Once in a while I drive down to my hometown instead of hopping a train.
On Saturday morning, I fixed my stepney wheel and headed to my native.
Ate chappatis in Adyar Ananda Bhavan on the Highway and continued my drive.
I was alone hearing my favorite songs aloud, cruising at 120KMPH most of the time and touched 140KMPH at times, as it thrills... After covering 270Kms approximately and my home was only 40kms away.
Just before 10Kms to kanchipuram, one accident, Honda City car hit a motor cycle, the rear wheel of the motor cycle was twisted and motor cycle driver was in the vicinity. Car looked good. No blood on the road. I deviated a bit and proceeded on my way to avoid chain accident. 5Kms down, another accident, A car with 3 passengers hit the rear side of a lorry, while lorry was crossing the road.
No injuries to the fellow who sat on the back seat. Driver was injured at few places on his face, but he was quite okay when compared to the other passenger. The other passenger was injured heavily, few places on the face, heavy injuries on both the legs, as the dashboard jammed on his knees. Not sure whether he wore the seat belts. He might be in late 50s.
When I reached that junction, poor old fellow was taken out and he was sitting on the road. I stopped my car few meters away, checked them if I could be of any help. The driver introduced himself as a doctor and he needs help. As there is no immediate availability of ambulance and kanchipuram is few kms away, we decided to take the heavily injured person to the hospital in my car. Few people helped to lift him carefully without touching the injured areas and rested him on back seat of my car.As the legs are injured heavily, he couldn't fold his legs, we couldn't close one of the doors. The person who didn't get hurt stood inside and held the open door, the doctor sat next to me and we moved the car. Doctor called few relatives and informed about the situation and asked them to reach kanchipuram. Injured person started telling "Narayanna", "Narayanna" and some other slogans. We crossed 3kms may be, the wind force on the door was to much, I couldn't go fast, as it hurts the injured person. We found few numbers of the ambulance on a sign board, called an ambulance, and waiting for the ambulance. I thought of calling my home to inform the delay, the call didn't go through as my currency reached the minimum and it was in roaming coverage.
In the meantime, the highway patrol vehicle came in, asked few questions, and they said they can help to reach the hospital. We moved the injured person from my car to the highway patrol vehicle. As we lifted the person, he started shouting "pain is too much, let me die instead" :( May be half a litre of blood came out of his body. We finally moved him to the patrol vehicle. patrol inspector made the person to kind of sit, straighted his legs, and managed to close the door. The patrol vehicle headed to a hospital in kanchipuram. I came to my car, thought of following the patrol vehicle, but it went out of my sight with the siren turned on. 3 kms down, as I reached the junction, I am not sure which direction, the patrol vehicle went on. So, I took the turn that goes to my native town and reached my home after 2 hours of delay. Everyone was waiting for me. I explained the situation, ate late lunch, tried to take a nap, couldn't get sleep.
Back seat was stained with lots of blood.I took the car to the water wash centre. After seeing the blood, First guy refused to clean indirectly by saying "you remove the seat covers and get it". I took the car to the mechanic shop, he refused to remove the seat covers by saying "I'm allergic to blood stains, I'll vomit If I remove". Then I took the car to another water wash near by. It took almost 5 minutes to convince him to clean. He agreed only after asking him the question "I helped an injured person, don't you help me to clean my car?" . He and his helper cleaned all the blood stains on the seats, and then water washed the car. After the work, asked him about the charges, he said "Give me as you wish sir". Paid the amount to see the smile on his face, gave some tips to the helper.
Rested myself on sunday, headed back to bangalore on monday. The onward journey taught me many lessons.
So, my speed was less than 100KMPH most of the times, rarely hit 110kms. Good to say that no accident on the return journey. I hope that injured person reached a better condition by now.
As our highways are not like the freeways in other countries, it is always good to follow few things:
1) Keep your speed under control (May be less than 100KMPH)
2) Look ahead and watchout within 50 - 100 meters. someone may cross or some vehicle may cross the road.
3) Watchout your rear and side mirrors
4) Be alert to press the break at anytime
5) Don't drive when you are sleepy
6) Front seat passenger has be very alert and never ever sleep on the journey. He/She can help to avoid many accidents.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
1 day trip to Shivasamudra falls
19th July 2009On a beautiful Sunday morning, Ruchi, Manpreet and I headed out towards BTM to join Raffi, Elango and Sowmya on our way to Shivasamudra falls. Unfortunately, something came up at the last minute, so Sowmya could not join. Environment friendly beings that we are, we decided to take just one car even though it would be a little uncomfortable for 5 of us in one car.
Check out the video below...
We decided that Raffi and I would do all the driving – to prepare us for the GDC drive! Sometimes Raffi does back-seat driving that irritates me and I wanted to make sure he doesn’t do it. But I must say he did not do it and in fact even appreciated my driving!
Raffi was driving in the morning and decided he wanted to prove his friend wrong who said Indica cannot do 140 Km/hr. He jammed the pedal, hit 140 and took a pic of the speedometer at 140! We all cheered him but immediately asked him to slow down. Did not want to get into any mess before the GDC trip. Breakfast was at Kamath. We tried their breakfast buffet. Had heard a lot about it and it lived up to our expectation. You must try it if you get a chance.
On the way, Ruchi taught us a game called “coffee-potting”. One person is the den and the rest of the people decide on one verb that ends in “ing” – present continous tense. The den can then ask several questions to the rest such that the answer can be yes / no / maybe. Based on these he has to guess the word. She also taught us other games called “Psychiatrist” and “Limerick”. They were so much fun that time passed quickly and we reached our destination.
Because of the good monsoons, there was a lot of water, and the Gaganchukki falls were in all their splendour! The water was gushing with so much power, the foam went up several feet. Several monkey were monkeying around and one hung on to its mom’s belly while she was moving around. That was a good camera moment. We then went to Barrachukki falls, which were even more beautiful. Standing there amidst the greenery on one side and waterfalls on the other, was spiritually uplifting. All of a sudden, it started pouring and all of us got drenched in the rain! Crouching behind a bush and sipping tender coconut water while shivering in the rain was our way of having fun!
Our next stop was Talakkad, but I must say that the road to Talakkad is BAD, to say the least. We pay so much tax money and this is what we get – disgusting! Anyways, our games made the journey interesting. We were hungry but didn’t find any decent place and we wanted to get back to good roads before dusk so kept driving. Junk food kept us going – my stomach is still misbehaving! But on reaching the place, we felt it was worth the drive.
The place was so beautiful! The river was swollen and one fourth of the trunks of all trees were in water. We took a coracle ride and the boatman took us in between the trees. The water was still, trees all around, birds chirping, and the splash of water when the oar went in – one must be there to feel it. It cant be described in words. We just sat still for a few minutes to enjoy the moment. The coracle ride was so much fun, that at the end of it, we asked the boatman for one more ride! And this time around, we took tea and coffee along with us. Sipping garma garam chai while on a coracle ride with friends – now that’s how we like to live life!I was at the wheel on our way back, and what we feared happened - we got a flat tyre. Luckily the stepney was in place and Raffi changed the tyre in 6 minutes! We timed him and even captured it as a video on our camera, But the lighting is not proper. After dinner at Maddur Tiffany (reminded me of Audrey Hepburns “Breakfast at Tiffanys” – though this place is nowhere near that!), we headed back. A fun trip that was.
How to reach?
Route 1 - Through Kanakpura Road - 116 Kms
Route 2 - Through Mysore Road - 126Kms
We took Mysore route.
Our next trip – river rafting on the Seetha river at Agumbe on 1st & 2nd August.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Good Practices for car's health
Some of the things that came out after a discussion with my colleague, Sachin KC.
Thanks to Sachin for sharing the good practices that he follows.
* Don't jump start the vehicle. Most of the damages happen during engine startups. Keep the engine idle for about 30-45 seconds before you start moving. You can notice the difference yourself about the engine performance. ( Though it is not needed for mpfi engines, it is still a good practice ).
* Keep watch on the battery acid level. Don't rely on servicing people, they don't even bother to check it sometimes. ONLY use distilled water for topping up ( no acid ). Level should be till the
indicator in every cell.
* Keep checking the coolent container regularly, may be every fortnight. Sometimes they dry up very quickly and damage radiator. The coolent level should be as indicated on the container.
* DONOT turn on AC when it is raining. This could generate carbon-monoxide known as "Silent Killer". Lower the windows by 2 inches or use just the blower. Found this in an article.
* Avoid resting your left leg on the clutch. Even little push, engine drinks considerable amount of fuel and the mileage drops. My car's mileage increased by around 1Km when I avoided this. ( There will be a resting pad to the left of clutch which you can use )
* You can skip one gear shift in forward direction when you feel that the vehicle is moving fast. Say, for example, your vehicle crosses 35 and u change the gear from 2 to 3, drive till it reaches 55 or 60, then you can shift gear directly to 5. This avoids fuel flow as you don’t have to use clutch one more time. This is similar to downshifting from 5 to 3rd or 2nd gear when you deaccelerate.
* He uses the following gear shift strategy.
0 -> 20 : first gear
20 -> 35 : second gear
35 -> 55,60 : third gear
55 -> 65,70 : fourth
Above 65,70 : fifth
* Most importantly, get the engine De-Carbonized. This removes the carbon layer that gets formed inside the engine. After you have got this done, you will feel that your engine is brand
new!! He is doing it for every 25,000 KM and his Santro is doing great even after having run for about 1,38,000 KMs!!! Hyundai charges around 1400 rupees for DeCarbonizing alone!
Thanks to Sachin for sharing the good practices that he follows.
* Don't jump start the vehicle. Most of the damages happen during engine startups. Keep the engine idle for about 30-45 seconds before you start moving. You can notice the difference yourself about the engine performance. ( Though it is not needed for mpfi engines, it is still a good practice ).
* Keep watch on the battery acid level. Don't rely on servicing people, they don't even bother to check it sometimes. ONLY use distilled water for topping up ( no acid ). Level should be till the
indicator in every cell.
* Keep checking the coolent container regularly, may be every fortnight. Sometimes they dry up very quickly and damage radiator. The coolent level should be as indicated on the container.
* DONOT turn on AC when it is raining. This could generate carbon-monoxide known as "Silent Killer". Lower the windows by 2 inches or use just the blower. Found this in an article.
* Avoid resting your left leg on the clutch. Even little push, engine drinks considerable amount of fuel and the mileage drops. My car's mileage increased by around 1Km when I avoided this. ( There will be a resting pad to the left of clutch which you can use )
* You can skip one gear shift in forward direction when you feel that the vehicle is moving fast. Say, for example, your vehicle crosses 35 and u change the gear from 2 to 3, drive till it reaches 55 or 60, then you can shift gear directly to 5. This avoids fuel flow as you don’t have to use clutch one more time. This is similar to downshifting from 5 to 3rd or 2nd gear when you deaccelerate.
* He uses the following gear shift strategy.
0 -> 20 : first gear
20 -> 35 : second gear
35 -> 55,60 : third gear
55 -> 65,70 : fourth
Above 65,70 : fifth
* Most importantly, get the engine De-Carbonized. This removes the carbon layer that gets formed inside the engine. After you have got this done, you will feel that your engine is brand
new!! He is doing it for every 25,000 KM and his Santro is doing great even after having run for about 1,38,000 KMs!!! Hyundai charges around 1400 rupees for DeCarbonizing alone!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tadiandamol - A Nice Peak
Tadiandamol is the highest mountain of Kodagu district, India, and the second highest in Karnataka. It is located on the Western Ghats range, and reaches an elevation of 1,748 m. It is a place of interest for trekkers and naturalists. The mountain has patches of shola forests in the valleys. I had been to this place twice, I will go again if someone accompanies me, even tommorrow. Normally we leave the foot of the hill around 11AM, reach the peak around 4-5PM, relax, collect woods from near by places for the bornfire, setup tents, chill out in the evening clouds, have dinner, go for a walk, and sleep in the tent above 1,748 m. Last time after the dinner, once we settled down in the tent, it started raining :)
Check out my collage for the same.
Hebbe Falls from Kemmangundi
During the Kemmangundi trek, we had been to Hebbe falls. You need to walk down to this hebbe falls, as it is buried inside a coffe estate. An 8 km trek from Kemmangundi along a steep and narrow path leads you to these sprightly falls. Surrounded by dense forests and coffee plantations, Hebbe Falls gushes down from a height of 551 ft[1] in two stages to form Dodda Hebbe (Big Falls) and Chikka Hebbe (Small Falls.) Don’t miss a refreshing dip in this herb-infused water.
It was awesome falls, check out the video :)
It was awesome falls, check out the video :)
Road trip to Pondy
TGDC has brought back memories of so many of my trips, what with blogging, uploading pics on flickr and talking to friends about driving trips. One road trip that brings very fond memories is the trip to Pondicherry. Here goes the journal…
Day 1 Friday 6.30 am: I had stayed over at my friend Sophia’s place in HSR layout and we were picked up by our friends. We drove along Hosur road and had pongal, idly, vada for breakfast at an Udipi joint on Hosur road. The drive was fun with all of us yapping, giggling and singing.
Day 1 1.30pm: Usha wanted to visit Ramana Maharishi’s ashram at Thiruvannamalai so we took a short deviation. The place was divine and peaceful! We meditated for a while and trekked on the annamalai hill – it was very rejuvenating. We then had south Indian meals and were on our way to Pondy.
Day 1 4pm: We reached at about 3.30 or 4pm. Neelam is a member of the Pondy Ashram from many years so she arranged for us to stay at an ashram guest house bang opposite the beach! It was so beautiful. The cool breeze blowing on our face brought in the scent of incense burning nearby. The chirping of swallows added to the charm. So many people on bicycles made me want to learn to cycle! There were so many French style villas and the streets were calm. We visited the ashram for the evening meditation program. It was so relaxing, I could have driven for another 8 hours!
Day 2 7.30am: After breakfast, we headed for shopping – bought perfumes candles and soaps, diffusers, books and knick-knacks. We also visited a hand-made paper factory and did some more shopping.
Day 2 1.30pm We reached Auroville where we had lunch and some exotic herbal drinks. I had the sarsaparilla sherbet and it tasted awesome! Picked up a couple of bottles for home. We saw so many foreigners living there, roaming about in Indian clothes on bicycles and mopeds – very unassuming and nonchalant. I can’t imagine leaving my country and living in foreign land amongst strangers. I could never do that!
Day 2 4.30pm: Neelam got special permission for us to visit the Matri mandir. It is an amazing structure – spherical with gold disks all over it. Its being made from more than two decades and still needs some finishing. The garden and lawns there are beautiful and an old banyan tree gives a very royal feel to the place.
Day 2 9.30 pm: We went to a boutique hotel on the beach road called Hidesign Promenade and danced away till the wee hours of the morning!
Day 3 7am: We went to the private Auroville beach, frolicked in the water, got completed drenched in the salty water and then lay on the sand to dry in the sun! There’s a French lady who has a quaint little joint – actually a shack - near the beach where we had a coffee and croissants.
Day 3 2pm: After a simple but delicious lunch at the ashram guest house, we left back for Bangalore. Driving back seemed longer as it always does.
Day 1 Friday 6.30 am: I had stayed over at my friend Sophia’s place in HSR layout and we were picked up by our friends. We drove along Hosur road and had pongal, idly, vada for breakfast at an Udipi joint on Hosur road. The drive was fun with all of us yapping, giggling and singing.
Day 1 1.30pm: Usha wanted to visit Ramana Maharishi’s ashram at Thiruvannamalai so we took a short deviation. The place was divine and peaceful! We meditated for a while and trekked on the annamalai hill – it was very rejuvenating. We then had south Indian meals and were on our way to Pondy.
Day 1 4pm: We reached at about 3.30 or 4pm. Neelam is a member of the Pondy Ashram from many years so she arranged for us to stay at an ashram guest house bang opposite the beach! It was so beautiful. The cool breeze blowing on our face brought in the scent of incense burning nearby. The chirping of swallows added to the charm. So many people on bicycles made me want to learn to cycle! There were so many French style villas and the streets were calm. We visited the ashram for the evening meditation program. It was so relaxing, I could have driven for another 8 hours!
Day 2 7.30am: After breakfast, we headed for shopping – bought perfumes candles and soaps, diffusers, books and knick-knacks. We also visited a hand-made paper factory and did some more shopping.
Day 2 1.30pm We reached Auroville where we had lunch and some exotic herbal drinks. I had the sarsaparilla sherbet and it tasted awesome! Picked up a couple of bottles for home. We saw so many foreigners living there, roaming about in Indian clothes on bicycles and mopeds – very unassuming and nonchalant. I can’t imagine leaving my country and living in foreign land amongst strangers. I could never do that!
Day 2 4.30pm: Neelam got special permission for us to visit the Matri mandir. It is an amazing structure – spherical with gold disks all over it. Its being made from more than two decades and still needs some finishing. The garden and lawns there are beautiful and an old banyan tree gives a very royal feel to the place.
Day 2 9.30 pm: We went to a boutique hotel on the beach road called Hidesign Promenade and danced away till the wee hours of the morning!
Day 3 7am: We went to the private Auroville beach, frolicked in the water, got completed drenched in the salty water and then lay on the sand to dry in the sun! There’s a French lady who has a quaint little joint – actually a shack - near the beach where we had a coffee and croissants.
Day 3 2pm: After a simple but delicious lunch at the ashram guest house, we left back for Bangalore. Driving back seemed longer as it always does.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Ergonomics of Car Driving
I drive 50 kms up and down daily to office. As we work daily with computer, mostly used parts of the body are fingers. We cannot get rid off the usage of mouse, as it gives us bread and butter to live. While driving also, we have a wrong habit of using our thumbs to horn. It will end up in RSI and you'll pain in the fingers. I have took few pictures today on my way to office as I got time in the bangalore traffic signals :). Would like to share the good ones and bad ones.
Bad ones are
Do not give the pressure on the thumb finger, that raises lot of stress to the finger. As much as possible, avoid that habit. It comes by practice. Any change takes its own time. I took 2 weeks to practice this and now avoid the thumb finger usage.
Now, let me share god ones...
Please vote for us, today is the last day. Count down started, it ends at 12:00PM tonight (17th July 2009)
Bad ones are
Do not give the pressure on the thumb finger, that raises lot of stress to the finger. As much as possible, avoid that habit. It comes by practice. Any change takes its own time. I took 2 weeks to practice this and now avoid the thumb finger usage.
Now, let me share god ones...
Please vote for us, today is the last day. Count down started, it ends at 12:00PM tonight (17th July 2009)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Save environment and wildlife
We are nature lovers and it pains us to know that forests are being destroyed at a staggering rate and hundreds of species of flora and fauna are becoming extinct, lost forever. So the theme for our TGDC trip was easy to decide – Save environment, save wild life. The trip will serve two purposes – a) have fun being with nature, driving the cool Mitsubishi Cedia b) campaign for causes close to our heart.
The theme decided, we next had to think about the route. Since Mumbai had to be our starting and ending point, and we had to do 3000Km, the forests and national parks of Madhya Pradesh were our best choice.
Some of the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks we plan to cover are: Bandhavgarh (famous natural hub for white tigers), Kanha (inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book”, this park saved the swamp deer from extinction), Yawal (Suki lake here attracts a large number of migratory birds), Pench (4 species of endangered vultures are found her ein large numbers), Satpura (1427 sq Km of unique ecosystem – beautiful and unspoiled).
24 hours of a day would be split into 8 hours of driving, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of sight-seeing and personal time. We plan to do some trekking and safaris wherever possible. We will also interact with the locals wherever we go and try to promote our cause. Banners for our cause will also be put up on our Mitsubishi Cedia. We will keep you all up-to-date on our exciting trip via blogs, messages and tweets, so you can be with us every kilometer of our exciting journey!!
Check out our Travel map
The theme decided, we next had to think about the route. Since Mumbai had to be our starting and ending point, and we had to do 3000Km, the forests and national parks of Madhya Pradesh were our best choice.
Some of the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks we plan to cover are: Bandhavgarh (famous natural hub for white tigers), Kanha (inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book”, this park saved the swamp deer from extinction), Yawal (Suki lake here attracts a large number of migratory birds), Pench (4 species of endangered vultures are found her ein large numbers), Satpura (1427 sq Km of unique ecosystem – beautiful and unspoiled).
24 hours of a day would be split into 8 hours of driving, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of sight-seeing and personal time. We plan to do some trekking and safaris wherever possible. We will also interact with the locals wherever we go and try to promote our cause. Banners for our cause will also be put up on our Mitsubishi Cedia. We will keep you all up-to-date on our exciting trip via blogs, messages and tweets, so you can be with us every kilometer of our exciting journey!!
Check out our Travel map
4 guys travelled to Goa
In Dec 2008, during the year end holidays, I and one of my friend Maruthu were thinking of holiday spots.Goa is one of the hot vacation spot for the December to January season. So we decided quickly as we had only a week
ahead of our holidays.I asked my room mate Arulmaran to join us. So the count was three now. We decided to take my car. To fill in the other seat, I tried few people, they couldn't make it coz of short notice. I remembered about my fun loving friend Vasanth on the last day. I called him in the morning. He was in office, he confirmed his acceptance by lunch time and he joined us in the evening at MG road, Bangalore.
We all set, We left bangalore on 24th night around 7PM. Near Tumkur, we had our dinner and continued the drive.
We reached Shimoga around 3:00AM, we hit the hotel, I and Vasanth, came out for a walk on the empty roads after unloading our lugguages, and went to sleep. In the morning, got ready, had break fast in the Woodlands hotel,
got some towels, etc, and departed from there.
On the way, we just stopped by jog falls. It was dry in december. We had our lunch on the way and reached Karwar in the evening. We had our snacks in karwar. After snacks, asked vasanth to drive for a while, and slept for an hour or so. Then got back to driver seat, reached goa around 11PM on 25th Dec 2008, Christmas day. Refreshed and relaxed a bit and came out of the hotel.
Our Hotel was near to Calangute Beach and Baga Beach. Vasanth said that Baga beach is only 2kms away, we started walking to relax ourself after the long drive. we walked, walked, and walked, finally we reached Baga beach after 5 Kms approx. we were tired but after seeing the enthu of the crowd, we were back in action :)
We roamed across the streets near Baga beach, sat in a shack, had our dinner by seeing the stars in the sky :) No mood to go back to the hotel, finally we left around 5:00AM in the morning, just to give ourself some rest. Slept till 11AM, refreshed ourself and started the day on 26th.
As it was already 12:30, we went to a goan restaurant and had brunch. After couple of hours, we headed to Aguda Fort to remember the Dil Chahta hai days... We spent few hours over there. It was awesome to see the never ending water and the architecture of the fort. Clicked lot of snaps, help few groups to click the group snaps.
Came down to hotel, relaxed a bit. Filled in the petrol, and drove down to another beach, it was not that active as it darked. We had fish and fried rice in a near by restaurant and headed back to baga beach, which is active round the clock. We walked on the sides of the water. In the night, hearing the hissing sound and walking across the beach was awesome. we were hungry again, sat in a shack, had second round of dinner seeing the stars. On that day, we left little early, 3:00AM in the morning.
Next day, 27th, we went to Calangute Beach, played lots of water sports, Para Gliding, Bannana boat ride, Motor Boat, etc.The experience in the para gliding intrigued me to take pictures from the top while i am in the air. So, paid the money in the boat itself, went again for para gliding, took few cool snaps...
After all water sports, we went to a shack, played snooker and then had lunch. Came back to hotel, relaxed a bit, collected the cruise tickets that we booked in the morning, headed to the cruise. It was awesome, cool breeze, music, seeing the cultural shows on a cruise. Spent few hours, came back to baga beach, our usual destination to finish our day. we spent few hours walking on the streets, had dinner, and left around 1:00PM, as we need to leave goa on next day.
Next day morning, 28th, we thought of any possibility to spend few more days. Finally we made up our mind and literally pushed ourself out of the hotel after the breakfast.
My Travel Map for Bangalore - Goa
You can check out some of the photos in my flickr set goa
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Road Not Taken
Talk about travel and the first thing that comes to mind is this lovely poem by Robert Frost. Dont be surprised when we take the road less traveled on our GDC trip!
The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dandeli and Goa
We were to get home our brand new Maruti Swift on Friday and leave early Saturday morning for Goa via Dandeli. We dint get the car till late evening and were pondering whether we should take the other car or postpone the trip by a day. But lady luck favoured us and the car finally came home late night!We hit the road early morning to beat the traffic, took the Mysore road and breakfasted at Kamat – our usual stopover when we take the Mysore road. Parts of the newly built highway were awesome, but since it was a new car, we couldn’t jam on the accelerator :-( We lost our way and finally had to take a shorter route but through the jungle! The guard at the entrance warned us of elephant herds. We had thought we would just blink the headlight to scare away the elephant. But apparently, you are not supposed to do that, you are not even supposed to move. Just stay still. Not a sound, not even a whisper. We were all a little excited and a little nervous! A small sound and Vandana screams – hey Lion, hey elephant and scared the day light out of the rest of us! To make it worse, the road was so bad, we were driving at 5 Km / Hr. But the fear caused our adrenaline to rush and we were sitting on the edge of our seat!
Fortunately nothing untoward happened and we reach the Kali camp in the middle of the night. The gate was locked – we kept screaming but no one in sight. We got worried coz it was in the middle of the jungle and there were no hotels in the vicinity. Shailesh then climbed the gate over to the other side and woke up the guard. They were expecting us in the early evening and since it got late they thought we dropped out. We finally got into our tents and slept very soundly.
Next day we went white water rafting on the Kali river. At our first rapid, we were all taken by surprise! The water was all over us and we went down a good 3 to 4 feet! Except for me, this was the first time for everyone. So they were all trying hard to row and we were having a tough time synchronizing our rowing. But finally we got the hang of it. A little distance further, the water was still. The river and its surroundings was so serene, peaceful, lush green and tranquil. I am not surprised the place inspired Rabindranath Tagore to write beautiful poetry. By the end of it we were so tired, that we crashed in bed at 5 in the evening and woke up only next morning skipping dinner!
Next day we did a jungle safari and spotted sambhar, elephant, bison, and many deer. The safari was in an open jeep and we loved the feel of gushing wind on our faces, with our hair flowing back and nature’s beauty all around us. We then did a trek in the jungle along with a guide. He took us to this very old cave which had stalactites and stalagmites and weird worms all over the floor. Yuck! The calcium deposit on the floor created a cylindrical shape and the locals imagined that to be a naturally formed Shivling and made a temple there! While walking back, the guide said that elephants can go down a very steep slope that we too cannot – apparently their heavy weight kinda helps them balance.
When I am amidst nature, mountains, greenery, rivers and streams, I get a sense of “inner happiness” as they call it. All problems fade away, all worries disappear and what remains is peace and calm. I need to rejuvenate myself in nature every once in a while.
Next day we reached Goa. We stayed in Candolim very near the Taj property. Dinner at Little Italy was yummilicious! The place has a huge tree in the middle around which tables are arranged. The tree has strategically placed lights that give a very romantic feel to the place. The architecture of the place is Greek and that adds to the ambience of the place.
We did the usual stuff that people do in Goa – laze around. Ofcourse we did the churches too and tried out some Goan cuisine in Panaji. We drove around, taking in the laid back Goan life and music. We tried out water scooter at Calangute and that was fun! Maneuvering the scooter on the Arabian sea all by myself and doing a good job of it gave me a high!
Goa is a place where people keep wanting to go back to. But I am not a beach person. I am a forest, river and mountain person. So I am going back to Dandeli!
Bangalore Traffic needs Army
One day, when we are going to office in car, traffic was too much, the road was blocked. Bangalore people does not have traffic sense. If the road does not have separator, they just go the other side of the road and block whole road.On that day, one army van was going that side. 
After seeing a civilian volunteer guiding the traffic, bunch of army guys got down of the van, made sure that no one was blocking the other side of the road and eased the traffic. As we were doing car pool, we clicked some snaps... AEveryone should improve their traffic sense and should avoid going on the other side of the road.
After seeing a civilian volunteer guiding the traffic, bunch of army guys got down of the van, made sure that no one was blocking the other side of the road and eased the traffic. As we were doing car pool, we clicked some snaps... AEveryone should improve their traffic sense and should avoid going on the other side of the road.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Health is Wealth
Have you heard of a mid-year resolution?! Well I dint make any resolution on the new year coz I hardly manage to keep them. But I don’t feel fit and fine, so now at the middle of the year, I have resolved to stay fit and healthy. And I am trying to rub this off on all of you.
Health is wealth is a clichéd statement but is very relevant in today’s world of pizza, pani puri and potato wedges. If we do not take care of our health now, we sure will end up with angina pectoris, diabetes, obesity, coronary disorder and all kinds of exotic sounding diseases when we grow old. Some of us already have health issues. Quality of life is what we all want. Good health helps us achieve a high quality of life. Health and fitness make the difference between living well and living. It will also help all you avid trekkers to trek with ease ;-)
So this year let us all resolve to diet and exercise - the keys to healthy living. Diet does not mean NOT eating, but eating right. And it is in my selfish interest that I urge you all to stay fit and healthy – I want to make sure I have company when I grow old!
Most of us would have made firm decisions to exercise and watch our diet at some time or the other. We all make a start, but the resolve fizzles out pretty quickly and we are unable to sustain it for long. I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog and all friends who follow it can encourage, motivate, chide, coax and maybe even bully the whole group to continue to keep the promise we make to ourselves!
You are welcome to give diet and exercise tips, suggestions, send in motivational quotes, low cal but tasty recipes, health and fitness finds, and anything to do with keeping a healthy body and mind.
Health is wealth is a clichéd statement but is very relevant in today’s world of pizza, pani puri and potato wedges. If we do not take care of our health now, we sure will end up with angina pectoris, diabetes, obesity, coronary disorder and all kinds of exotic sounding diseases when we grow old. Some of us already have health issues. Quality of life is what we all want. Good health helps us achieve a high quality of life. Health and fitness make the difference between living well and living. It will also help all you avid trekkers to trek with ease ;-)
So this year let us all resolve to diet and exercise - the keys to healthy living. Diet does not mean NOT eating, but eating right. And it is in my selfish interest that I urge you all to stay fit and healthy – I want to make sure I have company when I grow old!
Most of us would have made firm decisions to exercise and watch our diet at some time or the other. We all make a start, but the resolve fizzles out pretty quickly and we are unable to sustain it for long. I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog and all friends who follow it can encourage, motivate, chide, coax and maybe even bully the whole group to continue to keep the promise we make to ourselves!
You are welcome to give diet and exercise tips, suggestions, send in motivational quotes, low cal but tasty recipes, health and fitness finds, and anything to do with keeping a healthy body and mind.
Keep a Backup to stay cool
One of my friend, who is a Vice president, was sharing his experience of the journey from developer to vice president in flat 11 years... One of the point is have backup to make the same progress in the activities without any dependencies, be it a people, be it a resource, etc.
I realized this today. I had all my photos, videos, etc in my external hard disk. Yesterday night, when I was uploading the pictures to flickr, my roomie's leg hit that hard disk by mistake, the hard disk fell down and it stopped working :(
Luckily, one of my travel mate copied all the trip photos recently to have his copy :)
I called him to get his hard disk today. This worked as a backup, but in a unplanned way.
It is always better to have a planned backup :)
Be it a project execution, have a back up plan, for each of the resource, to succeed by overcoming the unexpected problems that may raise anytime.
Vote for me to hear more experiences....
I realized this today. I had all my photos, videos, etc in my external hard disk. Yesterday night, when I was uploading the pictures to flickr, my roomie's leg hit that hard disk by mistake, the hard disk fell down and it stopped working :(
Luckily, one of my travel mate copied all the trip photos recently to have his copy :)
I called him to get his hard disk today. This worked as a backup, but in a unplanned way.
It is always better to have a planned backup :)
Be it a project execution, have a back up plan, for each of the resource, to succeed by overcoming the unexpected problems that may raise anytime.
Vote for me to hear more experiences....
The land of Pharoahs - Egypt
Having read about the most ancient Egyptian civilization, the longest river Nile, the magnificent pyramids, Tutankhamen’s mummy, Cleopatra’s beauty, the massive library of Alexandria, the Red Sea in history and geography classes as a student, and actually seeing these for myself was a thrilling experience.Egypt has several interesting places. The magnificence of the pyramids of Giza hits you only when you stand in front of it and they tower over you. When I stood at the base of the pyramid and looked up, I almost fell off – it was so tall. And to imagine that they were made thousands of years ago sans technology is amazing! A desert safari on camel back with the pyramids in the distance made for a good picture!
I am not one for museums, but the museum in Cairo was awesome. The amount of gold, precious stones, treasure, and other items found in Tutenkhamen’s pyramid is mind-boggling. His mummy was not a very good sight to see – yucky. He was apparently a boy of 19 when he died. He was not really popular in ancient times, but the discovery of his treasure few years ago has made him a hero! Lucky guy! All of us were keen to see and hear a lot about Cleopatra, but not a word, not a picture, not a mention! That’s because she was a greek and ruled Egyptians so the Egyptians do not like to talk about her. Queens Nefertity and Nefertari were everywhere. And ofcourse Ramses II who had dozens of wives! His temple at Abu Simbel is a proof of his shameless narcicism. But it also speaks volumes of his might and grandeur.
All of us enjoyed smoking sheesha (hukkah) at quaint little cafes along the Khan-e-khalili market in Cairo! Lots of interesting trinkets in the scores of tiny shops of the market were a treat for the shopaholics. We bought papyrus paintings, crystal pyramids, galabayas, the fancy head-dress, khartoush (pendants with name written in hieroglyphics) and a lot more.
The belly dance on the floating restaurant on river Nile was scintillating! But enjoyed the Tanura or the whirling dervish even more. Men, wearing several layers of colourful skirts and going round and round to mesmerizing music! What an art! The 3 day cruise on river Nile was very relaxing after the hectic sight-seeing. We stopped by several temples along the way – each one more beautiful than the other. All walls were sculpted with hieroglyphics and the Egyptian Gods – Ra, Horous, Isis, Amun, Osiris, Anubis and several more.
At Luxor we went for a hot balloon ride early in the morning. It was freezing cold but our enthusiasm levels were high! What a beautiful sight from up there. We could see the valley of kings and temple of Hatshepsut – the only woman pharaoh of Egypt. Our guide told us of an easy way to remember her name – Hot chicken soup! The pilot of the balloon very romantically asked one of the girls to marry him and even offered to give 1000 camels to her family!!
Our last stop was at the Hilton in Hurgada on the shores of the Red Sea. THE Red Sea! I mean I almost felt the sea would part when I stood on the shore! And the red sea was blue in colour! The highlight of the trip, atleast for me was snorkeling in the red sea! What beautiful corals – in brilliant colours I have never seen before. Schools of beautiful fishes swimming by just inches away from you, several sea creatures that I have never seen before, it was a wonderful sight!
That was the end of our 10 day trip and none of us wanted to go back home With a heavy heart we parted ways...
To check out all the photos, visit the flickr set Mummies Visit
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Bike Expedition Photos - Ooty
In between Treks, I and Elango made a short trip, just 700 Kms, to Ooty.... on BIKE.
2.5 Days...3 States...700 Kms...3 National Parks(Bandipur, Mudumalai, and Wayanad)...2 Hill Stations(Ooty and Wayanad)...2 Bikes...
Following stretches are awesome:
Bandipur - Mudumalai (Forrest area),
Mudumalai - Masangudi - Ooty (36 Hair Pin bends at the last 20 kms near Ooty),
Ooty - Coodalore - (Night drive, Darkness with the tall Pine,Cyprus Trees all over the way)
Coodalore - SultanPet (Minor curves with lot of greeneries and valleys on the side - enjoyable drive),
SultanPet - Karnataka Border (Forrest area).
Brief collage is shown below, to check more photos, goto my flickr set Bike Expedition - Ooty
2.5 Days...3 States...700 Kms...3 National Parks(Bandipur, Mudumalai, and Wayanad)...2 Hill Stations(Ooty and Wayanad)...2 Bikes...
Following stretches are awesome:
Bandipur - Mudumalai (Forrest area),
Mudumalai - Masangudi - Ooty (36 Hair Pin bends at the last 20 kms near Ooty),
Ooty - Coodalore - (Night drive, Darkness with the tall Pine,Cyprus Trees all over the way)
Coodalore - SultanPet (Minor curves with lot of greeneries and valleys on the side - enjoyable drive),
SultanPet - Karnataka Border (Forrest area).
Brief collage is shown below, to check more photos, goto my flickr set Bike Expedition - Ooty
The KING is dead
A lot is said about Michael Jackson, but nothing is ever enough about the King. No matter he turning himself white from black, no matter he being a bad boy, no matter he living life dangerously, I remember the time when he was a thriller and the way he made me feel. He created History and is the GOD of Pop. I deeply mourn his passing away.
My growing up years were all about Michael Jackson and his dance moves. Every youth, every street child, every collegian would swear by his dance and his music. All cultural fests had several guys and even girls performing a Michael Jackson number, complete with the signature black and gold dress, the curly locks and the glove. “I’m Bad” was an iconic phrase, a favourite of the rebellious teens. His awesome videos were what kept MTV going in its beginning years. He was a part of the lives of those growing up in the eighties. That was a different world…
MJ will continue to live in the hearts of millions…
My growing up years were all about Michael Jackson and his dance moves. Every youth, every street child, every collegian would swear by his dance and his music. All cultural fests had several guys and even girls performing a Michael Jackson number, complete with the signature black and gold dress, the curly locks and the glove. “I’m Bad” was an iconic phrase, a favourite of the rebellious teens. His awesome videos were what kept MTV going in its beginning years. He was a part of the lives of those growing up in the eighties. That was a different world…
MJ will continue to live in the hearts of millions…
Save our planet
Have you ever felt that our blue planet is heating up quite fast? It is a fact that temperature is rising around the globe, hurricanes and earthquakes are ravaging its face, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and the vibrant varieties of flora and fauna are slowly getting extinct one by one. The villain? Global warming.
Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature on earth’s surface – including
atmosphere and water – in recent decades, which in turn, is causing several related climatic changes. Centuries of human activities are only to be blamed for the current state-of-affairs. The immediate cause of global warming has been traced to heat-trapping gases that we use to gratify our luxurious desires.
Global warming I think is more of an ethical issue than political. We have been extremely extravagant and unrestrained in the use of resources like water, fuel and energy. It's high time we mended our ways, and taught ourselves to be frugal and reasonable while we consume nature's bounty. As Gandhiji put it: The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. But, can we as single individuals, keep a check on global warming? Actually, yes! In fact, each one of us should not hesitate to pitch in with our bit to help minimize our carbon footprint before it's too late.
Here are some suggestions:
Switch off all lights, fans, television, computers, and other electrical appliances when you move out of the room or when not required. According to a report, 75% of the electricity consumed at home is stand-by power used to keep such appliances running, even when they are not in use!
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy. They consume only a quarter of the power as compared to incandescent bulbs and last several years longer. Buy rechargeable batteries for frequently-used devices and energy efficient appliances. You would not buy a car / bike without collecting any info on its mileage. So why not exercise the same restraint while buying electrical appliances?
Are you one of those, who let the tap running, while brushing or shaving? Remember that you have just been responsible for wasting a precious resource that is still a luxury for people in several countries. Do not take marathon showers; five minutes are enough to get your body clean and your senses rejuvenated. Conserve water; don't waste it just because you don’t have to pay through your nose for it.
Switch to a vegetarian diet. Raising animals for food is a process that consumes vast quantities of natural resources, including water, land, and oil. It upsets natural habitats and pollutes air and water to a high level. Can you guess, which is more responsible for global warming – your Maruti Swift or Mutton Biriyani? Believe it or not, it’s the Mutton Biriyani. The global meat market generates roughly 18% of the world's Greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than even the transportation industry, according to a report that came out last year from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. If you switch to vegetarian food, you can shrink your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to a research by the University of Chicago.
The plastic shopping bags you bring home from malls and grocery stores end up invariably in a dumping yard. Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and only less than 3% of them are recycled. Typically, they are made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to degrade naturally in landfills that emit harmful Greenhouse gases. Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is easy – carry a cloth bag (jhola bags) each time you go shopping; also try to hold yourself back from impulsive shopping sprees. Incidentally, the jhola bags are back in vogue these days – they add to your 'cool' quotient!
Save trees. Trees are critical to the overall quality of our environment. Trees offset development impacts, significantly diminish noise pollution, lower air temperature, reduce smog, remove pollutants from the air, and decrease top soil erosion. Do not waste paper – it does grow on trees – 900 million trees become pulp and paper every year. But you can reduce this number by preserving paper. You can bank and pay bills online. Further, you can buy more recycled paper. Its manufacturing process uses up to 60% less energy than that of virgin paper. In office, use both sides of the paper while writing or printing. Cancel unwanted junk mail.
Finally, follow the age-old Indian tradition – simple living and high thinking. Do everything in moderation and be kind to our planet Earth. Let's be the catalyst for a positive change, starting this NOW. With a combined effort, I am sure we can make the world a better place to live in – for us and for posterity. Let's try to preserve it in the same condition we inherited it from our ancestors.
Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature on earth’s surface – including
atmosphere and water – in recent decades, which in turn, is causing several related climatic changes. Centuries of human activities are only to be blamed for the current state-of-affairs. The immediate cause of global warming has been traced to heat-trapping gases that we use to gratify our luxurious desires.
Global warming I think is more of an ethical issue than political. We have been extremely extravagant and unrestrained in the use of resources like water, fuel and energy. It's high time we mended our ways, and taught ourselves to be frugal and reasonable while we consume nature's bounty. As Gandhiji put it: The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. But, can we as single individuals, keep a check on global warming? Actually, yes! In fact, each one of us should not hesitate to pitch in with our bit to help minimize our carbon footprint before it's too late.
Here are some suggestions:
Switch off all lights, fans, television, computers, and other electrical appliances when you move out of the room or when not required. According to a report, 75% of the electricity consumed at home is stand-by power used to keep such appliances running, even when they are not in use!
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy. They consume only a quarter of the power as compared to incandescent bulbs and last several years longer. Buy rechargeable batteries for frequently-used devices and energy efficient appliances. You would not buy a car / bike without collecting any info on its mileage. So why not exercise the same restraint while buying electrical appliances?
Are you one of those, who let the tap running, while brushing or shaving? Remember that you have just been responsible for wasting a precious resource that is still a luxury for people in several countries. Do not take marathon showers; five minutes are enough to get your body clean and your senses rejuvenated. Conserve water; don't waste it just because you don’t have to pay through your nose for it.
Switch to a vegetarian diet. Raising animals for food is a process that consumes vast quantities of natural resources, including water, land, and oil. It upsets natural habitats and pollutes air and water to a high level. Can you guess, which is more responsible for global warming – your Maruti Swift or Mutton Biriyani? Believe it or not, it’s the Mutton Biriyani. The global meat market generates roughly 18% of the world's Greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than even the transportation industry, according to a report that came out last year from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. If you switch to vegetarian food, you can shrink your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to a research by the University of Chicago.
The plastic shopping bags you bring home from malls and grocery stores end up invariably in a dumping yard. Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and only less than 3% of them are recycled. Typically, they are made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to degrade naturally in landfills that emit harmful Greenhouse gases. Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is easy – carry a cloth bag (jhola bags) each time you go shopping; also try to hold yourself back from impulsive shopping sprees. Incidentally, the jhola bags are back in vogue these days – they add to your 'cool' quotient!
Save trees. Trees are critical to the overall quality of our environment. Trees offset development impacts, significantly diminish noise pollution, lower air temperature, reduce smog, remove pollutants from the air, and decrease top soil erosion. Do not waste paper – it does grow on trees – 900 million trees become pulp and paper every year. But you can reduce this number by preserving paper. You can bank and pay bills online. Further, you can buy more recycled paper. Its manufacturing process uses up to 60% less energy than that of virgin paper. In office, use both sides of the paper while writing or printing. Cancel unwanted junk mail.
Finally, follow the age-old Indian tradition – simple living and high thinking. Do everything in moderation and be kind to our planet Earth. Let's be the catalyst for a positive change, starting this NOW. With a combined effort, I am sure we can make the world a better place to live in – for us and for posterity. Let's try to preserve it in the same condition we inherited it from our ancestors.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Wayanad - Oct 2008
There were deer in the hundreds and our cameras clicked away, taking in all the beauty of the Indian forests.
We stayed at a quaint little homestay just at the edge of Wayanad sanctuary. We loved the rooms and the hospitality. And the food was yummy! In the afternoon, we hired jeeps for the jungle safari. All cameras were rolling, ready to shoot, but unfortunately, the animals all eluded us L. We only got to see deer and more deer and then some more deer.
All the “bevdaas” drowned the sorrow (of not sighting the bigger animals) in beer. Meera had made sure that the booze kept flowing! The night was chilly and the nice and warm campfire was purrfect for some music and dance.
On the return, we stopped by at Dubbare elephant camp. And I being the adventurous, suggested we cross the river on foot instead of taking the boat. Sophia, Leah and Neelam also joined me and we had a whale of a time! We tied the shoes around our neck and started on our trek. The river bed was slippery and we held each others hand, but in the process tripped on each others toes too! I was in charge of helping Neelam the heavy one – now she fell down and took me with her! One by one, all of us had a dip in the Cauvery and cleansed away our sins! We also got some hunks to help us cross the “difficult” stretches of the river! The girls who did not join us were green with envy!
Our last stop was at the golden temple in Bylakuppe. We saw several monks chanting away and wondered which monk here sold his Ferrari J The atmosphere inside the temple was serene and peaceful. The smell of incense was diffused everywhere. The walls were painted with Buddhist motifs in bright hues and the huge statues in gold gave a royal feel to the place.
We couldn’t be in a Tibetan place and NOT have momos and thukpa. Having satiated our hunger, we did an about turn to return to 'Namma Bengaluru'. A fun trip that was!
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