomases" regarding the legality and up-gradation of all documents.Packed my "Back-packer luggage" and along with my documents boarded the "Udyan Express" at Dadar at 0820 hrs reaching Banaswadi at approx 0800hrs after a "stunt alightment" at Channasandra station near our residence and trekking my way to "Rudolph Cottage",a walking distance of approx 15 mins.I realise the importance of physical fitness and exercises during my travels, both in India and overseas.On reaching "Rudolph Cottage" at approx 0800hrs i first met Mrs D.D'sa and told her to arrange talks with my client at the earliest since i was to depart for Mumbai on Monday(28-9-2009).Mrs Dora.D'sa said that she had also consulted my neighbour Mr Balkrishna.Shetty regarding Mr G.Munni.Reddy's financial stability regarding purchase of "Rudolph Cottage" and that he considered him a genuine well-connected bonafide buyer.Also met cousin Jayshree and realised that "Real Estate" business in Bangalore is the profession of almost every house-wife!Jayshree's client Mr Hari met me and inquired about various aspects as i told him that i had already made a deal of selling the house to Mrs D'sa's client Mr G.Muni Reddy.Mr Hari left saying that if the house was not sold than he would be a prospective buyer,ultimately having two bidders for the house.Mr G.Muni Reddy and his son arrived at my residence at approx 1130 hrs and the talks and screening of original documents began.Mr Venoogopal.Reddy , the son was conversant in English and hence there was not much problems in sorting out the various necessary documentation.Mr Reddy agreed to consult his lawyer and reply to me in either the affirmative or negative and hence the bidding is still onn.One strange quirk of fate is that i am a rare individual who has experienced all types of "Human Living conditions".Began life in a palatial flat in "Mehrje Devji Bldg(7 years)" in Mombassa(Kenya), migrated to Mumbai into a one room chawl in "Haji Ismail Gani Building(7years)", shifted to a one bedroom apartment in "Vaibhav Apartments"(34 years and still living!) and built a second home "Rudolph Cottage(14 years)"in Bangalore.Intermittent years of a total of 25 years spent at sea on ships in various ranks and styles of accommodation, depending on the type of ship and rank.At present a backpacker traveler with a place which i call home being Mumbai.Life is really strange and interesting and its fun being "SINGLE!".

Mum Greta.N.Furtado and Self in "Rudolph Cottage"  in the 1990's

On Monday(28-9-2009) departed for Mumbai with a very heavy heart as this would be my second last visit to "rudolph Cottage", having concluded the deal of sale and having to later return for the conclusion of the sale of "Rudolph Cottage". Packed some of the "Mementos" of our 14 year "On/Off" stay at "Rudolph Cottage" since 1995.First and foremost, packed the "National G-20 video (VHS)" which i had purchased in 1987 in Singapore for approx Rs 5000, a princely sum in 1987, the latest model of its "Video generation" ,modeled by then Hindi movie star Mithun.Chakravorty. Adding duty of Rs 6715, the toal cost came upto Rs 12,000, and since i didn't have sufficient money to pay the custom officer as i had spent all my "Foreign exchange allowance wages" in Singapore the "Video Set" was kept in the "Custom Warehouse" for safe-keeping, to be collected on payment of the "Custom Duty".My parents later payed the "Custom Duty" and the video was released and a princely collection amongst our house-hold gadgets.Later in 1988 the plot of land purchased for "Rudolph Cottage" cost Rs 30,000 approx ,just approximately half the cost of "National -G 20 Video Set"! In 2009, the 1200Sq/Ft of same land costs Rs 30,0000 lakhs while the "National G-20 Video" is worth "ZERO RUPEES", having become "Electronically extinct" within a decade due to other inventions of the "Digital era of electronics".This "National G-20 VHS video" will be amongst my "Prize Collections" of "Entertainment innovation history" along with my late fathers collection ranging from the humble transistor to the typewriter, as it enlightens unforgettable memories of a forgotten era of human entertainment progress.How manny youngsters born in 1990 in the "Cell-phone Era" realize that as early as 1980 there was a premium for "Land line telephones" with a minimum waiting period of 5 years after application!I am a collector of "Memorabilia history" good or bad, profit or loss.touche!Also took the natural "Bonsai tree", packing it in a plastic polyethylene bag along with mud, the lasting memories of my gardening at "Rudolph Cottage".Boarded the "Udyan Express" with back-breaking luggage at 2020 hrs and arrived at Dadar at 1930 hrs on Tuesday(29-9-2009).The drive by cab from Dadar to my house took a crawling 45 minutes due to traffic jams as it was the immersion day of "Goddess Durga" , a day after Dashera, and hence huge processions, blocking entire traffic.Finally reached home at approx 2015 hrs, the honest taxi driver charging me Rs 70 while in Bangalore i was charged Rs 100 by the Auto-rickshaw driver from "Rudolph Cottage" to "Bangalore cantonment station".

The Last bus from Bangalore to Mumbai

MEMORABILIA FROM "RUDOLPH COTTAGE".The last voyage from "Rudolph Cottage" to "Vaib hav Apartments" in Mumbai :- I arrived on Saturday(7-11-2009) from my second and last trip from "Rudolph Cottage" in Bangalore by the luxury volvo bus named "SURAJ".A pictorial account of my last departure from Bangalore is written in pictorial form for memories of another day. I arrived home in Mumbai  with a lot of "Memorabilia" and "Memories Baggage".Brought along the "Bamboo cane table" and a "Bamboo Chair" besides small gifts given to mum during the "House-warming " ceremony of the House in the 1990's.Have converted my tiny Mumbai gallery into a small "Farm-house" with posters of horses brought from "Rudolph cottage", most significant being "Red Rum" as i had personally witnessed the "Grand National" on television won by "Step-toe" in 1986 while attending " South Shields Marine engineering College" at South Shields in England, nostalgic memories. My own garden plants ,"Mittoo" and Persian cats matahari and Matata complete the gallery farm-house of my tiny "531Sq Ft Apartment" in Mumbai. After all, a "Bachelor" can survive in a small accommodation and being "Single" is no more a handicap or a burden but helps in the art of "Self-Discovery" and study.