Digitally Exploring the world

Happy New Year

2011-12-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Another year gone by, has been loads of fun , few diversions,adventures and ofcourse tennis and work .. And since its that time of the year where one tends to look back, a quote that aptly describes what I strive for :)

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anya

2011-10-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

My Niece Anya getting ready for Diwali Fireworks Display ..

Golden Melodies - Jagjit Singh

2011-10-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Grewup listening to this soulful voice and lyrics that was difficult to comprehend but with a few gray strands over the years it surely makes sense.

Baat Niklege To Phir

(unable to embed video)

Music

2011-10-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

As I woke up to read that Steve Jobs was no more , there was a sense of loss .

I am not a apple fanatic who picks up every gadget thats out there but own just a simple video iPod that I picked up 6years ago. Being an avid audiophile also bitten by the travel bug , it was a lot different.

Music being a important part of my daily life and specially when I was traveling , it was always a difficult task to decide which tapes or later CDs to carry along. Then came the Ipod, it just revolutionized how one looked at music. I had my entire collection on a single small device that fitted in my pocket and could listen to anytime and anywhere based on my mood. Its been my companion through out this journey both in good and bad times..

(Young lamas listening to my ipod at Mechunka, Arunachal)

Here's an old video that I posted some time back but listening to it again. Some good words of wisdom..

Jobs in his own words

2011-10-05T22:02:00.001-07:00

Steve Jobs in his own words here

Beauty

2011-10-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Travel...

2011-09-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Started reading "Full Tilt" by Dervla Murpha about her journey on bicycle from Ireland to India..

Here's a video about her and something I would also vouch for , why we travel...

For my part I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move, to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly, to come down off the featherbed of civilization and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.

- R.L Stevenson

Spectacular Spiti

2011-09-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Back from the high mountains and just trying to get back to the workings of the modern world . Phone , Internet , TV and cacophony all around .

A few weeks back I was wondering where to head out for a couple of weeks and as luck would have it came across a volunteering activity from Spiti EchoSphere.

Just the perfect job I thought to do some work and also spend sometime around the mountains. I had fond memories of backpacking across this area few years back and lots of adventures then and my spirits were high again.

So with my leave of absence of granted and air tickets booked I headed to New Delhi when the entire nation was debating the Lok Pal bill and when Anna Hazare would break his fast. With a fleeting stop at my uncles place for lunch, I took the night bus to Manali. Reached Manali early next morning thanks to the driver thinking he was navigating an airplane and checked into a hotel. Manali had changed quite a bit since my last visit (resembled the mess just like in most cities) , with roads dug up and construction all around the main mall road. However, the great green pine trees and the river flowing was just the beginning for more to come. That evening meetup with two other volunteers for dinner and I connected back with folks since this would be the last mobile connectivity for the next few weeks, and we were setup for the 3am jeep to Kaaza.

Kaza(Altitude 12,500 feet), the main town of Lahual Spiti is just 200kms from Manali and Kunzum Pass (Altitude 14,931 ft) is the entrance pass to the Spiti Valley from Lahaul. We started the tough journey at 3am to beat the traffic at Rani Nalla and within few hours our jeep had to be pushed , pulled with ropes but finally its air filter gave way. An emergency call had to made to the mechanic down below and we waited at the Rani Nala for 5hrs before help came and fixed it in 5minutes.

It wasn't the first time on the mountains for me so I just went with the flow but the rest of the folks were getting a little shaken by the state of roads and the journey itself. But all the mountain people including driver were calm ,no harsh words or anger about waiting that long, i guess its part of their daily life as compared to the road rage one sees in the cities. We did find some piping hot Maggi and Parathas at the dhaba on the way. and were at Kaaza finally that night , after 19hours :) Thankfully we found dinner there since the driver had made a call and after a much needed shower hit the bed.

Met up with Ishita the next morning and came to know about her company and the great work they were doing in Spiti and then we headed to the Ki Monastery(Altitude 13,668 feet). The Ki gompa is the biggest monastery in Spiti .The monastery has about 300 lamas from the age of 6 to 80 and its a tradition in every Buddhist family to send their second son to the monastery else huge fines need to be incurred. The monks of this Buddhist sect are refrained from having a family and have fairly strict rules. Spiti is an arid desert up in the Himalayas and the only means of getting any green vegetables is what comes in from Simla/Manali which is way too expensive and perishable as well. In winters , most of it is cut of from rest of India and temperature drops to -30 degree centigrade. The green house project that we were going to start would help provide vegetables to the monks all year round.

The first day was spent acclimatizing at that altitude and just soaking up the sun and the great mountains. We were three of us on this project helped by Sonam our local guide and a few local folks. We started off building mud bricks the first few days which was a bit of work and loads of fun. Once I got the hang of making bricks I was on auto pilot mode. The lamas were extremely friendly and would provide hot tea every few hours and hot home cooked food for lunch and dinner. As we were working on bricks some others helped build the base of the greenhouse with rocks since snow and water had to be curtailed. The person from Delhi left in three days , so it was me and Angelina another volunteer from Singapore.

There is something about the mountains that calms everyone down. Its harsh terrain and its the survival of the fittest . Everybody works hard to earn their living to just make ends meet. Its also about the religion maybe the Buddhist influence , Spiti has majority of Buddhist (Tibetan origin). There is no newspaper and few houses in the village have access to TV and BSNL home, however up in the Monastery we were disconnected and detached from the world outside.

The mud bricks had to dry-up and so for three days in between we ventured out for some high altitude trekking and I must say I was a little apprehensive when we set off. At that altitude my ipod gave way , the camera shutter malfunctioned and I had to open it manually (fingers) every time a picture had to be taken. Our trek was across the high villages of Langza-Hikkim-Komic-Demul-Dhankar.

We took a jeep to Langza (Altitude 14435 feet). Langza is a village with just 33 houses and with a population of 135 people. The walk across the mountains is surely breathtaking but does takes ones breath away. We crossed a couple of steep inclines and one had to gasp for oxygen and our lungs were surely functioning at maximum capacity.

We stopped at Hikkim village (Altitude 15,500 feet) for chai at Sonam's in law's place which also was the highest post office in the world . The route from Langza to Komic is favourite place to hunt for fossils and we did come across a few.

We then continued onto Komic(Altitude 14,800 feet) and visited the monastery there and then went to a homestay. Sonam took out the packed food and the residents of the house brought in some hot tea . After some rest and walking around the village , it was getting cold cameback inside and helped make momo's for dinner and surely did get a good night's sleep.

The next morning we trekked to Demul(Altitude 14,300 feet). Another tough day of walking 14-15kms at the altitude but definitely worth the hard work, beautiful mountain ranges on display . The houses there have ladders where one climbs onto the roof and then goes down using another ladder. Good home cooked for lunch and dinner and after a good night's sleep , I wokeup really early and walked around the village. There are about 50 odd houses and all look similar. On the way back I got lost rather climbed onto couple of wrong houses but people are really friendly and instead of being upset at me intruding in they invited me over for hot tea. The rest of the day was spent exploring the village more and then gearing up next day to take the share jeep to Dhankar monastery.

Dhankar(Altitude 12774 feet) has a monastery that's more than 1000 years old and perched up in the high mountains.

We then got back to Ki Monastery and started work on building the Greenhouse walls , then adding hay/grass for insulation. The monks in the kitchen as usually made us the delicous food (dal,rice and on somedays tibetan bread, noodles etc). I took pitched in and made huge number of parathas for breakfast on last 2 days since they weren't skilled at that and they were thrilled.

I was also able to help fix the printer that was malfunctioning . It was an old dekstop and printer that they use to generate letters and it felt good to get it up and running. I wasn't sure I would be be able to fix it initally, with no internet or driver CD available but an hours work on it finally paidoff.

The next day we were hardpressed for time and volla some young monks from the Gompa were called into help and the pace surely picked up. The next days were spent painting the inside and outside walls and doing the finishing touches as the roof was also added. It felt good to complete the project in a small way.

The journey back started at 3am again and as we ventured out of the monastery we spotted a big snow leapoard which is a rare sight. Surely a good few weeks up in the mountains .

Pictures here :
Greenhouse Building at Ki Monastery
Road Less Travel
Trekking around High Mountains

Being Open...

2011-08-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

(Pic from my recent trip to Masinagudi)

Be open and empty, like a great valley;
Be receptive of the world like a mother is to her child.
Be open to all things, soak up the rain and the sunshine.
And accept the fog and mist that rolls in sometimes,
If you are always open to life, that spirit will never fail you.
– The Tao of the Self

To Kerela and back

2011-08-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

It all started with a long weekend for independence day coming up and me wondering about where to head out . Having heard about the Nehru Boat Race for a very long time I asked around and soon found some enthusiastic team mates ready to join.

ALLEPPEY
Looked up team-bhp and found the route for the long drive out:

Bangalore - Salem - Avanashi - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Ernakulam - Alleppey

--600kms drive that would take 12hrs with few short breaks .

I started from home around 4:30am and picked up the other folks on route and we were at Silk Board Junction and ready to hit the high way at 5:00a.m. . Turned on some good old golden hits from Kishore Kumar and RD Burman and hit the gas pedal and started cruising.

We stopped by at A2B near Krishnagiri for breakfast around twlight. After piping hot idlies and coffee started the long haul . It was all tolled roads all the way from Bangalore NH7 to Coimbatore. The best stretches was the early morning section around Salem with misty hills all around . The rest of the highway was all high speed driving all the way till we hit the Avanashi-Coimbatore stretch. After a short break for tea at a roadside stall I started the toughest part of the drive with huge craters around Palakkad-Thrissur . One was perpetually on first and second gear , trying to avoid the huge cracks in the ground. A friend had forewarned me on that stretch but its only to be driven to be believed. The Palakkad-Thrissur-Coimbatore section is quite scenic but the huge craters kills it a bit. We stopped at Thrissur for lunch and were at the final pit stop Alleppey, just in time for tea. We checked into the lovely cottages at keraleeyam overseeing the lake for the night .

That night was spent in a whole lot of discussions on various topics and some music again .

We woke up next morning and since the online boat race tickets hadn't yet been delivered as promised , a couple of frantic calls had to made and we were told to collect it from the Tourist office. So post breakfast we headed that way and onto the Boat Race zone.

The 100–120 feet long canoes made of a forest wood locally called "Aanjili thadi" carrying 90- 110 rowers which moves like a snake through the channels , is an eye catching sight for any tourist. The Chundan Vallam also has the record as "the biggest water vessel used for sports purpose" .

These boats personify synchronization and sheer skill of a different kind, with 90-100 rowers in unison keeping it afloat and trying to get to the finish line. One mistake or out of synch motion meant a tumble into the water and the end to their dreams of lifting the trophy.

Each of these boats usually has a captain with either a drum or a whistle at the center or some teams also had a theme song to keep them going in a rhythm. I was also amazed to see middle aged women participate.

The race was mismanaged and authorities let in anybody and everybody and after awhile it was difficult to even stand and watch the rowers so we left in between and headed to the beach to catch the sunset. The alleppey beach to my surprise was well kept clean and some of the others took a dip and swam in the water.

We headed back to the cottage and had another long session discussing various issues till late night .

COCHIN

I woke up early next morning and explored the surroundings and then when everybody was up and about we headed to our next stop Kochi .

We wanted to find a place to stay around Fort Cochin and also visit a few historical places that I had readup on and mom had mentioned. As we entered the city , the sign boards lead us to the Dutch Palace and Jewish Synagogue . To my surprise most of the shops at these tourist spots of historical importance were of Kashmiri merchants with one or two Antique or Spice markets. I didn't get a local touch feeling to Kochi.

After that we called up a homestay number to check for availability and were lucky enough to find nice big clean rooms for just Rs 600 per night. A longish lunch at a restaurant that took forever to bring the food and then a bit of rest at the homestay and we headed to the beach to catch the sunset.

Walking around the Fort Cochin area was a pleasure with hardly any traffic and lovely old cottages all around. Life had a slow pace here and you could see people playing football, folks just cycling and walking around.

We walked around the market area and got back for dinner , where some big prawn fries awaited us.We were then all set for the drive back the next day.

As always I woke up early and went out to discover the Fort Cochin surroundings and looking at the architecture of the old buildings around.

I came back to the homestay and wokeup everyone, rather hurried them up to start our journey back to Bangalore.

It would be an 8hrs drive back home with the last stage , turning out to be extremely toughone with heavy downpour , hardly any visibility and huge queue at every toll booth.

Overall a good long drive and a fun filled weekend ..

Pictures from the trip here:
Alleppey
Cochin(Kochi)

Another trip to the Nilgiris

2011-08-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

At the onset of the month some of us planned a trip out to Masinagudi as a farewell trip for Shreyas who was headed to the Big Apple for her Masters.

So seven of us and two cars headed out to Masinagudi early Saturday morning.

It was a good fun filled weekend and some pics from the trip here

More here

Old Memories

2011-07-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Monsoon magic and a road trip

2011-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

With Rohit visiting and monsoon in full swing , there was no second thoughts when we decided to head out of the city. The last minute decision on THU to leave on Friday early morning, meant scampering to find a place to stay. Finally around 930pm got a confirmation ( even otherwise we were planning to taken a plunge and find some place for an overnight halt).Worked past midnight trying to wrap up things since I had taken a dayoff on Friday , dumped some stuff onto my backpack for a day's trip and managed some shut eyes.

We left home around 7am and started chasing the clouds towards Masinagudi. This was my third trip across that part of the state in the last few months but I just love the long stretch of forest (Bandipur and Mudumali Tiger/Forest Reserve) towards Nilgiris.

After a breakfast stop on the way and drive past the lush green forests, with good music and conversations we reached our destination nestled amongst the blue mountains in Masinagudi for lunch.

After a full course lunch , we decided to explore the surroundings (hills). The weather was just perfect with dark clouds looming and we chose a temple perched up on a hill a little further away as our target. We started our walk across the forest/village and climbed our way to the top. We didn't find a single soul all the way to the top, probably because it was a little steep. Once at the summit we found a deserted temple floating amongst the clouds and also had breathtaking view of all the mountain ranges in the vicinity.

The climb downhill and back to the cottage was a lot easier , and just as we had reached our pit stop there was downpour . One could hear the pitter patter on the roof as we hit the sack for short while. It was raining all evening so we decided to watch a movie (Paul) on the laptop . After an wholesome meal and completing the movie we called it a day.

Wokeup to a misty morning with deers just outside the cottage and all the ranges hidden in cloud cover. There's something about being around the serene mountains and the green cover but it was soon going to end as we had to take the long and winding road (275kms) back towards home.

It was my first road trip with Rohit, who came to Bangalore after aeons , but It took me back to the three musketeers coming over to my place every summer vacation till a few years back before they started college and work .. But a good fun trip ..

Masinagudi pics

Two Great Champions on the road to the Finals

2011-07-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Pics from the Semi-Finals Clash of two great champions who have taken the modern game of tennis to a different level of fitness and artistry .. Looking forward to a great final this Sunday ..

Travel Pics..

2011-06-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Some of my travel pics that got published in the IIMB Mag this month

Life

2011-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations."
— Anaïs Nin

Blue Mountains

2011-06-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

With mom visiting we decided to head out for few days. The only curtailing factor was that it shouldn't be a very long drive ! I looked at several options and narrowed down on Amberina at Nilgiris.

With me taking some timeoff from work , we hit the road on a cloudy Monday morning . An early start , with good old hindi music and a short stop for fuel and then piping hot breakfast at Kadambam , we were at Mysore Ring Road in 2hrs flat.

Once you cross Najangud and proceed the route passes through the lovely green forests of Bandipur and Mudumalai and then the beautiful small town of Gudalur. Devala , thats about 16kms from Gudalur is a little town surrounded by acres and acres of tea gardens and forests and Amebrina is just the perfect place with its old tea planters bunglow tastefully decorated and its serene surroundings of the mistly hills and the tea gardens.

We were there around noon just in time for tea and a hot lunch. After a short rest post driving and lunch I walked around the green tea gardens while mom started with her marathon book reading ( she finished 3 books in 2 days i think :) out there ) and short walks around. I then took out my trusted ipod and parked myself in the shade with a book .

Mist had taken over the whole place by dawn and one could hardly see further than 10feet , I figured why its called the misty nilgiris after all ! Evening was spent watching French Open in the dinning room and another walk around..

The second day was also spent reading , listening to music, exploring the tea gardens and trying to walk around the estate and get to the foothills of a nearby hill and of course some good food by Raju(cook) and watching the French Open in the evenings.

The folks out there were very friendly and were initially confused with mom speaking to them fluently in Tamil and me barely able to communicate with them in Tamil. The confusion also arose from the fact that we were talking to each other in hindi/english and some even asked her if i was her daughter and yet again most thought I was still studying :) . People out there are simple and friendly right from the Gardner to the cook .

There was a heavy downpour and loud rumblings and thunder strikes on the second day, which meant the mercury dropped further and the mist took over. The next morning was just perfect with rain and mist and after a heavy breakfast we hit the road slow and with headlights on. The drive back was even better with slow careful driving through the mist and fog and rains . That ended a great trip to the misty blue mountains and back

.
Route: Bangalore -Mysore - Nanjangud - Gundalpet - Thempakad - Gudalur - Devala - Amberina

Pics: Some Pics here

Tagore Sayings..

2011-05-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

As I finish another free ride around the sun, here's what I wish for !!

Coorg

2011-05-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

After all the rush and running at work and a colleague visiting from the US, a decision was taken last friday evening to head out of the madding crowd. The last minute decision meant , it would be hard to find a place . However all my apprehensions was put to rest when I got a quick response to my email from Rainforest Retreat at Coorg .The next step was to find out the last passenger in the car. With all things taken care of was all set for the road trip.

We (Shreyas,Jomy,Michael) started the journey the next day ,a little late than usual at 830am , loads of traffic greeted us even on the State Highway ,however some great music and good company that I discovered made it a breeze

(Rodrigo y Gabriela)

Stopped at Cafe Coffee day ahead of Mysore for a steaming cup of coffee and a bit of break from driving.

Its a great drive to Coorg with ghat sections ,steep curves and uphills. We reached Madikeri and asked around to find out way to Rainforest Retreat just in time for lunch. The last 4-5kms was a road with huge craters and the Polo withstood all that and its ground clearance got tested thoroughly.

The retreat is set in a middle of plantation and is just the place where one could relax away from the modern world , with no television, mobile network or even electricity. The place is powered by solar lanterns . We were greeted by the sounds of cicada .

After a short rest post lunch, we went about for a plantation walk and a short trek around that area. Couple of us also had to face leech attacks on the trail.

Fireflies took over the place in the evening with its speck of glimmering light twinkling in the dark .

As dinner was being served , heavy rain came pouring down. It's just what one would have wanted in the middle of the forest.

Woke up early to walk around a bit and breathe in the fresh air and smell the moist red earth .

After another great piping hot meal ,we started our journey back to the modern world

Bylakuppe monastery and nunnery was our interim stop

After a coffee break at Maddur as we started our last leg of the journey, the clouds burst with strong wind and heavy downpour and I had to drive with very poor visibility on the highway .

We were back in the city sunday evening after a great weekend and a wonderful place to just relax.

More pictures here :
Rainforest Retreat
Bylakuppe

Directions to Coorg:

There are few ways to reach Coorg, we took

Bangalore -Mysore – Yelwal – Hunsur – Kempalapura – Piriyapatna – Bylakuppe – Kushalnagara – Suntikoppa – Madikeri .
>>Save time by avoiding Mysore city,take the Bypass onto SH 88.. You should turn right at Columbia Asia Hospital Signal

More info on the route here

Happy

2011-04-28T08:56:00.001-07:00

DSC01840, a photo by anuradhac on Flickr.

My niece Anya..

Another drive into the Wild

2011-04-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Being busy for last couple of months and with the long weekend kicking of the month , gave me a chance to drive out of the city. The trip started with Mark, an US engineer visiting and wanting to see some Indian wildlife and so a few frantic calls(exams over + school summer vacations) and emails exchange was lucky to find a really nice place at Bandipur for a night halt.

The world cup cricket was at its closing phase and I had no clue that 2nd April was the final game when I booked a place at WildFlower. Later I realised how lucky I was not to have got a booking on the 2nd but on the 3rd of April since the Indian Cricket team was about to create some history .So after watching the grand finale at home and packing , with just about enough sleep I started the long drive out of the city.

I hit the road around 5:30am on a nice and sunny Sunday morning (3rd April) . Picked up Mark and Pulkit on the way and with some good music hit the wide open stretches. There was quite a bit of traffic to my surprise and our first pit stop was for a traditional breakfast at Kadambam on Mysore Road. After savoring the piping hot masala dosa, vada and filter coffee we continued the onward march. The next stop was at Cafe Coffee day just about the corner at Bandipur . The weather till then was quite sultry and sunny but it turned cloudy and we caught a shower as we entered the forest area.

The wildflower resort at bandipur is a new one and the room , food and friendly staff makes it a perfect getaway for a weekend trip out of the city.

The rest of the day was spent just lazying, enjoying the full course meals and then taking the jungle safari into the forest. The forest this time of the year is quite dry and we were able to spot a few deers, peacock for awhile before a herd of elephants came out. Bandipur is a Tiger reserve but we weren't lucky enough to even catch a tiger pugmark . At night we did a bit of star gazing thanks to pulkit's great knowledge on the subject.

Next morning after another great meal with tons of fresh watermelon juice , we started the long drive back. The return trip was done in about 4hrs and ended with a great lunch at one of my favorite places - Only Place.

Pictures from the trip

Is India Changing

2011-04-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past week , we witnessed a kind of an awakening in India that I haven't witnessed in my lifetime.

Over last year or so , we have seen one scam after another coming out of the cupboard and probably more to come in the future. With everybody around losing hope in the system and becoming cynical that probably everything around will be plundered by the power mongers , but it took a quiet bespectacled leader to change the point of view.

We witnessed a mass non-violent mass movement around the breadth of the country with people of all age, community holding hands and raising voices for a common national cause - Fighting Corruption. We witnessed what one person can do to inspire and transform an entire nation..

I am hoping this inspires people refusing to pay the bribes they do even to get something small or big done.

The common man is faced with corruption in their everyday lives but I don't see that many around trying to fight it or raise their voices. It might not be easy but most take the easy way out by greasing peoples palms.. I have faced several such instances and never given in to the goons . Something that pops up, is my experience with trying to renew my driving license couple of years back . It took me four rounds of the RTO before I was given the form since i refused to pay the touts the extra bit . The other was having to wait 3 months to get my LAN line transferred when I moved my house ..

Anna Hazare

women of the world

2011-03-22T07:38:00.001-07:00

Women travelers

Exercise for tennis elbow

2011-03-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Having played tennis for such a long time without any niggles ,suddenly developed a tennis elbow over the last month and its painful (both wrist and elbow hurts!!)
It could be because of something i changed with my technique most likely my backhand , need to figure that bit out but till then trying out some alternatives...
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/phys-ed-an-easy-fix-for-tennis-elbow/

Traveling

2011-03-09T00:31:00.000-08:00

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”

Backpacking across Paradise - Andaman

2011-03-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Finally found time and thought of jotting down my Andaman Experience ! After a few short jaunts to nearby places over the past year and feeling burnout at work, I was in a need of a break. Looked up a few places that could be done with few days planning and not too far away, and Andaman popped up !So the journey began, with just 2-3days of looking up and trying to figure out a tentative plan.

Once Could reach Andaman ( By Ship or Air) from Chennai and Calcutta and for want of time , I had to go up in the Air. Booked the round trip air tickets from Chennai to Port Blair .The air fare didn't hit me so hard , even though it was booked 3days before the trip .

Looked up a few places on indiamike/tourism website and got some ideas from Mom, who was heading back from Andaman and I was all set. A bright thursday morning , post tennis , quickly put stuff into my backpacks ( no time earlier ,working till wee hrs) and drove down to Chennai in 4hrs flat , with another hour stuck on Mount Road traffic (had to be a political rally) to get to my sisters place.
Journey through Andaman: Port Blair -> Havelock Beach #5(Vijayangar Beach)->Havelock Beach #7(Radhanagar Beach) ->Rangat ->Diglipur ->Ross and Smith Islands->Diglipur->Port Blair

Flights take off and land early morning to lunch time at Port Blair, since its a Naval base and the Airport is handed over to the Services by afternoon.

Day 1 : Chennai to Port Blair

Took the 10am Kingfisher Red morning flight(which was late) from Chennai to Port Blair and was presently surprised by plush red leather seats and the leg room available. I headed straight to the Tourism office , just in time at 1:45pm with chance of boarding the 2pm ferry to Havelock Island but it was not destined. Officials were out for lunch and the lady at the reception had no inkling when they would be back. I was hungry and a bit sleepy and so I went in search of a place for the night's pit stop. At the reception, Seeing a Single woman with a backpack, I had quite a few inquisitive questions , whether I was an Indian or a researcher !! Not the first time I had faced those questions :)

Dumped the backpacks and freshened up and the friendly chap at the reception suggested I go and purchase the early morning ferry tickets from the Shipping Corporation office. Found an auto (Rs 15) and was at the office where there was a bit of a rush and queue ! After an hours wait in the queue, managed a ferry ticket from PB to Havelock at 6:15am next morning. It was 4pm and came out and tried looking for some food but only option was tea and vada that I had to be content with. Once I was done with that I headed to the tourism office again to collect the booking slips and then to the Cellular Jail.

With the evening to myself , headed straight to the Cellular jail, a solitary confinement implemented by the British government to ensure that political prisoners and revolutionaries were isolated from each other during India's freedom struggle. Lot of history in a well maintained national monument. One surely was reminded of the thousands of Indians who laid their lives for the freedom each of us enjoy today.

Day 2 : Port Blair to Havelock Island(Vijaynagar / Beach No# 5)

Wokeup early to catch the 6:15am Ferry to Havelock Islands. The ferry to surprise was well maintained and had AirCon Cabin Seats and spotlessly clean. It was rather freezing inside so I dumped by backpacks and headed straight up basking in the brilliant sunshine outside. As the ship floated through the blue waters , the mind was slowly getting down to its regular speed (away from the modern world ,where you are forced to juggle multitask and take umpteen decisions on the go!) , away from mobile, laptops and modern technology.
The ship reached Havelock in about 2.5hrs and I tried finding a bus to the Dolphin Resort with no luck , so after few negotiations took the Auto(Rs 50) to the well placed resort right on the water front.

After checking in to the resort and a quick breakfast I headed straight to the white sand and turquoise blue waters. I surely had landed on paradise ! The afternoon was spent walking across the breadth of the beach , reading under a shade, watching life come down to its natural pace ! There were very few people (mostly snorkeling or floating) the entire day and I had the entire beach to myself most of the times ,till the eyes could see. Feeling a little hungry late afternoon , I slowly pulled my lazy self up and walked out to a German Bakery for an American Breakfast yes at that hour :)
The evening and night was again spent around the peaceful surroundings of the beach and getting into the groove of the sounds of the waves. Something similar to what goes on inside our minds sometimes, the high and lows and finally the peace!
Spoke to a few people at the resort and found that an auto/taxi to the next beach would cost a whopping Rs300 and was looking for bus routes and was told there are bus to Radhanagar beach starting 7am every hour (Rs 6) from the market bus stand.So hit the sack for another day in paradise

Day 3 : Havelock Island(Vijaynagar / Beach No# 5) to RadhaNagar Beach( Beach #7)

Wokeup early and after a piping hot indian breakfast at the resort , started walking towards the main road to get an auto to the market (Rs10) . Waited around at the bus stop and shortly afterwards the local bus came by . The bus (Rs 6) took about 45mins and passed through a great stretch of green.
Alighted from the bus and the Dome Resort was right on the beach ! The govt. run resort with just 2 tents and 3 domes on the Radhanagar beach is located perfectly and maintained well.

Radhanagar beach was again wide stretches of water and a lots of greenery at one end . The water seemed a little rough and the tides higher. I soon filled up my backpack with water,camera and books and headed straight to the beach. This beach had a few more people and I started waking towards the other end . I took a dip in the water and then went ahead into the shade and just read till late afternoon. Later I walked around the nearby village and the only food option was the Dhabas around where I had a nice Indian Thali (Rs 40) and again some more wanderings around. I wanted to head out Diglipur and figured the easiest would be to take a ferry to Rangat and not go back to PB , so asked around for the timings for the ferry and bus connections for next day. The caretaker put me in touch with a person who it seems had seen me at the Dolphin Resort and a govt official and he told me that he will arrange for the Ferry tics the next day ! I just trusted him and took his mobile number.

After a snooze in the air conditioned comfort I headed to the beach and to my surprise , there were loads of tourists who were there taking a dip or simply enjoying the brilliant sunset. I figured that with very limited lodging options at this beach, most tourists just come there for a short jaunt and head back. As the sunset and i headed to the resort the care taker told me that i was the only guest out there ,so imagine having an island stretch and the whole resort to yourself. At night I took out my small portable iHome speakers and ipod and had some good music for company. Having placed an order earlier for dinner at the nearby Dhaba I headed there to another great home cooked meal, again the only person there !

Vast majority of the local people there are Bengalis and then Tamilians , though most speak fluent hindi. But once they start talking and knowing that I know a bit of both, they would soon start conversing in that language.

Day 4 : Havelock Island to Ranget

Wokeup and headed straight to the bus stand nearby, and after a steaming cup of tea , alighted the bus that came in right on time at 7:15a.m. I was lucky to have found a place since it was the starting point , since the bus soon got totally packed like a tin of sardines, with not an inch to spare with school kids, teachers, workers heading to their respective destinations. The bus comes in every hour and is the only connection around the villages and it took about an hour to reach the ferry ghat. I wonder why there can't be more frequent buses for the local folks !

I reached the ghat and couldn't find Rashid Ali , who had earlier told me he will keep the tickets ready and meet me there! I saw a big queue of passengers trying to purchase the tickets for the ferry that would leave in half n hour. So I switched on my mobile to find there was signal and called him. He said he was on his way , so in the meantime go in touch with some folks back on the mainland. I soon saw him walking by and he took me to a dhaba for breakfast (nice of him) and handed me the tickets(Rs 200). He then asked me where all I was headed and gave me some useful tips about bus routes and places to go around.

Life has a different rhythm and pace here , people have all the time and seem so happy and contended . I was surely comparing this to the world we live in the cities in our corporate lives where every second seems to matter and for what ??

Soon I boarded the ship and I was headed towards Ranget , a 3hrs journey with sun out in its glory. I again dumped my backpacks in the freezing air conditioned cabin and headed back outside . I turned on my ipod and sun bathed as the ferry slowly cruised through the lovely blue surroundings!

Reached Ranget around 1pm and took a share jeep (Rs10) into town . I had asked the jeep guy to drop me at the bus station to head towards the Govt Guest house(Hornbill). It was sweltering hot and I saw the run down bus waiting , jam packed with people and I somehow managed to lug in with my backpacks. The trip to the guest house at RRO , took about an hour through winding stretches and me trying not to bump/crash into the people around me .There was no sitting space and even the standing space I found was packed. I survived that bit and reached the guest house and found that there was no food available at that hour. Walked around to find a small tea stall nearby who said he had opened his shop only two days back and he managed to give me some rice and dal from his family lunch. You would only find such hospitality in such small places.

So after a homecooked meal and some rest , headed straight to the beach nearby. There is a fishing community there and also turtles seem to be visible sometimes. I couldn't find turtles at that time and was told that they appear late night and when the tide is high! I headed back and there was TV in the room , watched some sports and then headed to the same small shop(only one there) for dinner. The folks running it , a bengali couple with their teenage daughter were very friendly and asked loads of questions . Whether there were bengalis in bangalore , how was i traveling alone and such and they even forced me to eat more. I doubt you would get a city hotelier to request to take more servings of food !
I spoke around and found that the first bus to Diglipur came around 4:30a.m. , So I set the alarm and prayed I wake up on time.

Day 5,6,7 : Ranget to Diglipur and Ross& Smith islands

Wokeup at 4:00AM , it was pitch dark and not a soul in sight on a chilly morning . Soon I saw a dim light at the same tea shop nearby ,from the night before and headed straight there. The shopkeeper was starting his day , kneading dough, getting everything ready. He started chatting with me and then his wife soon joined in , helping setup shop.
The bus turned up dot at 4:30am and so began the journey to Diglipur , across some great green stretches of forest.
It was Sarswati Puja that day and the bus slowly started getting filled with beautifully dressed school kids and teachers heading for the celebrations.

Reached Diglipur at 8:30am , a journey of 4hrs in a govt. bus (Rs 50) and then took a local bus to Kalipur (Rs10) and 30mins away where Turtle Resort, another govt. resort was located. On the way passed through several villages -Durgapur, Sibpur, Kerelapuram and figured majority of the locals were Bengalis/Malyalis/Talimilans. There was no food available at the resort at that hour since the staff was on holiday for Sarswati Puja. However , the care taker did fixup a hot cup of tea. There were no possible shops or dhabas anywhere nearby. The caretaker was very helpful and said he would fixup lunch by noon ! The resorted is located at a remote village -Kalipur and you can see the highest peak of Andaman - Saddle peak and also the beach nearby. After doing some washing(clothes had been piling up) and a piping hot lunch, I just decided to take a snooze for few hours.

Wokeup and asked around about bus to town around and was told it comes every hour and i had just missed one. So walked around the village and then to nearby Kalipur beach.

Saw a few insects and lizards around the beach and walked back to take the bus to town. The resort area is so remote that you wouldn't even find a shop selling basic necessities and also food is available if ordered well in advance. At the Diglipur jetty had some tea and tried findout about a boat to the nearyby Ross and Smith Island but even after negotiations the cost seemed way too high at 1200rs. So headed back and spoke to the forest officer standing nearby and took the bus back to the resort.
At the resort met an elderly german couple over dinner and figured the gentleman was coming to Andaman 2nd time in 3 months and was interested in snorkeling and turtle spotting. They mentioned there was a possibility of turtles appearing around 1am that night , So I told them I will put my alarm and wake them up and we could head to the beach. After dinner and some reading wokeup at the late hour and all of us with our head lamps(pitch dark outside) with just stars above we headed to the beach. And as luck would have it , it was low tide and no turtles were visible.
I spoke around the caretakers and managers at the resort asking them how to get to Ross and Smith Islands in a cheaper way . They said they will ask around to see if any new guests coming in would go there and as luck would have it they found a pair who would be headed that way post lunch and also had a car. So I spoke around and we headed to the beautiful Ross and Smith Island.

The speed boat charged 500Rs per person and we were there in about half n hour. The islands are separated by a small stretch of sand that gets submerged during high tide and it becomes on single island. The island was the ultimate in what one would expect a beach to be like. White sand , Crystal clear water and with the sun out , one could see various shades of blue all around. I counted and found just 4 more firangs there !

Walked around and collected some corals.. The coral life is dead now post tsunami ! But this surely was paradise. After spending couple of hours walking , reading, getting into water, it was time to head back to the resort, relax !

I spoke around to find out more about heading to Saddle peak but was told it would take atleast 4hrs one way and would need to start early in the morning. The whole of this trip was really lazy and not a really active one and I didnt feel motivated enough to wakeup early and trek solo for 10hrs with just water at ones disposal . No food other than meals at the resort available. So, i ditched the plan of going trekking and spent the day just walking around the village, speaking to the locals and finding out what I always have that people with the least amount of resource and working to get their next meal are happier than lot others. They have the glimmer in their eyes and the contentment missing in most people around in cities.

I was slowing gearing up to get back to the connected world .I had picked up the bus ticket to Port Blair earlier for next day that left Diglipur at 7AM and to get to town I had to take first bus out of Kalipur at 5AM. The caretaker told me to stand at the main road by 4:30AM since the bus could come in early.

Day 8 : Diglipur to PortBlair

So I was up at 4:00AM and at the main road by 4:30am , It was pitch dark and one could only hear the sounds of the small creatures around and for almost 1.5hrs since the bus didn't turn up and I was wondering what if I missed the connection to Port Blair. And then I saw a bus being driven like a maniac come and I got in and we was at Diglipur in record time to get the 7am connection.

The bus to Port Blair ,a journey of 10hrs passes through some green scenic route and also through the Jarwa Resereve. The bus and us also pass through several stretches where we need to board the ferry along with the bus to get to the next landed spot.

Jarawas , are group of Andamanese Negritos are believed to be the most isolated in human history. Only 400 remain today !Ever since migrating from Africa an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 years ago, they have lived in the Andaman forests without any contact with the outside world, protecting their privacy by being relentlessly hostile to outsiders. The Indian Government has demarcated a tribal reserve for them to lead undisturbed lives. This is a jungle spread over South and Middle Andamans. However the forest has a highway passing through that connects the South and Middle Andamans and conveys are allowed several times a day ! There is a court battle going on to close the highway down but the local people are against it since its their life line and cuts down travel time to port blair drastically. You will find curious Jarawas standing along the road , some women dressed in nothing holding a baby at their waist or even some in a red girdle of sorts. I also some young Jarawas at the forest entrance and on the way in modern shorts and t-shirts.

I reached PortBlair around 4pm after a long day of bus travel and with no lunch(the only thing available at a short stop was oily/spicy fish and rice that I couldn't force myself to taste) and couple of cups of tea and biscuits. I took an auto from the bus stand into Paradise Inn , the same place I had stayed on the first day. Very basic but clean and friendly staff. After a bit of rest I headed to the Bengali hotel nearby for the first meal of the day and then called it a day early to be up for the flight early morning next day.

The week I spent at the peaceful Andaman (and yes with no water sports , that an adventurer in me would have liked to do in normal times) did rejuvenate me and I was slowly getting back to my normal self and was dreading heading back to the ever busy connected world where every second counts for nothing earth shattering.

Pictures on Flickr: Andaman

Useful Links :

Places to Stay:
Port Blair : Basic Budget hotel , clean and friendly person at the desk - Paradise Inn ,Moulana Azad Road
Havelock/Ranget/Diglipur : Govt Guest house/Resort booked at Port Blair .. Clean Rooms and Great Location .
Can be booked via phone 03192-232694 and reservation slip collected from Port Blair

IIMB Magazine

2011-01-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Something that cameup in this month's magazine

To Chennai and back...

2011-01-11T07:20:00.000-08:00

The year started with me driving down solo to Chennai to watch the Chennai Open. The only world class ATP tour of India.

Left home around 9ish one cloudy morning and entered Chennai in 4hrs driving at a steady pace of 100kmph. It was a great drive all the way with tolled roads all along , though the toll hits the pocket a bit .It took me another hour just to locate my sister's house thanks to the highly crazy google maps on my phone that I initially tried to use. One learning never use google maps while driving around in India, just ask the auto drivers or local shopkeepers.

Had picked up a season ticket for the entire week and was all set. My six year old niece Anya, who's also been playing tennis for two years now wanted to come along. I was a little apprehensive whether she will last all through the matches but to my surprise she did and really enjoyed the atmosphere. She did come along on two consecutive days.

There were a bunch of players from top 50 and 100 Berdych, Warwinka, Tipsarevic, Gasquet ,Cilic etc. and not to mention our very own Somdev. There was also the added attraction of watching the Indian Express Leander and Mahesh get back together to play the doubles after nine long years.

On the third day , rain stopped play when Warwinka and Haase very battling it out around 11pm. Waited for the rain to stop the courts to be cleaned and dried and watched a class act till 2:30am . For those who think I was a little crazy there were about 200odd tennis fans like me around in the court till that hour.

The tennis that I witnessed for the five days was of top quality . Just an inch separating each point. Super consistent and powerful hitting and serves all through out. The best part was the Indian Express starting their comeback with a win and Warwinka picking up the singles trophy.

After the two finals which went all the way to 3 sets, hit the highway and was in Bangalore in 4hrs ..

Another year...

2011-01-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

Another year just flew past on this onward journey ..

A year with its roller coaster ride ,where I was able to explore new places , some new friends , some old friends who left the city or found their calling . Able to get to the tennis court almost everyday, one constant love all these years tennis and of course a bit of splurge in a new car .. And then having near ones around at home to start another year on this planet !

The long journey to the sea and back

2010-12-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

With the new car arriving last month , the thought of a longish drive out of the city had been playing in my mind for awhile.

So just last week , spread my idea about a road trip around and a few enthusiastic team mates (pulkit, jomy, divya) quickly signed up. Browsed around for options and decided on the JLR at Devbagh Island. Next was to do a road condition check at the team-bhp site for the best route to drive out.

So one sunny Friday afternoon I hit the gas pedal . On the way we picked up some eatables for the road and headed out of the city taking the Nice road and then joined NH4 at Tumkar ..mostly good toll roads ( though way too many toll booths !!) . The new car just swung into action and with great music and good company one couldn't have asked for more.

Driving at night after Chitradurga required some concentration with highways with no dividers and reflectors and people, vehicles coming in from the wrong side , also there were sudden drop in road levels and huge invisible speed breakers. Just at the outskirts of Hubli we stopped over at a Dhaba for Dinner ( 6hrs of continuous driving) and then the search began for a night stay. A bunch of hotels we asked around didn't have rooms but finally after couple of diversions and the jomy (navigator for the trip) with his handy android phone highlighting the area with max. hotels, we were able to find a descent place for a pit stop.

After a good nights rest , we left Hubli early morning to head towards Karwar . Taking the SH towards Ankola and then a diversion towards Karwar. The drive towards Karwar has some great scenic green ghat sections though it had a bit of truck traffic to beat!

Karwar is a sea town at the Arabian Sea coast and has a big Naval base. After a break for tea at a wayside stall on the way, we were able to reach the JLR office at Karwar around 11am ,parked the car there and then were taken by boat to the house boat parked a few kms away in the deep waters .

The house boat would be our resting place for the rest of the trip. We quickly freshened up and then were taken to the Devbagh island where the main JLR huts and tents was located. The place is nicely tucked away from the main karwar coastline and has nice green forest cover and a small village beside. We spoke around trying to find what water sport options was available but because to bad weather just kayaking was possible that day. Snorkeling that most of us were looking forward towards was not possible.

So after a heavy lunch we first were taken across a river/forest walk for over an hour by an every friendly forest guide. We waded through the river and walked across some mangrove and also armies of crabs to reach the jetty point.

I had a slight back strain due to my incorrect seating posture while driving the new car and so took a break from any water sports and headed to the beach while the rest of the gang went ahead trying their skill with the kayaks.

After a tea break we were taken back to the house boat and we headed far away from any habitation ( 25 odd km) into the sea for the night. Each of us took turns in being the captain of the boat..

I took out my ipod and the ihome speakers and we had some good music on the boat all evening. The houseboat with its own kitchen then dished out some hot pakodas,tea and juice and a full course meal later .The rest of the evening was spent chatting with divya and pulkit trying to bring up ghost stories as well.

Wokeup to a nice quite early morning tucked away in the sea and watching the sunrise amidst the cloudy sky. The house boat was then picked away from its anchor and started moving towards Devbagh.. After a heavy breakfast we took a motor boat for some dolphin sighting. The sea was quite rough and we did find a few dolphins giving us a sneak view.

We then hit the shore after noon on Sunday and picked up my car from the office and started our long drive (650kms) back to Bangalore. I was driving at an average speed of around 90-100kph which went up to 140kmh only once though Pulkit was trying to push me to test the cars limits :). We were back in the city by 11pm (a short break for brunch at Haveri) and our last meal at MacDonald ..

Most of the journey we had two sleepy heads at the rear seats even with loud music playing , but thanks to the ever alert Navigator Jomy in front also equipped with an android GPS enabled phone, we were able to hit the right road connections.

Distance Covered: 1250 kms approx. in my new black stallion ..VW POLO 1.6 driven solely by yours truly..

More pics from the trip here

Road Trip to Melkote

2010-10-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Perfect weather for a long drive out of the city and it was melkote that was calling !

More Pictures here

Oh What Fun !

2010-10-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Pictures are from my recent trip to SFO and me fooling around with Karthik! Joy of being with a child and being one again (away from the reality of the world !! ) ..

Vintage Beauties

2010-10-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

A sunday spent walking around these rare beauties ( Quite a few belong to Vijaya Mallya car collection)

Some More pics here

Rocky Mountain High

2010-10-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

Back home from a short trip to the US of A, it was mostly work and meetings but then found sometime to head out thanks to the team mates at the Boulder Office.

Here are some pics from the road trip around Boulder and Rocky Mountains.. Rocky Mountains has always been on my mind , having grown up listening to John Denver and sure it was amazing !!

Pics from Rocky Mountains
Around Boulder Pics

The One Goal of All Nature

2010-07-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

The One Goal of All Nature
by Swami Vivekananda

The grandest idea in Vedanta is that we may reach the same goal by different paths; and these paths I have generalised into four viz., those of work, love, psychology and knowledge. But you must, at the same time, remember that these divisions are not very marked and quite exclusive of each other. Each blends into the other. But according to the type which prevails we name the divisions. It is not that you cannot find a man who has no other faculty than that of work, nor that you cannot find men who are more than devoted worshippers only, nor that there are not men who have more than mere knowledge. These divisions are made in accordance with the type or the tendency that may be seen to prevail in a man.

We have found that, in the end, all these four paths converge and become one. All religions and all methods of work and worship lead us to one and the same goal.

I have already tried to point out that goal. It is freedom as I understand it. Everything that we perceive around us is struggling towards freedom, from the atom to the man, from the insentient, lifeless particle of matter to the highest existence on earth, the human soul. The whole universe is in fact the result of this struggle for freedom. In all combinations every particle is trying to go on its own way, to fly from the other particles; but the others are holding it in check.

Our earth is trying to fly away from the sun, and the moon from the earth. Everything has a tendency to infinite dispersion. All that we see in the universe has for its basis this one struggle towards freedom ; it is under the impulse of this tendency that the saint prays and the robber robs. When the line of action taken is not a proper one we call it evil, and when the manifestation of it is proper and high we call it good. But the impulse is the same, the struggle towards freedom. The saint is oppressed with the knowledge of his condition of bondage, and he wants to get rid of it ; so he worships God. The thief is oppressed with the idea that he does not possess certain things, and he tries to get rid of that want, to obtain freedom from it ; so he steals.

Freedom is the one goal of all nature, sentient or insentient ; and, consciously or unconsciously, everything is struggling towards that goal. The freedom which the saint seeks is very different from that which the robber seeks ; the freedom loved by the saint leads him to the enjoyment of infinite unspeakable bliss, while that on which the robber has set his heart only forges other bonds for his soul.

--Swami Vivekananda

More here

Tranquil Break

2010-06-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

With mom visiting and with no real breaks in the last few months I was itching to head out of the chaos of the city and booked a nice treehouse that I found out while looking up the web.

So on a nice cloudy morning last Sunday I took my good old Alto for its first long spin out of the city this year.

Hit the first stretch of great road (Nice Toll Road) soon after home and with the music turned on it was a good beginning. The toll road with it wide open stretches where you are sure that there won't be any incoming traffic wrong side of the road is a dream drive .

However I did feel the need for speed with my sturdy old 800c Alto taking time to pickup speed but nevertheless it did cross the 100kmp mark soon !
We ripped through almost negligible traffic and we were in Mysore in flat 2hrs where we had a stopover for breakfast at Kamat. We then passed through some good green stretches specially once we crossed Gundulpet into the Muthanga Forest Reserve that lies across both the states of Karnataka and Kerela . As you enter Kerela you see big cut outs of Football stars mainly from Argentina and Brazil all along the road side !! Stopped and asked for directions for the resort at Sultan Bathery a small town ( named after Tipu sultan who had captured the Jain temple there and used it as his Battery) only a few kms away from Tranquil.

Tranquil at Waynad which seemed like a good place to just relax with a few books and walk around its 300acre coffee estate . I just had a gut feeling that it would have a different rhythm and surely it had a different beat about it. We reached there just after 11am and was greeted by the host Nisha and her daughter and then her Mom came by . The luggage was dumped and I relaxed a bit after the drive . At lunch we met up with the entire family who look after the estate and got introduced to Victor who had spent his early years of his life in Calcutta , turned out to be a big tennis fan and a player.

Now into his 60s he spoke about playing tennis almost every morning till he had a bypass few years back. 4 generations of the family live there in tranquility and each of them have an impressive personality and the days spent there was juxtaposed with some great conversations over the food table and otherwise. Having found one of the rare hardcore tennis fan and player I was thrilled

I spent my time walking around the lush green coffee estates and onto some of the clearly marked paths to a nearby peak or just finding my on some random tracks . The food and conversation over food was interesting and made the stay worth every minute and evenings was spent tucked in the luxury tree house watching the football world cup( specially remember the Portugal-DPR 7-0 drubbing ) and Wimbledon where the King Federer was almost shown the door on the first day.

We then bid adieu to the place to start our journey back to reality and 1hr into the drive we were stopped at the Kerela/Karnataka border by the forest guards disallowing any traffic flow whereas traffic freely flowed from the other side.

We had to be stalled there till 5pm and even repeated requests by us wouldn't let the guards change their mind, guess their senior had asked them not to let anyone go. Imagine stranded in the forest with no mobile signal all the way till evening and not able to inform anybody at destination of the reason but for me thankfully Mum was with me. After 1.5hrs we saw 2 bikers get away and then on further requests they allowed us out, the lone vehicles. I zipped through the empty roads across the green forest stretches and then came another block cops asking us to stop and taking us to the Police station at Gundulpet charging me with crashing through barricades. Thankfully Mum was there and with her Govt. Identity card around and some talking and also car inspection they let us go. I am sure on another day with Mum not around ,I would have had to shell out some cash as fine to let me go!! Hit Mysore in couple of hours and after a short stop for a bite at Maddur we were home by 5.

Route :Bangalore - Nice Road- Mysore Road -(SH 17)-Mandya-Sringapatna-Mysore-Ring Road Junction -NH 212 -Nanjangud- Begur-Gundulpet-Maddur-Muthanga Forest Reserve- Sultan Bathery - Kalpetta

Driving Time :5.15hrs with one stop for a meal !

Pictures from the Trip:Tranquil

Saina ..

2010-06-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

Watched Saina win her 3rd title in 3 weeks and who is also currently ranked 3rd in the world. I don't remember last when an Indian Individual Singles player was given such an outstanding support in a foreign land. The entire stadium was a buzz routing for her. A tough match nevertheless but she is now unbeaten in 3 weeks at world level , which is rarely heard of by an Indian athlete. If she continues improving and peaking at the right level who knows we might see a new Olympic Champion at the London Olympics..

I wonder how many Indians even switched on the TV to watch her play on a sunday afternoon ..

Moonshadow

2010-05-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Another classic song ..great voice and lyrics..

Interview with Dr Viktor Frankl

2010-05-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

For those who have read his book "Man's search for Meaning"

Amazing Arunachal

2010-04-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Before heading out to Arunachal I spent a week in Calcutta working remotely. Met a few folks some of whom were surprised and appalled at me trying to go on my solo backpacking trips . A few even asked me whether I was trained in some kind of self defense (Karate) or carried Pepper Spray :)

With my inner line permit already taken care of by applying at the Arunachal Govt Dept at Delhi I was all set.

I took off from Calcutta to Dibrugarh and went around to Pasighat -YingKiong- Along - Menchuka - Along - Diparijo- Ziro - Itanagar - Guwahati - and back !

My blog posts here:

Pictures here:

Amazing Arunachal -2

2010-04-01T10:17:00.001-07:00

Along-Mechuka

Woke up and walked upto the bus station to get the share jeep to Menchuka. It wasn't a very good start to the day when I saw a motorcyclist being mauled down by a sumo and people trying to get in touch with emergency service and non came for almost 45mins I was there. Later heard the biker had succumbed to his injuries on the road itself. I tried to put the morbid thoughts behind as we started our journey through those long and tough winding roads, one mistake and one could go missing forever! There were bunch of passengers some who got down on the way and some who went all the way to Menchuka.

We stopped for nice hot breakfast on the way and a hot cup of tea in the biting cold tasted out of the world. I spoke to some of the passengers in the jeep and again was thought of as a researcher, one of them mentioned a nice guest house run by a buddhist there. The journey took about 8hrs over the winding roads and huge rainforest like mountains and rivers and towards the end one could catch glimpses of snow peaked mountains. As I got down from the jeep I knew I had arrived!! It seemed as I was transported to a place similar to Mongolia. It was out of the world.

I walked across to the guest house suggested and found a nice little room for just Rs 300. Pema, the guest house owner was there with his 2yr old grandson Pasang. The kid soon started playing with me. The guest house was right infront of an army runway and a bunch of army soties landed and took off. After a hot bowl of maggi and tea I walked around the village and saw some kids playing football.

The evening turned out to be freezing cold and I spent it around the Bukhara (in the kitchen) sipping warm water and talking to Pema, the guest house owner,his daughter and playing with Pasang. Everybody was surprised how soon the kid had become my friend :) That night,I survived the cold wearing two layers of clothes and tucked inside a quilt!

Woke up to another cold morning and I was immediately inside the kitchen next to the fire. Slowly, folks got busy and started preparing the breakfast and we waited for the sun to be out and the weather to clear before the trek to the old Gompa.

The foreign group would take a jeep to a certain point and Pema asked me to join them since the tourists didn't want to give me a ride in their big jeep :) So, I started an hour before them and meet them in between where the trek was suppose to start. Pema, knew all the short routes around the mountains to reach the top. We had to cross through some flaky hanging bridges that was a bit scary and some of the inclines up the hill wasn't easy to navigate, with lots of loose stones It was difficult getting a firm grip even with my trekking shoes. I did have to call out to Pema for a lending hand once or twice.

Pema at 62 was fighting fit and was racing through the mountains. Finally the Gompa was in sight perched up in the sky. We then climbed down the mountain and walked around fields and again small hills and swampy fields and more hanging bridges to reach the village and then the guest house. After a long day , goobled up the steaming hot momos and noodles soup! The evening was again spent talking around the fireplace while the folks cooked. Then there was some music played on the mobile for entertainment.

I was up early again maybe 4am and it was pitch dark and waited till atleast there was some visibility and tried getting out but it was freezing cold again so just stayed and waited for the kitchen to be open to go near the fireplace. The tourists then left and after a good breakfast I walked upto the gompa where there were young lama boys who opened the gompa for me and then I let them fiddle around with my ipod. They said they had given up being lamas and joined the regular school.

The houses around menchuka have mostly buddhists and adi residents. The buddhists houses can be identified by the prayer flags and early morning smoke from the fire they burn. Menchuka is just 30kms from the border and its an army base where frequent army sorties get ration for the soldiers that's again carried forward. There were no roads from Along to Menchuka about 15yrs back and it would take 10days to hike across and those days the only means of communication was the army helicopters.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the place and also lazying around reading a book. I was told that the share jeeps were on strike and the alternate day bus might just arrive and take off next morning. I just had to get to that bus since again there were only alternate day buses from Along to Daparijo, so I blocked a bus seat for next morning. In the evening I was the only traveller around and sat chatting with Pema about reincarnation, buddhism etc. An interesting evening spent around the fire.

Woke up at 4am to catch the bus at 5am and found there were quite a few passengers without a seat in the rickety bus braving the journey of 10hrs. The bus was the only means to get to the next big town. On the way a critically sick patient was picked up and I was hoping the person survived the long ordeal.
The bus driver and conductor also acts as messengers picking up letters/goods etc and delivering it on the way. The bus has starting trouble and required a push every time it started . We meandered through the misty green mountains and valleys and then there was a puncture that was quickly fixed. After about 10hrs we reached Along and I checked into a hotel.

Mechuka-Along-Daparijo-Ziro

Having spent few days at Along and with nothing much to do , I spent the evening watching IPL matches on TV. I again had to wake up and get to the bus station at 5am to get the bus Daparijo (Only alternate day buses and no jeeps) . Reached Daparijo at 4 in the evening . Daparijo was a sea change from beautiful Menchuka and I somehow survived in claustrophobic room for the night. I was at the jeep station at 5am next morning to get to Ziro. The roads seemed a lot better now with it progressing towards the capital Itanagar and the sumo driver was breezing past though it was misty and there was quite a bit of rain. I had tried calling a recommended hotel in Ziro a few times from Daparijo but couldn't get through and just wanted to try my luck. Reached Ziro around noon which seemed like a nice little place but couldn't find accommodation there.

Walked around quite a bit in the rain looking for a room ,all the places seemed booked with a festival happening at the nearby Hong village , however finally found myself a room. I couldn't make out much since there was no electricity and it was dark. I just dumped my bag and try to find a way to Hong village about 9kms away. There were no autos willing to go ,so I decided to walk in the rain to see what the festival was about. It was quite a tiring walk.

Once at the village on asking the locals nobody seemed to know about the festival,but after walking around for a bit I found a bunch of foreigners and then the festivities seemed to start. Its a nice little village with the young people in modern clothes but the older apatami folks still in their traditional clothes and wooden locks in their nose. All tired from the day's walk and midway through getting back a biker gave me a lift all the way to ziro . Once in the room, i found it was almost inhabitable with mold all around and really cold and damp. I just decided to cut my journey by a few days and head home. So got myself a jeep tickets for 5am next day for Itanagar and preponed my air tickets.

Heading home -- Ziro-Itangar-Guwahati
Reached Itanagar by 11a.m and it was still pouring but the jeep guy dropped me at the bus counter for Guwahati. The bus to guwahati was at 5pm but thankfully there were chairs to rest and to dump the bacpack.

The whole town seemed to be on strike with not a shop open even for tea. After walking around town i finally got back and asked the ticket counter guy if I could find some food , he then took me too a hidden dhaba someplace where I found some rice and dal. The first meal of the day. I sat there reading and getting in touch with mum and some friends, yes I was back to the connected world. The bus took off on schedule and I was in Guwahati early next morning. I headed to the airport at 5am with my flight taking off at noon wondering if they would let me in. But the airport guards were kind of to let me in and I spent my time listening to music and reading. Was back in Calcutta where mum was waiting at the airport to pick me up. It was good to be back after spending a great time around the mountains and valleys of amazing arunachal to the comforts of a shower and home cooked food.

Amazing Arunachal -1

2010-04-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Dibrugarh-Pasighat-Yingkiong

Landed at Dibrugarh and headed straight to the ferry ghat. Was told the last ferry left at 4:15pm and just as I landed there in the nick of time, figured I was at the wrong ghat (BogiBeel) and the ferry's didn't go to Pasighat directly and wouldn't find a place to stay where the ferry was headed. With no other way out, headed back to town to find a place for the night. Woke up early and took the ferry from Mazin Ghat, filled with passengers, vehicles, live stock and anything one can imagine to Pasighat and then onto a share jeep. Pasighat ,is a small little town surrounded by hills and a few scattered settlements. With 4hrs to kill before the bus to Yingkiong , I grabbed some food and dumped my backpack in the same restaurant and walked around town.

After tea, I walked upto the bus station to find an ancient rickety old bus waiting that was christened "Yingkiong Queen " . A distance of 180kms takes close to 12hrs on these long ,winding and almost non-existent roads. The bus soon got packed and we hit the road. The bus had a young helper babu ,barely in his teens who was continuously on the go -lifting goods, helping with directions as the bus had to go over some tough hair pin bends and always had a smile on his face. Life for him seemed so simple and easy !

The weather outside became cold and windy and then it started to rain and with window panes missing one just had to brace it all ! Some inquisitive passengers started talking to me and were surprised to find a lone woman traveller and thought i was writing a book or into research. Initially I tried explaining what I do but soon took over the role of a researcher since that's what most understood :). Some told me about what places I could visit etc. Mobile revolution seemed to have taken over the mountains. Everybody seemed to have a mobile and took turns to play music on the speaker phones. After a stop for dinner at the only existent roadside dhaba late night the bus proceeded on its arduous journey , after midnight and because of rains , there was a small landslide(road had caved in a bit), that babu and the driver cleared before chugging along. After few hours the bus came to a screeching halt around 2am and was told the bus had run out of fuel and there would be no vehicles passing the way till morning and all of us (just 3 more passengers remaining) had no other option to but to remain in the bus with heavy rains outside . Knowing there was nothing one could do, I just stretched out and slept in the bus next few hours , stranded up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere..I was woken upto some loud voices of the only 3 remaining passengers as they had heard a bus approaching. We slowly pulled ourselves and the luggage up and ran to the vehicle in the rain. Than I saw babu, the young helper boy still out in the rain with a jerrycan trying to search for fuel.

Found the first hotel in town in the rain and after a bit of rest and maggi (only available eatable) , borrowed an umbrella and walked out of town upto the Gandhi Hanging Bridge. A scenic 5-6kms walk across fields and misty mountains in the cloud. The flaky hanging bridge on the blue sian river was quite a site.
I started walking back to town and about a km away, a biker stopped by (hardly any soul on the road till then) and said he could drop me back . Once back in town I took an auto to the other hanging bridge(Nubo) around (17kms) away . It was a nice ride in the auto while it poured. The auto driver was from Along and picked up some interesting information about Along and places around.

Once back, I heard a knock on my door to find Omim, a co traveller from my previous nights journey. She had come searching for me knowing I was travelling all by myself. She was visiting her sister in Yingkiong and she said I should go over to their house. Spent the evening talking to the folks there and then she waked with me all the way back at the hotel.

The next day was spent walking around misty town surrounded my mountains ,meeting school kids .I had to decide where to head out next -- Tuting or Along. Tuting was a 12-16hrs journey whereas Along was a 6hrs journey. I finally decided on Along ! I picked up the Sumo tickets for next morning. When I was walking towards the town center next day, there came Omim again to see me off.

Yingkiong-Along
The jeep ride to Along passes through beautiful mountains and rivers. There were a few passengers , again inquisitive at seeing me travel and marveling at my courage the driver spoke a lot about the local customs and played some great hindi oldies - Kishore kumar as we covered the 116 odd kms. He dropped me at a nice little hotel at Along and gave me his mobile number and even volunteered to give me his mobile SIM just incase I needed it. I thanked him and said no I wouldn't be needing it .

Along seemed like a town in transition and lot more traffic as compared to the quaint little Yingkiong. I dumped by backpack and walked to the DC's office to see if they could attest my inner line permit for Tawang as well! But after waiting for sometime and the DC missing I just headed out to walk around town. Next morning was the first sunny day of my trip and took a bus to the nearby Pobdi village and then walked around Pobdi and Paia and all the way back to Along. These settlements have unique cane huts that are mostly on stilts and are built without a single nail or metal in place. The villagers seemed quite modern and some even had satellite dishes. However most men do carry a huge knife and a neat flat backpack made out of cane.

Next destination was Menchuka.. There are only alternate day buses to Menchuka and hence had to buy a jeep ticket for next morning.

and ahead

JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure

2010-02-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

Speech Text

Haiku

2009-12-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Empty-handed I entered the world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going --
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.

-Kozan Ichikyo

Against All Odds

2009-11-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

An old classic

2009-11-24T03:13:00.000-08:00

Heard this old classic after a very long time ....

Invictus

2009-10-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

Invictus :

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my SOUL.

- William Ernest Henley

This poem inspired Mandela while at prison. A new movie by the same name ad directed by Client Eastwood is going to be out soon ,here is the trailer ..

Surely A Different Spirit

2009-10-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

I was sitting around at home this Saturday and feeling a bit low with the mind and its wandering and pushed myself to walk across to the college campus at IIMB to attend the monthly guest lectures, this time the talk was by Malathi Holla and came back in a very different spirit.

One has to meet Malathi to even know what an indomitable spirit and positive spirit outlook can do to oneself and to people around you . Malathi was paralyzed neck down when she was a year old and after 2yrs of electric shock treatment that helped a little in improving her condition she was admitted into to a residential school for the differently abled in Chennai where she spent 15yrs of her life. She then came back to Bangalore to study further. Her father ran a small udupi hotel in Bangalore and she was one among the four. Being differntly abled in India is in itself one of the biggest challenge for such people , and how many times would someone like me even think of how tough it is for someone to cross the road, get to a bus or travel by train etc. Malathi struggled through all this and not ignoring the fact that she is from an orthodox family that too a woman. However, with her never say die attitude went around conquering all the challenges that life threw at her and overcame them. After 32 surgeries and some even life threatening ones where she was in Coma for 3months she is chugging along with a smile and a passion that I see lacking in normal folks around.

She spoke about her struggle as an athlete where she had to borrow wheel chairs the previous night of the competition (Para Olympics etc) and practiced all night and went on to win a Gold the next day or how she competed with men at her first nationals and beat the men in the 100m race. She has over 300 medals and ParaOlympic Gold in her kitty!!

I was really moved listening to her story and was wondering why we create excuses for not doing things and remembered what she said find the POSSIBLE in the IMPOSSIBLE!!

She now runs an NGO (Mathru Foundation )where she has brought in differently abled children from rural villages nearby and provides them shelter,food and takes care of their education. I also picked up her authorized biography ( A Different Spirit)

Letter Writing

2009-10-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is so very true, the lost art of letter writing.. I don't remember when I last picked up a pen and wrote a letter to someone and posted it .. I however, still do have some old letters that dad wrote those days when there was no email, yes there was such a time only a little while ago !!

Back to Cycling..

2009-10-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4:45a.m on a perfect Sunday morning and headed(drove down ,didn't have the stamina to cyle it:)) to Tumkur Road , about 30kms from home for participating in my first cylothon race. I hadn't trained at all for this race and hadn't cycled long distances for more than a year but decided to sign up for the long 50kms race in the amauter category.

The weather was just perfect for cycling after heavy showers the previous night and another positive was that the race distance had been reduced to 36kms because of traffic hold up issues.

My aim was not to race but to just complete the distance. In all my previous long distance hauls, some of which were longer, was more at a leisurely pace and didn't really need to think of a completion time but this time around things were a little different ! I kept going at a steady pace and then stopped for a water break at the 18km rounadabout and thats when I felt my right leg cramp as I got back to cycling.Two of us (another colleague from work) had tried to keep similar pace from the race start but with my leg giving up, I didn't want to delay him and asked him to go ahead. The return course was a lot tougher with lot of good inclines and I did see lot of cylists give up and walk !! I tried to keep a constant pace and kept going without thinking of the intermittent cramps and decided to not take any water to risk making matters worse . I did complete the race and over took my cycling partner about 3kms from the race .
Was a good feeling to push oneself a little to complete the race and yeah get a good night's rest later!!

Rained out in Goa

2009-10-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the road trip to Goa last week, most of which was rained out...

Some more pics here

Rewind

2009-09-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

Read about Patrick Swazye's demise today and that took me back to May 1991. Me and my sister were having summer vacation at school and had picked up the movie 'Dirty Dancing' from the rental shop and had enjoyed the movie and were also hooked to the music ,and ofcourse not to mention Patrick . The next morning (21st May) we heard about Rajiv Gandhi's assasination. That mean we were stuck at home for the next few days with only the movie and spent the days , watching it again and again :)

Here's one of my favourite songs from the film and I also took out the dusty Audio CD from the rack to take me further back in time..

Here's a HD verson of the song

August Break

2009-08-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my first attempt at creating a movie using Picasa Movie Maker from pics taken during my backpacking trip across Egypt and Turkey .

Exploring Turkey

2009-08-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

I traveled across turkey by bus from Istanbul to the Western ,Central and East-Central locations for 2 weeks.

Turkey, with its population being 98% Islamic , has separated religion from the state and is quite westernized after the transformation started once the Ottoman rule ended.

Istanbul , with its old mosques ,road side eats out, cobble stoned streets and cosmopolitan crowd was fun to just be part of and walk around. I spent a few days here and simply enjoyed walking around the old parts of Istanbul (Blue Mosque,Haphia Sophia ,Top Kapi Palace and walking around the narrow streets all the way to the Galata Bridge ) and on another day crossing over to Istanbul University all the way to Taksim and Eminou ferry dock . On the first day at Ramzan ,the area around the mosques had a different buzz with more food stalls , benches and as the sun set ,it slowly had a huge gathering of families seated together breaking their fast, travelers, passersby and live music at some places.

Canakkale
is a sea port town of the Dardanelles river and also the nearest town to Troy, where the Galipoli battle took place. This was my 2nd stop and loved the slow paced life of the people here and walked around to the fort, the troy horse from the 2004 movie and also spending time on the coast watching school kids enjoy a game of basketball , divers enjoying their dip in the river. Also tasted some local Turkish cuisines - kepabs, lentil soup, wraps, ayran(turkish buttermilk) etc

Selcuk and Sirince
Selcuk is a small quaint little town 3kms away from the famous Ephesus(Efes) archaeological site and one of the most frequented places by tourists. It has the temple of Atremis and Efes, which is one the seven wonders of the Ancient World . Efus was an important part of early chirsitianity and also has the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. I also took a dolmus upto Sirince, a greek village nearby but was quite disappointed to find a touristy village rather than the village I thought I would discover.

Pamukkale
Traveling alone sometimes can be tough, where one needs to try hard to talk or meet liked minded travelers and having spent my first few days in Turkey all by myself I met someone as we got down at Pamukkale bus station also looking out for a hostel and we headed to the same place and ended up traveling together next few days.
Pamukkale meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site .The calcium oxide-rich waters flowing down have built up deposits of white travertine on the plateau where exists the ancient ruins of Hierapolis (Holy City) and also the modern one of Pamukkale.

Cappadocia
This was the highlight of my stay in turkey where I explored the various rock formations in different colours and shapes including fairy chimney mountains, mushroom shaped ones, caves with frescos or the underground cities of Derinkuyu. These quaint rock formations took effect from erupted ancient volcanoes and the villagers who stay in cave houses including the pension I spent 3 nights in . I spent 3 days hiking around the mountains and valleys and all the interesting places with Brendan, whom I had met at Pamukkale bus station.

Nemrut Dagi
Mount Nemrut has a vast bunch of statues from 1st century BC and something that I was interested in right from the start of the trip and also had to be part of a 3 day trip from gerome and back since doing it solo was out of bound. However , it was quite a journey with 2 days out 3 being on the road but was worth with it when we had to wakeup at 3am travel a bit and then hike up the mountains to see an awesome sunrise and the statues.

Useful links

Rough Guide
Turkish travel planner

Pics from my trip
Istanbul
Canakkale
Selcuk and Sirince
Pamukkale
Cappadocia
Nemrut Dagi

Follwing the Nile Valley by Road

2009-08-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

My trip was unplanned but did have some rough plan wanting to do the Nile Valley (Cairo-Luxor-Aswan-Abu Simbel) by road before I started .

Cairo The vacation started with a bit of a twist with a missed connecting flight from Istanbul to Cairo and then desperately trying to get in touch with an ex-colleague Abed , who was suppose to meet me at Cairo and wasn't aware of the missed flight. The computer that I found at the airport lounge had a Turkish keyboard and Turkish windows installation and all my attempts to get my email account to work failed, finally after hours ,I just asked someone with a laptop to let me use it for just a few mins to drop an e-mail. I reached Cairo at 2a.m. in the morning and took a taxi to the hostel and was surprised to see quite a few shops open people moving around. Abed called the hostel early morning and with only 3hrs of sleep, we drove to the Ramses station to book the train tickets for the sleeping train to Aswan that Night. We then drove down to the Giza Pyramids , passing the downtown and various parts of the city including the Cairo University ,which was quite impressive.

The Giza Pyramids starts where the city ends and you can be in for a big surprise as you might have expected it to be out in a big desert. From the Pyramid site you can see the high rises at a distance. There are 3 (Kufu,Khafre and Menkaure ) main pyramids at Giza. The Giza necropolis served as a cemetery for the elite of the old kingdom of Egypt.

Walking around at 48degrees wasn't that much fun though and so we headed to a local restaurant for a Kosher meal (Macaroni & Rice with some sauce) and then to the Egyptian museum. The museum is huge and has an unbelievable collection of artifacts but wish there were descriptions against the artifacts, since most didn't have any ! One could possibly spend a few days there . After spending few hours there , Abed dropped me to the Giza train station. In between the visits we did have some good discussion/debates about Islam etc.

Having a known contact in the first day of your trip to an unknown land is really nice and makes one feel at ease with the surroundings not to mention Abed was really helpful and was a great resource to understand about how he feels about his country.

Aswan
The sleeping train was nice and comfortable and had a good night's sleep after only few hours of sleep in the past 2 days.

Reached Aswan early morning and tried locating a hotel opposite the Nile River Road. After a bit of rest walked around to the Nubian Museum , cemetery but the heat was getting to me and headed back. Later in the evening I went to the river and got a free to-and-fro boat ride as well.and also met a Taiwanese girl, Hooky at the terrace of the hotel and she introduced me to an interesting Armenian lady who could speak Hindi and loved everything about India and could sing almost all the Hindi songs from Raj Kapoor's numbers to the latest ones, some that even I couldn't hum. Her teenage daughter was also the same. She had learnt Hindi by just watching Hindi movies and said probably she was an Indian in her last birth.

Aswan has a nice slow paced life compared to Cairo and walking around the Nile promenade was quite relaxing.

Woke up at 2:30a.m. to take the bus to Abu Simbel ,since all vehicles leave that early with police leading the pack. Slept through most of the drive but most of the journey was in the middle of nowhere with hardly any settlement . Abu simbel was quite impressive and also hard to believe that the huge structure could be kept intact and moved from one river bank to another, after the construction of the Aswan Dam and floods affecting it in its original location. On the way back stopped and took at boat to an Island where the Philae temple is located . The Philae temple was also beautiful with nice stone inscriptions. Met an Indian family here who live in the middle east but were traveling around Egypt .Got back in the afternoon and after a good rest walked around the bazaar that reminded me of the Indian bazaar's with all its chaos and innumerable shops selling all possible things. All the places in Egypt come to life later in the evening once its get a little cooler and you people all around, men, women in burkhas, children and the buzz continues till midnight. Everybody seems to know Amitabh Bachan in Egypt from a kid to an old man and when they see an Indian walking past they just utter Amitabh Bachan as a way of greeting you :)

In the morning , met the Indian family at the breakfast table and they said they were taking the Felucca across the river and asked me to join them. The Felucca is nothing but a sail boat that works with the wind and we went around to the princes isles and also some other places for the next few hrs. The sailor tried to extend it beyond 3hrs to make more money stating the wind wasn't good enough though we could see other sail boats going past us. After an extended Felucca ride , I reached the hotel just in time to get to the train station to Luxor, a few hrs ride. Hooky and John the two Taiwanese I had met the night before also joined me and we were able to get the onward tickets.

Luxor
Alighted from the train and found the hostel I had in mind right opposite Luxor temple with nice rooms . Naseer, the person at the reception was quite friendly and warned us to be a little careful incase we walked around town because of some festival happening there. We however did walk around a bit before dinner and found that the celebrations had been called off because of swine-flu scare and so there was nothing to keep us from going around. We were then talked into getting a tour to the Luxor West Bank , stating it was next to impossible to do it on our own. We mulled over it and decided to book it for the next morning.

After a good breakfast the next day, we took the tour minibus tour to all the places in the west bank-Collossi of Memmon, Valley of Kings, Hatshepsut,Medinat Habu, Valley of the Queens. These are the burial places of most of the pharaohs of Egypt of the New Kingdom period.The caves inside these huge mountains have beautiful natural dye paintings and has been around for 3000yrs ! whew! Got back in the afternoon and after some rest the 3 of us (the other two Taiwanese traveling partners) walked around the Luxor Temple and surroundings.

Woke up the next morning and went to the train station to get the tickets to Cairo for the Night and then headed to the beautiful temple of Karnak. The Karnak temple is huge and walking around at 40+ degree wasn't too easy but by then I had gotten used to the humidity and heat . After spending few hours around the huge stone marvels, walked back to the hotel and bumped into the Indian Family I had met at Aswan as well. John and Hooky then parted ways and left for Hurgada, a diving place next to the Red Sea and me to Cairo

Back to Cairo
Took the sitting train which had nice big reclining seats and was at Cairo the next morning. Abed came by after his Friday prayers and took me around Old Cairo and Islamic Cairo I was interested in seeing. We also went around the famous Egyptian Market and picked a t-shirt ,didn't want to lug around anything extra on my fully packed backpack and then headed to the Airport.

Thus concluded my 8 days in the Egypt trying to discover the ancient civilization that existed and wondering how advanced the country was way back and how its trying to cope with the ways of the modern world. I had started this journey thinking it was going to be a solo backpacking trip but ended up having traveling friends all throughout the journey. Not bad start of a 3 week vacation.

If one wants to splurge take the cruise ships around instead of the night trains but for me traveling by the local mode has always been the best way out. The train system in Egypt is pretty good,comfortable and inexpensive .

Useful Links:
Metro Map of Cairo
Egyptian Rail Roads
How to travel by train in Egypt
Rough Guide Egypt

Pics from my trip
Cairo and Giza
Around Aswan
Luxor

If......

2009-06-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite poem's that I found on youtube .. Nothing more apt for the two great champs !!

Under My Umbrella

2009-05-31T22:32:00.001-07:00

I left home late Saturday evening with heavy rains coming down, picked up a few friends on the way and we headed to Fireflies, outskirts of Bangalore for an all night Guitar Concert by the GuitarGurus of India.

Fireflies is about 30kms from the city and as heavy rain pounded , we headed out with good music playing in the car stereo and beautiful tree lined roads but poor visibility. Fireflies is located amongst lush green trees with a small open air amphitheater. The venue was totally dry when we reached there,it hadn't rained there !! The guitar gurus from India were already performing , we were a little late. The first few performances was of the pure sound of acoustic guitar. After a bit it started to pour and and we took out our umbrellas (we were prepared since it had been raining in the city) as we heard some incredible music under the cloudy skies, a different experience to cherish. The sound changed drastically from Acoustic to Electric as the night progressed .

A wonderful evening/morning spent listening to the pure sound of the timbre , under the cloudy skies till wee hours of the morning..

Success

2009-05-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Thought of the day as I look back and forward to this journey...

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Farther than The Eye Can See

2009-05-08T01:16:00.001-07:00

Came across this beautiful and well made film about a successful and tough expedition to the top of the world . The team included Erik Weihenmayer , who became the first blind person to conquer Everest and makes one wonder whether the sighted have more fears to conquer..

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.joost.com/33l83kf/t/Farther-Than-the-Eye-Can-See"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Farther Than the Eye Can See&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

This is the first HDTV footage of Mount Everest ..

Buffet and Gates Go Back to School

2009-05-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Loved watching them speak to the college kids and also getting to know how down to earth and candid they still are..

2nd part here

Summer Holidays

2009-04-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year when the exams are over and all the kids are enjoying their summer vacation. Wish we had the same at work :) Nevertheless, I had a great time with my niece last weekend when she was her for the long easter weekend , took me down the memory lane !!

We had our usual sessions of watching all the animated stuff, working on puzzles and ofcourse pretending we had a band with each of us on the guitar or drums ...

Current song that I am humming while i blog 'Summer holiday'

We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
we've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you.

James Nachtwey again!

2009-03-29T01:24:00.000-07:00

Photojournalist James Nachtwey speaking at the TED convention.

TED Link here

War photographer

2009-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Watched another great documentary today about a war photographer James Nachtwey , what drives him to these dangerous zones risking his life.

man on wire

2009-03-22T01:04:00.000-07:00

a must watch ..

Turn

2009-03-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite Travis song...

I want to see what people saw
I want to feel like I felt before
I want to see the kingdom come
I want to feel forever young
I want to sing
To sing my song
I want to live in a world where I belong
I want to live
I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn
So where's the stars?
Up in the sky
And what's the moon?
A big balloon
We'll never know unless we grow
There's so much world outside the door
I want to sing
To sing my song
I want to live in a world where I'll be strong
I want to live
I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
And if we turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn
Turn, turn, turn, turn
Turn, turn, turn
And if we turn, turn, turn, turn
Then we might learn
Learn to turn

This city

2009-03-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

a story of so many children living across the cities in India..

When did you last see your father

2009-03-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Finished reading this memoir by the same name that mum left back on her last visit and watched the film made on it .. and it took me back to the past and lot of old memories.. The last time I saw my father was more than a decade back when he was brought wrapped in the Indian tricolour to the cremation grounds and had the end he would probably have wanted himself, with the 21 gun salutes and all the honour..

The movie is well directed and has jim broadbent and colin firth do a fabulous job . The memoir talks about Morrison, the author trying to understand his father and their relationship and that takes me back to my relationship with my dad whom I never understood.
While growing up as a kid , he was away most of the time at the toughest of postings except for 2 family postings he had. I always found him geared towards his soldiers and regiment more than us and was willing to die for them. He never spoke about himself or his childhood but all I learnt was from my mum and his brothers was that he was a true soldier, Rimcolian, NDA blues ( recvd the regimental flag from the then president of India zakir hussian), bunch of state records in sports, IMA, one of the youngest commanders in the Army. What I found tough to understand as a kid was that he had his way of putting his things across, when in person he would be really tough but while away he would write wonderful motivational letters to let me know that he was proud of my tennis and school achievements and he would tell the same to his friends.
Taking part in the war at Sri Lanka as part of the IPKF was the final blow that changed him even more as he had all the demons from the battleground to fight with, with all the lost soldiers and causalities.I think I seem to understand him a little more now but not completely !

Friends..

2009-03-04T23:35:00.001-08:00

Here's a wonderful little video and real story about Christian and his friends, sent to me by another good friend .

Some of us might be lucky enough to have found such friends as we tread the uncharted path called life !

Nothing!!

2009-02-25T06:22:00.000-08:00

For the likes of us for whom childhood meant playing with friends , reading books, listening to music on vinyl records and later cassettes or an odd movie at club once a month , seems so far fetched for today's generation . The other day my mum was speaking to my 4.5yrs niece Anya, and was talking about all our fun times while me and my sister were growing up and the only word she had to describe our times was there was 'NOTHING!' :) ..

Yes, in today's 24hrs connected world and instant gratification our golden days seems unimaginable

Song of Childhood

2009-02-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

When the child was a child
It walked with its arms swinging,
wanted the brook to be a river,
the river to be a torrent,
and this puddle to be the sea.

When the child was a child,
it didn’t know that it was a child,
everything was soulful,
and all souls were one.

When the child was a child,
it had no opinion about anything,
had no habits,
it often sat cross-legged,
took off running,
had a cowlick in its hair,
and made no faces when photographed.

When the child was a child,
It was the time for these questions:
Why am I me, and why not you?
Why am I here, and why not there?
When did time begin, and where does space end?
Is life under the sun not just a dream?
Is what I see and hear and smell
not just an illusion of a world before the world?
Given the facts of evil and people.
does evil really exist?
How can it be that I, who I am,
didn’t exist before I came to be,
and that, someday, I, who I am,
will no longer be who I am?

When the child was a child,
It choked on spinach, on peas, on rice pudding,
and on steamed cauliflower,
and eats all of those now, and not just because it has to.

When the child was a child,
it awoke once in a strange bed,
and now does so again and again.
Many people, then, seemed beautiful,
and now only a few do, by sheer luck.

It had visualized a clear image of Paradise,
and now can at most guess,
could not conceive of nothingness,
and shudders today at the thought.

When the child was a child,
It played with enthusiasm,
and, now, has just as much excitement as then,
but only when it concerns its work.

When the child was a child,
It was enough for it to eat an apple, … bread,
And so it is even now.

When the child was a child,
Berries filled its hand as only berries do,
and do even now,
Fresh walnuts made its tongue raw,
and do even now,
it had, on every mountaintop,
the longing for a higher mountain yet,
and in every city,
the longing for an even greater city,
and that is still so,
It reached for cherries in topmost branches of trees
with an elation it still has today,
has a shyness in front of strangers,
and has that even now.
It awaited the first snow,
And waits that way even now.

When the child was a child,
It threw a stick like a lance against a tree,
And it quivers there still today

Song of Childhood By Peter Handke

Oh what a game!

2009-01-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

I hadn't heard much about the young Spaniard or followed his progress till this week when he beat the inform Murray . I packed up from work early on Friday to catch the Semi-Final Clash between Nadal and Verdasco and boy I was in for one of the best matches I have ever watched.
They battled it out for 5hr 14 mins and ran like a mad hatter for every point and not an inch of court was left untouched. I am a big Nadal fan but for this match I was surely supporting the underdog Verdasco. He matched Nadal ball for ball and for every angled shot he had another better one but then I am not sure I will call it lack of experience or some supreme intervention when Verdasco double faulted at match point !!

I don't remember watching any tennis match that was played for 5+ hours with the kind of precision, power and touch . No player faltered, no player had a bad patch even the epic Wimbledon Finals between Federer and Nadal last year seemed so far apart.

Nadal just won the game by winning one extra point (193-192) that says it all ! For me irrespecitive of who picks the title today, Verdasco's game has been a revelation and I doubt the Finals will surpass the epic semi-finals clash or I hope it does for the worthy champion.

A Champion's Story: Somdev Devvarman

2009-01-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

A video on Somdev , too early to say how his career spans out but he looks like a good find for India.

Being a child again

2009-01-13T03:08:00.001-08:00

I just got back having spent an extended weekend with my niece Anya.

It's always fun to be around a child , with their numerous questions and sometimes great insights into simple things.

Time seems to just fly away doing all the fun things from solving puzzles, to painting, watching animated films and introducing her to my favorite films , singing the same old songs we would sing as kids and also teaching her a bit of tennis (my favorite game) since I got her a kids racquet.

Now I am back to being a grownup :(

Weekend Tennis

2009-01-13T02:34:00.000-08:00

I finally watched the Chennai open in its 14th edition last week and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.

These matches took me back to my teenage years spent in Calcutta learning to play the game and participating in tournaments and also watching good Davis Cup ties with Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes etc..

Growing up watching junior world champion Leander play was wonderful and it was like a dream even for a late beginner like me to play in the same tournaments in the girls category.

(Pics from the semis)

This time around there was a new Indian tennis star Somdev, who seemed like a panther on the prowl just like Leander, chasing every possible ball around the court. The crowd was also very supportive and it felt good to cheer for an Indian tennis star after such a long time. I hope his good form continues for a long time to come.

A good beginning for Indian tennis this year.

River Tern Lodge

2009-01-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

The first Monday of the new year, I started a long and beautiful drive to River Tern Lodge with mum and good music for company as dawn broke over. The entire route is quite scenic and as one speeds on the highway even the bumpy ride with the roads in bad state after the monsoon doesn't seem to bother one. We could have stopped at Belur and Halebid that's about 50kms detour but decided to speed away to the Jungle Lodge. River Tern Lodge is situated on a hillock tucked away and each of the cottages and log huts have a view of the Bhadra River. As you enter the cottage , you have an awesome view of the blue river and the hills far away from the balcony or as you laze around in bed.

River Tern Lodge, is a place run by Jungle Lodges and just like their other places , its run efficiently with friendly staff and proves a govt run organization can be world class .

One loses oneself in the serene and green surroundings and the water all around.

One can just read a book or bask in the sun or enjoy the odd drink !

One can go ahead and walk around the place all the way up to the dam or the banks of the river .

One can also go for a boat ride/jeep safari provided by the lodge early morning/late evenings and spot a few animals and birds. The best season to spot birds I believe is April-May when migratory birds flock this place including the " River Tern" that comes from Himachal.

We took an evening boat ride and caught a few birds (many colourful kingfishers and deers ) and also caught the sun disappearing far away.

One can also participate in water sports and I decided to take to the kayak . This was my first time on the kayak but found it easy (must say it was also because the river which wasn't choppy!!) but needs a bit of arm power !

This was a good break after months of work and studies, with a good drive, good place to stay and beautiful surroundings.

Distance :275 kms from Bangalore
Road conditions:Quite a bumpy ride , with stretches of good roads and then pot holed ones.. Took about 5.5 hrs with couple of breaks.
Driving Directions: Map and Detailed Directions
About the Place: Acco. Info

Pics from Trip

Happiness

2008-12-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

"We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same."

-Anne Frank

Questions....

2008-12-26T11:07:00.000-08:00

Questions that remain unanswered ...

Recently my 4 year old niece Anya lost her paternal grandmother who lived in the same house. Ever since the loss she has been asking questions that still remain a mystery to even all of human kind..
Questions like why do humans sleep (eyes closed) when they die ?
What is Heaven? What happens to a person when they go to heaven ? Who looks after them there ?
Will they come back to the world again (Reincarnation) ?

I am amazed that even a 4year old has the same questions that human beings have been struggling to find answers to for centuries..

Happy Holidays

2008-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

It's one of the those times of the year when I miss being home..

I remember some of my most memorable X'MAS spent at Jamalpur and Calcutta while growing up. We would eagerly practice for the annual school concert where me and my sister sang for the School Choir and then wait for the month long winter break after that..

Winter vacation meant basking in the sun, reading books, fooling around and visits to friends and families and all the plum cakes and wine. Jamalpur, a small quaint little railway settlement created by British had a good bit of Anglo Indian population and so did Calcutta. I still remember the trips to the beautifully decorated New Market in Calcutta and to the bakeries- M.X D'gama and Nahoums and also the wait for the night drive to St Paul's Cathedral for the midnight mass in Calcutta or the celebration at Aunty Robert's house at Jamalpur.

Years have flown by but the memories still linger ( wonder why as my previous post says !!) ..

I baked myself a big Chocolate cake this time and enjoyed it all on my own while the carols played on the stereo ....

Enjoy the holiday spririt !!

Here's one of the songs that would play endlessly on the radio..

Time..

2008-12-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Time passes ,
There is no way We can hold it back __
Why,then, do thoughts linger on , Long after everything else is gone ...

-Ryokan in Dew Drops on a lotus leaf

Cliff Richard singing in the rain at Wimbledon

2008-12-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

I bumped into these old videos (thanks to youtube) of Cliff Richard singing in one of the rain breaks at Wimbledon in 1996 ..One of my fav. singer's and the game i so much enjoy playing..

Took me back to my early days when these LPs would be played at home again and again and could possibly count amongst the first couple of english songs I must have heard and has remained ... I can still hum most of these songs unlike the newer ones that one can't seem to remember ....

Those were the days where one waited months to get a new LP .. and later when the TV came waited eagerly for DD to show live Wimbledon coverage without any glitches at the crucial points..

Enjoy!!

Part 2:

Good old days

2008-12-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

Getting old I believe but nevertheless :)

These ads were used as part of our discussion on branding and marketing in class yesterday...

Enjoy!!

Going back to school

2008-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yuho have a month and half break after the first semster of college .. Yes and I got back to college after a long break (more than a decade) . It's been 6months and I kind of survived it so far!!

One feels a lot younger :) heading back to college with a backpack full of books .It takes you back to old times!

I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to go to one of the best college's in the country and this stint with books has been a lot different where the quest is more for knowledge, which is a lot different when one is younger and also trying to master the examination grading system alongside the quest for knowledge.

The initial few classes was a little tough sitting through an entire day of lectures and note taking after such a long break but I started enjoying it from the first few lectures. The medium of teaching and the professors do such an excellent job at making a subject seem so very interesting and practical, that I guess any inquisitve student would love the lectures. Having gone through the rigors of some of the subjects currently being taught during graduation as well ,It validates the fact how far away our undergraduate courses are from the practical work world.

The advantage of having a sprawling IIM-B campus walking distance from my house means I can go there just for a short run or to a game of tennis once in awhile or even go to the well stacked library and browse/borrow the books.

However, It hasn't been easy , having to juggle studies ,work and home with no time for anything else but i have a month's break and should try and make the full use of it!! Time never seemed so precious :)

Does anybody really care !!

2008-11-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

As we watch the scenes of terror unravel on our small screens at home the last few days, does anybody really care .. Yes, the media might be calling them Heroes just for today , does anybody really care !!

Just the morning after the attack, I was having coffee at work and expressing my grief over the the death of the ATS chief being killed and the discussion turned into a heated discussion where I was the odd one out with the so called educated folks expressing their pleasure on knowing that a person after hindu terrorists was nailed down. Will India every change ??? Would they have asked the commando who came to save them if they were trapped in TAJ today, whether he came from Kashmir or Kolkatta ??

Growing up being part of a family where both brilliant parents (could have probably done so much more outside) worked for the people , one in the army and the other a surgical specialist in the railways, never turning back to the call of the duty, never being lured to the more lucrative world where probably they could have earned in a day what they got at the end of the month,it seemed so strange. Can the regular civilian know what an army man or his family goes through.

I still remember the days, when there was no tv, no internet,no mobile and the only means of contact with my dad was the odd c/0 56 APO inland letter or the occasinal trunk call we would receive when he was away fighting the insurgency or fighting the war in sri lanka. Can any of these folks even imagine what it takes to serve the nation or how the country treats these valiant soldiers. Isn't it strange that the so called educated youth of today when questioned about the role of the armed forces are always so very critical. Will they be wiling to give up their big airconditoned glass houses or big salaries to do what these guys are doing.. Does anybody really care !! Do they know what happens with the family, these army men leave behind or even the after affects of a war on the soldier and his family,Does anybody really care !!

Just the other day while clearing up my cupboard I found one of those c/o 56 APO inland letter that my dad had sent almost 20yrs back in his beautiful handwriting and it brought back a lot of good and not so good memories...

Will my country ever awake !!

Rafting

2008-09-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Work and studies has been keeping me busy last few months and It was kind of taking a toll on me and so I took a day off from work and headed out of the city for some Rafting at Galibore ,about 100kms from the city.

Most of the drive is nice and green, the last 9kms or so is on dusty gravel non existent road but then one is driving in the midst of the forest .

The jungle lodges camp is setup in the banks of the cauvery river and you get lost in the calm and serene surroundings . We took to the rafts and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and with occasional jumps into the river for a swim( i was floating with the life jacket on :) ) .

Waiting for another short break soon!

DSLR...

2008-09-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

I had a short trip to HQ (Redwood shores) earlier this month .

Weekdays was the usual work and meetings but I ventured out during the weekends to the places nearby.

I finally picked up a new DSLR from Sony , hope to understand the mechanics of it as I go around using it !

Some pics here:Sanfrancisco and Stanford&Berkeley
Only some of the ones from Stanford set has been taken using my new camera.

Randy Pausch

2008-07-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

May you rest in peace Randy.

Someone who lived his life !!!

Someone whom I look upto for his work,lectures,book and his recent positive attitude towards knowingly living on limited time.

Report by CMU

Passion - Randy Pausch

2008-07-17T22:46:00.001-07:00

Here's another passionate talk by Paush at CMU ,May 2008

and his interview with time here ..

His Last lecture is here

Strength of a woman

2008-06-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

For the past 5 + years everyday come rain,sun,flood my first human interaction of the day is a happy smiling face. I am taking about Gangaamma , the lady who comes to clean my house.

She is one such woman, who seems to be ever smiling whatever she might be going through. She is one of such woman that runs quite a few houses. Belonging to a village in karnataka, she was married off at the age of 12 and had to move to the city 15years back in search of work. In the last so many years she worked as a labourer lifting stones for new constructions and has been working in the same houses as a maid last few years. She has 3 daughters and a husband who hardly works the usual story of the poor. She slogs it out in a bunch of houses to be able to pay for the basic needs and educate her daughters something she never had the opportunity to do. She also takes pride in not having asked her daughters to work so far.

Sometimes when I feel low about so many things in life , I remind myself of the ever smiling face in all the adversities and that gives me strength to not give up and to know I have been fortunate enough to have what I have!!

So far her daughters have excelled in their studies at school , topping every class every passing year. I only wish and hope that in the coming year's the hardwork and dedication of this mother and their daughters turn out to something life changing!!

Shoes

2008-06-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

I got my first pair of waterproof hiking shoes last week and boy wasn't i thrilled. I had been wanting one for a while but since i was heading out during the weekend, i just took an impulsive decision that I had to get it this time . I walked around last Friday and found tons of washable ones but couldn't find a waterproof one in all the big shops but a small adventure shop not to far away had this pair of La Fuma shoes.. I have hiked in wet washables shoes during monsoon before and it isn't the most comfortable walk if one knows what I mean ...

Somehow right from my schooldays shoes have always fascinated me . I still remember the day and the joy when I received my first pair of imported tennis shoes. I actually wore it and slept that night :) . You must be laughing reading this !! Oh what a difference it made compared to the power shoes I had worn till then ..

Listening to Knopfler's Quality Shoes

Climb every mountain

2008-06-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

As I sit down to pen a few lines, I am suddenly transported to my childhood days subconsciously and start to hum this song .....

"Climb every mountain,
search high and low
Follow every by way,
every path you know
Climb every mountain,
ford every stream
Follow every rainbow,
till you find your dream......"

Work and other happenings around me had put a break to my short trips for the past few months and it was only last weekend that I headed for a short day's hike to the Brahmagiri hills (near Coorg) organized by the youth hostel folks . Almost a dozen of us from various cross sections (not all were the IT type) got into the tempo traveler already booked on a cloudy saturday afternoon and were greeted with heavy showers as we headed out to the Sreemangala govt guest house . After a quick dinner on the way and a good night's sleep we were all ready early sunday morning for a 20kms trek .

The trek started once we crossed the Irupa falls, the initial stretch of 1.5kms was a little steep but after that there were stretches of flat green terrain and a few uphills and downhills. We did cross two nice little streams (not much water since the monsoon was on its way) where we filled our drinking water bottles and had a short break. We also took a few stops at a rocky section in b/w that has great views of all the ranges around and one at the Narimalai GH. I believe lots of people take a break at the GH and complete the trek the next day. However , we just had the day at our disposal so on we marched.

As you climb up there are tracks that separate kerela and karnataka and one also steps into no mans land ( see the lines in the pic ??? )

The last 300mts climb is the toughest. It gets almost vertical and one gets to use all four limbs as you scamper up. There were times I almost gave up but was pushed on when I saw some others giving it a shot and just managed to hold on to some scrubs for support.

The effort is worth all the trouble once you are on top of the mountain.You get a great glimpse of all the hills around including the Chembra Peak.

We had an hours break at the top, that included finishing every morsel of lemon rice that we had carried for lunch.

The way back though seemed to be faster but nevertheless a bit tiring since It had been awhile I had walked 20kms on the trot. I would suggest doing this in 1.5 days if one wants more time to do it at a slower pace and also wants to camp in the surroundings or stay at the GH.

Bullets And Butterflies

2008-05-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

Bumped into this wonderful documentary shot with a borrowed camcorder by Sushmit Ghosh

Bullets and Butterflies traces the journey of a handicapped street child and a biking enthusiast from the bustling cityscape of Delhi to the serene hills of Himachal Pradesh. The journey starts from a promise made during a fleeting conversation and reaches its fulfillment in an unforeseen, bizarrely deep understanding between the odd pair.

Watch the entire film online (39mins)

More films here

JAMAICA FAREWELL

2008-05-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

Heard this song recently when I went home. Brought back all the memories of the good old school days and the vinyl record .. Enjoy!!

A day in the life of Sodnomdorj

2008-04-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

A day in the life of Sodnomdorj, a Mongolian herder.

The Temple of Man

2008-03-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of month's back I was reading Jung's 'Man and his symbol' and a cousin visited me from Seattle and he had picked up the same book from the US and was reading it at that very moment.. Jung Synchronicity I suppose!!

We later started discussing and found another author 'Lubicz' who had spent a considerable time researching on the symbols and Ancient Egyptian Anthropocosmos Man and his temple.

Some incidents in the past week took me back to the books and I found these interesting videos on the same subject today..

Watch on ..

2nd part here

The pleasure of finding out things

2008-03-17T02:39:00.001-07:00

THE PLEASURE OF FINDING THINGS OUT was filmed in 1981 and any Feynman follower :) if I may so ,would simply love to hear him speak about the joy of discovery .

Rest of the videos here:

Talks on light

Quizás, Quizás, Quizás

2008-03-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a friend's recommendation , watched a wonderful film by Wong Kar-Wai's ' In the mood for love' . Loved every bit of the film , a movie that shouldn't be given a miss !! Was a bit surprised to see the use of Spanish songs in a Cantonese film but loved every bit of it.

Here's one of my favourite, Nat King Cole's ''Quizás, Quizás, Quizás' (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)

And the lyrics here

Travels around the North East

2008-03-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

Written a bit late( thanks to tons of work) , but nevertheless!!

Last month I headed for a break to the north eastern parts of our country and yeah this time it wasn't my usual solo backpacking trip, but one with my mum. The last trip I had done with her was to Sri Lanka in 2005. It was my first trip to Assam and Meghalaya , though for my mum it was her 3rd visit since my dad was posted in the NE more than a decade back.I was busy with studies/work and never made it to the NE. The first place I wanted to visit when the thought of NE struck me was Arunachal Pradesh but with my mum having high altitude sickness I decided to do Assam and Meghalaya only and leave the Arunachal bit for my solo travels.

North East is still quite green but from the people who have been living there and from what I read , it's already lost 50% of the green cover in the last 20 years. Quite a few reasons behind it the main of course being human encroachment. I found random constructions happening around every major town I visited and in most cases there wasn't an inch of visible green area remaining even on the hills. North east has been historically very different from rest of India and it was the British who consolidated them as part of our country. The area was never plundered or ruled by any of the Mughal conquerors and are more aligned to the South Eastern countries. It was not open to foreign visitors till about a decade back and even now other than 3 states even Indians need permit to visit the places. The seven sister states as they are collectively called are so very different with regard to the tribes and the language's they speak. Nehru at least did one good thing during the independence by creating the NEFA and providing great autonomy and not pulling them into the modern race. One can argue about it either way , but it let the tribals survive and continue their way of life but in recent times with changing times the people there feel cut out and now lots of money is being pumped into the development. I am sure the place is going to loose its individuality in the coming years.

Here's a quote from what Nehru had to say " I am alarmed when I see not only in this country but in other great countries too-how anxious people are to shape others according to their own image or likeness, and to impose on them their particular way of living. This applies equally to national and international fields.
We are welcome to out way of living, but why impose it on others? In fact there would be more peace in the world if people were to desist from imposing their way of living on other people and countries. I am not at all sure which is better way of living, the tribal or our own. In some respects, I am quite certain theirs is better. Therefore, it is grossly presumptuous on our part to approach them with an air of superiority to tell them how to behave or what to do. There is no point in trying to make them a 2nd rate copy of ourselves" .

I will surely head back to the NE sometime soon, having spent 2 wonderful weeks there.

Here are the related posts:

Floating around the Brahmaputra

2008-03-01T00:03:00.000-08:00

Guwahati:
Armed with the map of assam and no fixed plans in mind, we spent the first few days at Guwahati. It was my mum's first unplanned backpacking kind of trip with me, where we had no fixed travel plans and travel meant using the local buses, which wasn't always the most comfortable!!

We were invited over for special bihu meals (had some really yummy food and sweets) by my parent's friends. The stay at Guwahati took me back to the growing up years-small towns,well planned british colonies with red cottages and huge gardens,and surrounding hills.We were staying in the Railway guest house there!!

The primary reason for spending a few days at Guwahati was to visit 'Parijat Acadamey" . Parijat Academy, is a school for children of families with low income, living in Pamohi and three adjoining tribal hamlets on the outskirts of Assam's capital Guwahati. My mum had come across an article in the Outlook Mag in 2006 and we had been only,helping out financially in the last few years. Uttam Teron, the founder who grew up in the village, started the school in 2003 with 800rs earned by giving tuition to the children.His dream is to educate every child in the surrounding area (the parents of these children are mainly daily wage earners) .Currently the school has grown and has 400+ students on board but is in dire need of funds. People like Uttam Teron,are the real unsung hereos and nation builders who with their passion will truly transform the lives of so many children. When you speak to him you really feel the zeal and passion that's driving him and makes one wonder there is so much to do around.

My travels around the country over the years have really shown me the not so 'Shining India'. The India that is being left so far behind, with no roads, no schools, people struggling to meet the daily necessities as compared to the glitzy malls and the rising SENSEX and the big SUVs people drive around in the jam packed cities. I stutter to even wonder the future for these indians. Why are we Indians so apathetic about 'inclusive growth', what are the companies who are amassing wealth and buying out every other company giving back or for that matter even me other than paying taxes.

Kaziranga:
After spending a few days at Guwahati, we headed to Kaziranga on the 15th. My travels generally means taking the next local bus available without any plans and so I headed to the ASTC bus depot on the 14th evening to pickup the bus tickets but was told by a reluctant person at the counter to comeback at 5:30a.m. next day and get the bus and tickets were on first come first serve basis. So we headed back and later heard in the evening news that there was a bomb blast at the same place an hour later, and so we decided to take a taxi instead the next morning, and headed to the land of the one horned rhinos. The drive on NH37 was more ore less good except for a few places where the road widening from 2 to 4 lane was being done.

We stayed at a lovely little century old British cottage amidst the tea gardens quite a distance from the National Park.I had heard a lot about Wild Grass Resort, but couldn't find accommodation there with my last minute booking and hence headed to the cottage in the tea gardens. The next day, on a cold and misty morning ,we headed for the elephant safari the next day and did find the famed one horned rhino(the rhinos would actually pose for the perfect shot :) ) and a couple of elephants and deers.

While at Kaziranga, another Rhino was poached. 17 rhino death's in a year ,largest death in a very long time.

Majuli:
After an early morning breakfast took a local bus to Jorhat(couple of hours from Kaliabor) and quickly hopped into the bus to Nimatighat about 20kms away. Nimatighat is one of the main access point to Majuli, one of the largest river island's of the world. The other access point is via Lakhimpur. There are only 2 daily ferries to Majuli and we reached there just in time for the last ferry at 2:30p.m. Jorhat is one of the main towns in Assam but as you head to Nimatighat, dusty non-existent bumpy roads take you to the ghats of one of revered places in Assam. The local ferry (it's not motorized yet!!) is already overloaded with a bunch of cars,20 odd motorbikes and hundreds of people heading to Majuli for a 2.5 hrs ride across the beautiful river, I managed to squeeze a seating place for mum and I headed to get a breathing standing space beside my backpack.The govt. is trying to make Majuli into a World Heritage Site!! Having gone through a bit of rough ride during the day didn't stop us from witnessing a lovely sunset as we floated along.

It was already dark when we reached Majuli and non existent roads and 2 buses and a few share jeeps awaited the passengers from the ferry. We took one of the jeeps and settled down at the Govt circuit house (very basic) at the Garamurh Satra.

Majuli is the cultural capital of Assam since the 16th century became the leading center of Vaishavinism with the establishment of hermitages known as satras.Sixty five Satras were set up but today only twenty-two of the original sixty-five still survive; many of which are in the mainland.The main surviving Satras are Dakshinpat Satra, Garamurh Satra, Auniati Satra, Kamalabari Satra, Benegenaati Satra, and Samaguri Satra.

After an early morning breakfast the next day, we headed to visit the Satras -Garamurh, Kamalabari and Auniati. We thought of using the local means of transport to reach the satras ,started by walking across Garamurh and then wanted to head to the remaining satras but there wasn't a bus/rickshaw in sight. Talking around we found that the only bus would arrive at 10a.m.( await of couple of hours) else one would have to walk 8-9kms to reach the next Satras. The only option available then was to hire an ancient ambassador cab waiting there that took us on a roller coaster ride across the island. I had read a bit about Majuli and its struggle for survival but the visit there was an eye opener even during the non-monsoon season. The place is caught in the midst of the fury of the mighty Brahmaputra during the monsoon where part of the islands get submerged including the fields and roads and the road journey we took to reach the satras it seems is totally submerged during the monsoon. The island is fast decreasing and losing its land to the river. Govt has spent crores on the place without the right approach and money falling into the wrong hands. Majuli was also in news a decade back when Sanjoy Ghosh who ran an NGO in Rajasthan went there and wanted to setup a NGO and help the people of Majuli. He was taken up by the ULFA folks and his body never found. Having also picked up his book, I realised nothing much has changed in 10 years.

The dwellers of Majuli are mostly tribal folk mainly Meshing (migrated from neighbouring Arunachal), and Deori and Kacharis The island has 23 villages and it's only connection with the outside world is through a ferry service which operates only twice a day.

A trip to Majuli is not for the weak hearted.

We took the afternoon ferry at 2pm from Majuli to Jorhat that evening.

Sibsagar :
We reached Jorhat in the evening and then took the next bus to Sibsagar (takes around 2hours) . We scouted for a guest house and checked into one for the night. (iven a chance one should stay at 'Sibsagar Tourist Lodge', with economical rooms that are spacious, near Sibsagar Tank, we couldn't find accommodation there for the night!!

Sibsagar is one of Assam's oldest towns and the legendary Ahom dynasty, which controlled Assam for some six centuries, made Sibsagar its capital. The town has a bunch of hindu temples the most famous being the Shiva Temple(tallest in Assam) overlooking a huge artificial reservoir, known as the Sibsagar Tank.

The other places of interest around Sibsagar :Ahom Museum ,Kareng Ghar:the palace ruins of the former Ahom rulers. Talatal Ghar:Its underground section . Rang Ghar :a former elephant and buffalo-fighting pavilion.

All of these places only take a few hours to go around and one can give this a skip if you aren't really too much interested in the history of Assam and frankly the ruins aren't that vastly spread but just couple of small ruins.

We headed to Tezpur from Sibsagar after a heavy breakfast.

Nameri:
The stay at Nameri was probably the best part of my NE trip.

We took a local bus to Balipara (about 20kms) from tezpur. The bus on its way to the destination was teaming with people carrying three times its capacity with people also climbing up to the top. After reaching Balipara we took the texi to Eco Camp about 20kms away.

Eco Camp at Nameri welcomed us with its green surroundings , beautiful little tent huts (attached hot water from geysers in such a distant place) . I would suggest not missing out on a trip to Eco Camp on your way to Arunchal or Assam.

The place , the food, the staff work in harmony with the surroundings. We took the colourful little huts for 800rs day(food seperately) but there are dorms available for rs 100 a day. Every meal there is a feast , with vast array of hot piping dishes.

Nameri is a bird watcher's paradise and was also an Angling Place. Its surrounded in the midst of vast rain forest. Started more than 50yrs back it lost its way but for over a decade now this place is trying to give back to the surrounding people and also the travelers. After a good hot meal I headed to walk across to the Bharali river bank about 1.5 kms away.

Later that evening met Ronesh Roy, the camp director, a thorough gentleman and we got talking and he invited me to his nice little hut stacked with books and music cds. He had grown up at boarding school at Darjeeling and went to college at Delhi. Bummed around for few years, worked at the tea garden for 20 years and then moved to Wild Grass, Kaziranaga and has been running Eco Camp for the past couple of years. I picked up a bunch of books to read along with Mark Shand's ' River Dog'. It was a book that my mum was mentioning only a few days back at a bookshop at Guwahati and there in the middle of a distant forest I pickup the book and also meet the person who was mentioned a bunch of times in the book and who's sister Rita had lent the dog-Bhitti (little brother in Assam) to Mark. Life is full of surprises!!

I headed back home with a handfull of books to keep me busy for my stay there.

I woke up early next morning (4:30a.m.) woken up with hot bed tea being served and headed for a nice little trek across the river and to the forest reserve along with a forest guard. I spent the next couple of hours trekking along the forest but because of the mist , no birds were insight and found a couple of elephants and bisons on the way. I had read entries of bird watchers having seen 160+ birds in a few days only a week earlier but i wasn't lucky enough.

I headed back after a nice walk in the woods and was surprised to be greeted to the sounds of Anjan Dutt( only contemporary bengali pop/rock artist i listen to ) playing and a pipping hot breakfast. Later we packed up and headed for a Rafting trip across the river, with food being cooked midway on the banks of the river.

There was a camp fire that evening with the music being classic rock and roll and so ended the wonderful 2 days spent there. I will surely spend a couple of days there on my trip to Arunachal whenever that happens.

Pics from the trip:

Useful Links:

Chasing the clouds

2008-02-29T23:18:00.000-08:00

Meghalaya in Sanskrit means ' Abode of the clouds' .

We reached Shillong on a really cold and wintery evening . We went there in search of clouds (though it wasn't monsoon time!!) and was lucky enough to catch it cloudy and misty .

The trip to Meghalaya was more of a relaxing one . We checked into the Army Guest House , lined with a couple of nice cottages and relaxed after a bit of tough backpacking trip across Assam. I don't know how it works out but this happened to me for the 2nd time (the last time it was watching the French Open Final between Nadal and Federer at Krabi on my backpacking trip across SEA, the first TV access in 3 weeks) that I got to watch some wonderful tennis matches while traveling , not having read the newspaper or had TV access for couple of weeks and suddenly switching on the TV and Volla the floodlights were on !! Watched the semis and finals where the underdogs Novak,Tsonga overcame Federer and Nadal and my favourite Novak eventually taking the crown

The couple of days we spent in the cold of Shillong was spent inside the warm quilt watchning some great tennis matches, having some piping hot food, catching up on some books,walking across the pine tree walkways nearby and also becoming a tourist for a change :( and visiting the usual places - Shillong Peak,Smit Village,All Saint's Cathedral,Golf Link,Don Bosco Museum at Mawlai. I would strongly recommend visiting the museum one of the best ones I have seen in India.
A trip to Shillong also meant a drive to Cherrapunji, known to be the wettest place on the planet but because of all the changes happening with the climate , the rainfall has come d down drastically to half of what it use to be in the 1950s but it still the 2nd wettest place, next to a village near by that has taken over the first place. The drive to Chera was quite beautiful and we were lucky enough to catch in on a cloudy day . However, the waterfalls that we stopped by wasn't spectacular and the Mawsmai Cave that I tried to get into wasn't that easy and accessible.

Pics here
Additional Info here.
Travel:The easiest way to travel there is to hire a share taxi (maruti 800) , buses are very few and far.

Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be)

2008-02-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

One of my old favourite's: