DIY footstool from old mattress and denim

Throw away discarded stuff into trash ???  I did this instead ...

Some pieces of old mattress and foam were lying around catching dust from years. Time to put them to use again.

Step 1: Cut, stack and glue-up the pieces of old mattress in any desired shape.

Step 2: Wrap it with a layer of old foam.

Step 3: And then with the layer of old fabric.

Step 4: Throw in some old discarded denim and rip it off into random shapes, as you like.

Step 5: Sew all these shapes together to form a box.

Viola !!! The final product .. a cool new Footstool

Simple Easy Gorgeous .. isn't it

A video of the project 

A Bird's Painting

"Bird", Oil on Canvas, Mudit Sethi, 10/02/2019

A Tibetan Girl

"A Tibetan Girl", Acrylics on canvas, muditsethi

Colors of Holi

"Colors of Holi", Acrylics on canvas, muditsethi

Journey of Life

"Journey of Life", Oil on canvas, muditsethi

"Good things are coming down the road.

Just don't stop walking."

- unknown

A painting of Buddhist Monks

"No one saves us but ourselves.

 No one can and no one may.

We ourselves must walk the path."

~ Buddha ~

soft pastels on canvas - mudit

Nature's Artwork

Nature's Artwork .. an impressionistic style pastel painting

a blank canvas of faded blue

smeared with a vivid colored brew

a daub of blue grey brown cloudy strew
those purple pink magenta in the horizon subdue

a splash of red, a little splash of orange hue
a bit of yellow peeping through

how thrilling dramatic breathtaking is the view
Nature's Artwork is perfect all through


-mudit

A sketch after a long time

White Crown

Reaching far, above the clouds

Standing tall, strong and staunch

A folded rock, purple grey brown

Painted with ice, all around

Peeping through a veil of, frozen misty gown

Awe! how beautiful, is the White Crown

-mudit

"White Crown", charcoal & pencil, 06/21/15, Mudit Sethi

Tristate 216 km - Bicycle ride

Somewhere on the way

My short ride report on the recent 216 km bicycle ride dated 13/06/15. The itinerary being Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Kuppan-Vepanapalli-Berigai-Begalur-Sarjapur and finally back to Bangaluru. The route covered the three states Karnataka, Tamil Naidu and Andhra Pradesh.

Managing some 3.5 hours of sleep the previous night, I woke up early at 4:30 - 4:45 am in a frenzy. Gobbling up couple of rotis with tad of honey, I left the house. Started at 6:00 am from Pizza Hut at Silkboard with bunch of other co riders. Soon after crossing the electronic city 10 km away, all the co riders vanished, some behind, some ahead. Thereafter, I rode mostly alone in a solo mode for rest of the stretch, at my own pace.

Ride till Krishnagiri was frisky, smooth and effortless just like a bird's flight. Feeding on idlies vada pongal and hot crisp filter coffee at Saravna Bhavan at 72 km, pepped up, I was back on the pedals. Soon took the detour from the Bangalore - Chennai highway towards Kuppam. 

The weather was warm and humid. The road was now relatively free from traffic with an overall uphill gradient and a few nice climbs. The surreal and scenic landscapes of Kuppam were most delightful to watch with giant imposing boulders embedded perfectly on the hillocks surrounded by vivid vegetation. The birds chirping in the backdrop of lush green cover and the fragrance of clean pollution free countryside air was captivating. At times I found myself riding through a platoon of the colorful butterflies flying on the road everywhere. 

Soon after, I was on a scenic decent to Vepanapalli to join the highway to Begalur. Unable to find a decent place for lunch, I settled for half a dozen bananas and water and moved on. This section of the route till Begalur also had climbs but was equally nice in terms of good roads and less traffic.

Despite the exhaustion due to heat and climb in the middle of the day, resting and sleeping for a while under a shady tree on the roadside over a bed of wild grass with mild breeze gently sweeping my sweaty face and cooling me off was quiet soothing and liberating. There was whole new beautiful world of bugs and ants, twigs and leaves on the ground. While laying on the back and observing the vast expansive sky above the trees, I was engulfed in my solitude, a feeling of being free, a feeling of being strong yet tiny at the same time.

An ice-cream break at Begalur, water bottle refilled. Its always a pleasure to smile back and wave hands to local people, specifically the kids who come running behind to cheer up, shouting there hearts out in excitement on seeing some cyclist in strange attire. 

With the clouds filling up the skies and the sun playing hide seek, I picked up pace on relatively flat terrain to reach Sarjapur. Sarjapur to Bangalore had pathetic traffic which progressively increased into a disgusting smoke filled jam near Bangaluru city. Really wished our city was more serene calm and clean.

6:35 pm, reached home, then a blank. 1.5 hours later, I found myself lying stiff on the chair with feet on the tabletop :p. Had a hot shower, followed by a well deserved yummy dinner to satisfy my hunger pangs.

Had an amazing day :-)

The Map

Ride 2 Janapadaloka and back!!!

Pic from today morning's 122 km casual cycle ride to Janapada Loka n back. Had great fun :)

Aaj Jaane ki Zid Na Karo ..

Awesome fun .. me playing guitar from Bangaluru and Gaurav Vashist singing from Delhi. Enjoy :)

A note from the Singer, Gaurav Vashist

"Jamming session with Mudit after almost 8 years and as always it was super fun. 

The song is so subtle and so profound that it grows on you. I recorded this song's vocals and sent them to Mudit. Mudit rejected the version..saying there is not rhythm to it. Use a metronome and rerecord. I had no clue what a metronome is. After struggling for a day i asked him to play the guitar using a metronome and send me the guitar part ..i'll superimpose the voice. After some 20-25 recordings this is what we have come up with. enjoy. :)" 

- Gaurav Vashist

The violin n guitar song (experimental)

the instruments behind

        let this bow swing

        let these strings ring

        a steady rhythm

        let these notes sing

        a song of love

        a song of sorrow

        a song of past

        a song for tomorrow

        just loosen up and let go

        let the music in your soul flow

               

        -mudit

       

A short rough and raw self-composition after a long long time. Goofing around with my violin and guitar, here's the outcome. Apologies for imperfections :P

Thanks and Peace !!!

The weekend Nandi Expedition

One may call it, a wake up apathy syndrome or a selective hearing disorder or a alarm clock immunity, majority of us suffer or had suffered from it in some days of our life (not to mention, this disorder is a boon in disguise many times). When the most powerful and strategically complicated alarms fail in doing its job, thanks to a simple call from a friend at the nick of time, that saves your day. 

Last week, following a casual discussion with bunch of cycling enthusiast in office, a 150 km casual ride to nearby Nandi Hills was planned instantly for the weekend ie. 15th of March 2014. We all, a group of four, agreed to start quite early in the morning hours at about 3:30 am to avoid the midday baking under the hot sun. This being a casual trip, I was a bit too casual to the extent that I slept late at 1:30 am, the previous night. The plan to make this trip happen was still very well registered in my brain but my tired and sleep deprived mind had subconsciously made another easy and a convincing plan while trying to sleep i.e. to skip the entire trip and extend the sweet sleeping hours for the next whole day instead. Lazy me!!!

Well, my cell phone was ringing, in-spite of the fact that 5 loud alarms set on the phone lying on the extreme corner of the room had been already dismissed. With a squinty, blurry and suspicious vision, I looked at the time. It was 3:34 am. My friend and a office colleague Macks was calling me. In a half sleepy dreamy mode, I thought, "Oh! noooo ways ... I haven't even started the good part of the sleep yet ...". Covering my head and ears with blanket and couple of pillows, making a sound proof insulation, I was within no time back to that cozy peaceful dream world. 3:41 am another ring. This time picking up the call, I jumped off the bed instantly. Feeling a bit groggy, gulped down a glass of water, I was in minutes ready for the cycle expedition.

Bunch of street dogs had gathered outside the house all barking at me, well, who knows may be wishing me good luck. Without responding back to their good wishes, I quietly left home. Macks was there, waiting for me in the nearby lane. 4:15-4:30 am, we started to ride slowly on the silent empty roads towards Domlur. Met Punit and Vinesh near Domlur flyover. 

Now a group of four, we were on our way to capture the hills. The plan was to reach Devanahalli town via the Sivas road instead of the NH-7 express highway thus experiencing the early morning scenic sunrise on the village roads far away from the city and traffic. The fresh earthy fragrant air, wide open fields, dark sky lit by bright stars and a subtle red light of a breaking dawn at far horizon behind the coconut trees was breathtaking. Stopped just after the Budigere village for a pee break. Devanahalli crossed, we were soon ridding on the beautiful Nandi Durga road. 68 km feeling quite fresh, reached 'Nandi Beta' the base of the hill, met three other riders who were also doing the climb. Had a chit chat and a good breakfast of idli vada and tea, refilled the water bottles and started the outright vertical accent.

There is always something magical something thrilling about climbing. It makes one euphoric in spite of the hard work, the grueling torture and pain one goes through. This one we were attempting has around 500 m of elevation in 7.2 km, with the last 3 km of the climb being a bit steep with sharp hairpins. Pretty enough to burn one out. The hill with altitude of 4,851 ft (1,479 m) above sea level resembles a sleeping bull (Nandi) and requires a bull strength to climb literally. Out of the total seven cyclist, it was the first time experience for the three cyclist riding with me and all were able to nail it down. Celebrating our achievements, we rested for a while, just after the arched gateway to Nandidurga (Fort) at the top.

Going downhill was a sweet delightful rewarding treat but did not last long, we were all back to the base in few minutes. Had a second round of idli vada and badam milk breakfast at the base to refill our empty and hungry fuel tanks. A good chit chat with the co riders, all satisfied, but there was one more challenge left that is to go back home, facing the intense heat of the day. 

It was already 10:30 am hot and bright with no trace of clouds in the sky. We decided to take the express highway this time. I on my road bike was riding at a faster pace in order to reach home as early as possible. 11:30 am blazing bright, the highway was reflecting a lot of heat. No tree cover, the harsh sun and just 2 hrs of sleep the previous night was was making ride tough. It sucked up every bit of energy in me. I tried to focus, managed to ride nonstop in solo mode all the way to home. 1:10 pm, tired and exhausted, unlocked the door of the house, throwing the bike against the wall, crashed on bed and slept within seconds.

And yes, that certainly was, the best sleep I experienced in the recent times. Wondering, how come I forgot to even shut close the main door of the house before sleeping. Now i know why :P :)))

Punit, Mudit, Macks, Vinesh @ Nandi Hill top

My Handmade Coconut Shell Tea Cup

They say "Life is like a cup of Tea .. It's all in how you make it".

Hmm, I would have to certainly agree to the those lines now, after making my cup of tea in my own style literally :)

The making process:

Well its fairly simple to make one. Grab a nice brown husky ripe coconut of appropriate size. Crack it open. (Use saw blade if the shape and design of the cup matters to you :P) Drink the trapped water inside. Then the obvious next step, remove its white meat using knife or whatever and ya without shattering the shell into pieces.

Eat it. Eat whole of that delicious thing in one go :O. (get a good boost of energy as a result). Use this gained energy to file the rough surface of the shell for hours together until it feels butter smooth silky. Glue up the parts into a shape that resembles a cup. Apply a coating of good old coconut oil. Rub to polish. Relax and drink some tea. Its done!

Don't pull away your head and tighten up your facial muscles, if the tea tastes a bit coconutty ... :-)

The Pics:

Just love holding this thing
The warmth and coziness of the woody coconut shell is amazing

The handle is unique and definitely cute one

The gorgeous insides

The cup with the green tea .. though taste a bit coconutty !!!

Bamboo Bicycle Parking Stand - A DIY Project

Bamboo Bicycle Parking Stand - A DIY Project

"Let me leave the cycle here on the wall this time .. mmm .. " that is exactly what goes on in my mind every time i am trying to park the the bike at home. The fact that i have to bend down in an effort to put the bike on or off a conventional metal display stand that i have and that too after a long tiring bike ride is not cool. Leaning the bike against the wall in a casual but careless fashion is an obvious solution but then, you know that's too much of an lazy attitude, not to mention the marks you get on the wall and the bike. Lately, i have been thinking of better ways, something practical that is as easy as being lazy. Well this eventually stuck me.

I have been looking at it, it was a scrap abandoned piece of bamboo that has been lying and rotting in front of my house on the corner of the street from months, who knows maybe years. One day i bought it home, salvaging the dead unknown, giving it a chance to be alive again. After cleaning off the heaps of dirt, not surprised though, found 2 spiders and a lizard living in it. Carefully removed the little cute creatures and let them go back into the wild where they belong. 

With the new carpenter born in me, i decided to build. The objective was clear. A simple, yet effective design that is unique, ingenious, innovative, functional, aesthetically pleasing to my taste and most importantly that requires minimum or no tools to make. Yeah that's important, I am no carpenter here and i ain't got any tools except a kitchen knife, a pliers and a basic cutting blade.

Meticulously planned the shape on paper, started the work by cutting the bamboo in strips of desired length followed by hand sanding them for hours together, Then came the assembly part but wait! .. am i missing something here? does that require nails or the least a glue? I haven't got either. So what, there is always a way out. Thought of using a cotton chord alone to hold pieces together. Luckily i had that and it did seem to work. The structural design ensures a good stability anyways. Within no time the product was ready but there is a little more to it.

The polish. Now everything that i have used so far in the construction has been  the already available materials, i was in no mood to buy a polish from market. Did the research. Coconut oil from kitchen has more uses than what we know of. One such i have tried here, being a wood finisher or polish, and it does work, giving a deep mat finish with very subtle shine, bringing out the natural grain of wood at the same time.

With the junk bamboo and its rough edges, the cuts, the notches, the scratches, the chord joints, the coconut polish, all give this product a very raw, rusty organic feel, like some ancient furniture (ok better to say its a desi jugard :P)

Total cost of construction including the labour charges was Rs 0. Parking the bike is now as simple as gently sliding the tyre in its middle pocket. Its not bombproof but sturdy enough to hold the bike in place forever.

Few pic and the final product.

the design

work in progress

cute looking square lashed bamboo joints

the final product

testing with the bike parked in and its damn stable

love the raw style (total desi :P)

Finally

just experimenting with ink ..

just like the lovely moon up in the skies ...

let your grace and beauty shine in my heart ...

The Monsoons ...

My Singing Guitar

Oh! my lovely lovely acoustic Guitar. A set of brand new d'addario light gauge bronze strings on, it is singing like a dreammmmm ...

Couldn't stop myself from recording it. A short, offhand, made in a jiffy, sort of self composition from a teeny weeny, bitty blunt tune which was going on in my mind from days. Excuse, for the imperfections or a possible resulting boredom :P good luck otherwise :)

Once again, thanks to all, for being the patient listeners!

go Bananas!

A sketch of my all time favorite food

Why go Bananas? hmm.. well, because a banana is

- irresistibly delicious
- relatively inexpensive
- available almost everywhere
- whole, natural, unaltered and unprocessed
- excellent source of potassium, iron, b12, bla bla, .. a very long list
- loaded with high quality simple sugars, the best fuel for the body
- quickly satisfies hunger, gives instant energy boost
- portable, convenient, eat anytime, anywhere
- a true 'fast food' just peel and eat .. simple
- easily digestible
- wont make you fat
- natural laxative, rich in dietary fiber
- anti depressant and mood enhancer, natural relaxant
- anti inflammatory
- anti cancerous
- anti ulcer
- soothing antacid
- makes excellent shakes and smoothies
- natural electrolyte replacement while running or cycling
- awesome pre or post gym workout food
- banana skin good for our skin, eg. works well for mosquito bites
- anti pollution, anti garbage, throw off the leftover anywhere .. no worries
- and funny but .. banana skin is also a shoe polish :P