Kodaikannal Trip -1st day

I have always wanted to visit few places in South , which even though did not had a chance to go for past 2 years in South. and as i play my final innings in South India , there is one thing , i am pretty sure about . I love the climate here , and come downtown anytime , but definitely not on long term basis, never again. This time i had a trip planned to kodaikanal , and with my mamaji ,mamiji and Srikant coming to visit bangalore , and spend sometime with me. It was the stay with them one of the most beautiful times i had spend in bangalore. As per the plan , i had booked a cab from Amrit Travels, Bangalore. But the driver did not showed up at expected time of 7AM, and it was indeed most embarrasing for me. To be in this situation , then me and mamaji went on bike to book a fresh cab. And that with immediate requirement, it was not easy. The trip was delayed by over 4 hours , and this is what defined the remaining journey as in hurry and fast paced , stopping at places enough to soak the natural beauty in minds, soul and freshen ourselves from those boring java files .

The picture above is just the starting of the journey which was more than 1200Kms in 5 days across South India. The climate was just fine , and the ambience in car was great. The journey was long ,longer , longer .. kodaikannal was more than 500Kms , and that too cover the same in daylight was a big mistake. The only thing we did in first day was sleep , waiting to get close. each milestone seems to read the same distance. I always considered south will show up many good surroundings, but from bangalore to kodaikannal was nothing but a barren land sort, and it got more and more boring over the day. at dusk , we reached a view point.



By the time the driver annouced there is something is there to visit , we sprang in happiness, and without any care for the shabby hairstyle or sleepy looks , jumped out of the doors in the mid way to kodai , the place that will shelter us for 2 more nights to come. Below is the pic , and u can see me with Srikant ( believe me , over this period i will tell something about this nice chap and nice chapter he had it with me). else his hair are always fine , and this pic should be considered a rare when u can see sri's hair dishevelled , and this is not because he did not comb it , but because the air currents were too strong. There is also an associated video at this place which will be uploaded shortly but available only for personal friends.

And then we proceeded to Kodaikannal , there was a proposal to stop and stay in between and cover the remaining distance of 30 Kms uphill next morning , but this was rejected by all , as this will mean wasting an entire day, and this proved to be correct decision , and then we got a cottage with ease and bargained to get it at nominal rate , the rooms big , large , economical and had a TV set with cable facility, and i will not at all in first post tell why this was necessary. Then we had a dinner nearby , and watched TV and slept silently in cosy rooms ....Second day blog will be lot better , lots of more expeiences and more pics to share .

One More Friend Lost ..

Last few weeks have been most entralling in my life , when i am getting new friends and losing old ones, for like a snake i am , seems like loosing the old skin, but believe me its very very painful. A tear trickles down the eye, with each falling wicket. with each wound that has over the times dug deep in the flesh, that the marks will stay till the end. How easy it is to end something you wanted for so long. For losing love i have never loved , but losing good friends is what has started pinching me. For so long have i been tired to smile now, for someone who might not even consider me a friend. for all those who still talk to me cauz i call them sometimes or we chat regularly .. PLEASE STOP ... Some friends are made life long , and as such one expect them to be there.
There can be sometimes when the mood is not right , but you dont tell a friend , i am watching TV. seems somethings more important than me. I believe one odd day humans might be able to survive without food , water or oxygen , but without friends .. impossible, for that will be existing and not living...
Some people grow so fast in the career , and at such a pace , that they start ignoring turtle paced people like me. for them who dont care about bad luck , and still for those friend whose major concern seems to be more than other people watching scraps by them in my srapbook as potentional danger as to what others will say, there is just one thing i wanna say. believe me , i dont want to , but here it goes .. "always be nice to people on your way up , you generally meet them on your way down".
I know i have been too slow in this fast paced world, and friends are tired of moving so slow. and here i stand in this world , making new friends who will also one day lose my hand in this fast paced world. And this is what i have stopped from making new friends, want to hold a few left. some of my best pals , my best stress relievers have now become so big , that they dont have time or advise. only one thing u can expect from them , ask yourself. I have been left in this jungle world as a foe among friends. thank you miss , it has been nice knowing you for so long ...
one thing i realised evening of aug 10, friday that it is so easy to be shut, to feel so little, to be eradicate. time when i realised people dont take me serious any more. for should i stop fooling around. for i will try to seal my lips.
For this friend of mine ,anyone can take a guess.
I know i dont have any manners to talk to anyone, but to be neglected as today , to make me realise what I am ... to tell not the world , who cares about it after all (other than her) ... feels real good. good bye friend , you will go to greater heights , to places never touched by anyone. Ask me it will be very very very hard for me to live without taking her advise, but i promise i will never ever again disturb you while you are watching TV or not ...

The Times Have Changed And So Must you

It has been a real long journey through life, and living in most optimistic terms, i stand close to complete a quater of my life next year. And believe me , it was till 12th i was in shell , which broke loose with time. I wanted to tell something about my darjeeling trip, but jsut changed my mind. Lets start with me, most of my friends know i am jolly , freak and most weird person on earth. may b good at heart, may b good friend, a true one ... but just a friend . and i am in bad habit of making best friends. i still strongly believe you can know a thousand faces , a million names , but those who are friends are rare. talking someone , helping someone is not friendship. Friendship is when scolding for wrong things, when praising for right things and sometimes scolding for right things. To know who yr heart says iz yr friend is really not that difficult. a friend says something which if any other person would have said , you will not feel good , but with friends it becomes light mood. Friends are nothing more than a bunch of spoiled pack of wolves who keep on attacking each other .. one who on face says .. "u again , how the hell u escaped that erratic bus" , and still having a finger crossed and thanking God for safety of the friend .
Friend dont leave u in distress , so shud also not be left in hapiness .. Friends multiply the smiles and Square the cries.
One such incident happened in my life when i was giving my semester exams. I as usual relied highly on kanika to answer the questions,but she was seating atleast 2 rows from where i sat. And the combination of seating arrangement was so pathetic (best ) that there no college person from my college in my immediate surrounding. the First day i realised it will be going to be tough time passing these exams and i will really have to fool the examiner in first exam , and study really well in remaining. my idea of perfect 80% was lost , and what remained was a slight hope of passing. And there she sat behind me , an unknown girl from an unknown college, but the looks told she was definitely a topper. I tried asking her once or twice about some answer , but each time i looked back, the big specs , and the way she looked , i was damn sure she will tell the examiner, so never asked. Then in fluid mechanics , i dont know where i got the power and just asked her .. if u wanna tell tje examiner tell , but tell me the answer to a particular question, and the way she helped me was she allowed me to peep in her answer book , and i thankfully passed. One more thing , i never asked that girl anything in remaining exams. For a few close friends know her , and I still cherish those times ... This was not end of our meeting , and we met again , and that will come sometime later. But for Anand , Rhythm please dont guess the names ,u are a few ppl other than the girl who know whom i am talking now ..

For Have I Changed

there are times in life when you are bound to ask yourself. Are the things going right , correct and in a pre defined manner. the way you would expect it to be. But life is really not like water , which takes shape of the vessel it is poured in, instead life shows resistence. the emotions squeeze out like water from the sponge , and one has to control these , failing to do so will show , not to the world but to the few , that there is a deep problem.
Its the Friends , who eventually help each other lubricate in friction situations, one friend after the other , all uniting as the spokes of wheel to make it circular , and the faith , trust and understanding help them move through this journey of life. The better the friends , the faster the speed, but in speed one must not forget that we still are same friends. Sometimes , few friends might consider themselves as superior, or mayb inferior to the other person. then in both the cases , it is a duty of true friends to go up , and tell the other friend .
It has been long 24 years in life , and i have had friends from each section, that may be peers , seniors and juniors , and it all boils down to one aspect, a single question which if answered correctly and honestly to oneself will help to get the thing one aspired for ...Ask yourself , am i true friend ...
i dont say the above answer in denial ,but there have been times when i have cried with friends when unable to wipe the tears off , smiled and laughed in situations when each single nerve in me wanted to cry. I dont say i can be best friend to someone , because that is a comittement too big , i dont say i have been friends to anyone till date. Its more like give and take relationships , when u give happiness and recieve your share .
It has been a real pain for me to understand , i still dont understand what is friendship. I never understood the statement "No thanks , no sorry in friendship" , rather i wud ask my friends ' dont say thank u , cauz if sum of the other friend forget to say thanks, i must not feel bad'.

The attitude towards life changes due to certain factors. Sometimes u are vry happy , and find something that gives a complete 180 degrees to your emotions.
i know i have failed in many of my recent friendships , expecting much more than i should. I have certainly gone greedy , trying to give 200% of me , and expecting the same in return. Few people in my life , and all know everything about me.
On last count , 14 people know what is going in my life , and only 2 of them can really tell , something is wrong. And of these , there is still one , who came upto me to tell me ...
Friend Wait ... You are going in wrong direction , and i dont give a damn about it , and i want all the crap scrapped right away .
Somethings in life deserved a royal paint , and you are one of those ..

this post is dedicated to all the ppl who read the scrap before it was deleted due to obvious reasons

Do You Really Believe In God (only if u r free)

Do i really dont believe in god, or that he cease to exist for a non-existent being. for the success of those we describe as luck, can be a metaphor of God coming and helping. have i not ,on regular basis seeked his help for all that i think is not only improbable,but mayb impossible. do i not remember him daily before i start my work. even if he does not exist, why do i join my hands and put my head down to sky when there is a result expected of near and dear ones. He comes to you when you need him , or u realise it only in time of need. he is one of those , who lives as a King above us .. he is one of those who will answer the prayers even if u dont fold your hands. he can change your mood , your perception of life , just like that. He is like time, or time is him. What is considered most powerful healer, the time... the God ... for all those 14 years in school when we used to stand in burning sun, praying for God , i never felt a need. Just a waste of time, still i consider it so, but there needs to be someone that has to imbibe in us, the fear of unknown. The fear of most powerful , the fear of time , fear of God .. but wasting time should not be considered weakening the God ... because we all join to become the almighty... and it is the weakest link that breaks .. and for that is GOD. to come to heal you at the time when we all think its over.

Some say GOD is power, sheer agression , an emotion , a feeling , something that can never be wrong. why is it that god be always combined with divine powers. His combination with ability to do something perfect. There is a friend of mine who thinks God is perfection. Something you want to look upto when in crisis. Some say God is in you ,but that is what all says .. god is everywhere.God is perception that he is perfect, something in there that is perfect.

Then there was a very nice reply from one of my friends , God is dependable. but is god really dependable, he can also fail,or can he not. for if the existence of God is a reality so must be existence of devil. so can he fail in situations most unexpected .

I dont know whether he exists or not , whether making humans was his greatest mistakes , or humans making God .. but there is something , some supernatural power , that when preached upon give one confidence , the power , the consolance.

If you ask me , God is Faith .. faith which has to stand tall amist all the blunders , amist all the dreadful sins, amist all that one dare not.. believe me ... There is GOD .. and you gonna believe me .. even though i dont believe in God as of now , But very soon , this gotta change ..

For So Long Avoided The Words ....

It has been a real long journey in the world , with 24 years to my backing . with so many different things that happened .. with so many feeling , with so many occassions .. .and here i am sitting to pen down each memory that ever was .. for i wish to live ... long time , big time ... to be there once i am no more .. i still want a lone wanderer to know , to share to feel the excitement , the differnce in similarities .. the miraculaous escapes .. the things kept to my heart .. am going to pen down each and every thing , from losing a rat race in KG to winning a battle of pro's . to study in a closed room to have masti big time with my friends ..
from seeing my siblings grow bigger, bolder and me on the other side of rich getting richer ...
with my luck so used by others , and how it eluded me .. for all i have to all i dont have... its all coming down soon .. and its only words , i will be playing with

Help@Infosys

One Place to work and enjoy is Infy , where we party and party harder. The beauty of the place is a strength of 18k employees in bangalore DC and all so helpful that one can imagine. The bulletein board is a place where you can just put in your query , and will get from many many people. This seems to be smallest blog , but believe me when u r a part of 50k strong family , this is biggest blog.

Project Party@Fun'N'mAsTi

One of my greatest moments in infosys , other than getting appreciated for the work done has been project parties , which most of times was a reason to party. though i wont disclose the money infy pays for the party , the expenses usually went overflows , with paying more than what was issued to us. The idea is to bring the team together for in many circumstances dont find a reason to sit together and interact. This also helps us to relax and have confidence in each other. I have been involved in lot of project parties across projects over the years at places varying from mysore to bangalore .. Here am discussing about project party with my current ( as on 2 june2007) team .... The only person i miss in the team is swamycharan , who decided to move on for a better project. The VAS VB had a strength of some 30 members in its peak time. The team is Basavaraju,Deepak ( thats me ) . Deepa( my guide in proj) , Hemant ( techno guy) , Gaurav ( all rounder) , Sandeep ( regular to office at 2PM) and Anurag ( Most technically sound and nice at heart ... coolest among us

all ) ...

Above is team pic in which many ppl names i dont know , see what all people do for a foto .. come in barging wherever there is a photoshoot


Above is one of the most memorable moment , a grand party at tandoor ( hosted by Amrish and his wife). Amrish is one of people who were like we call , bond of the subject. He will do anything just like that ( and the person of his caliber , as senior technical architect , was actually coding in the project.) The party was in Tandoor (on MG Road) . a high end punjabi restura' . Had a fun with Sobin ( ex-infy) came along. It was indeed fun with over a dozen of people partying and having fun..

Then Amoeba became synomynous with project party with 2 parties i was there

as a special mention , i should not forget to mention Abhishek Mitra and Hrishi .. the two people i miss the most. Mitra was my room mate for 8 months , and had shared so un common intersts , and the rivalry and the understanding , blending into each liking other;s taste ... as far as TV was concerned .. the La Terrace , 1130 PM call of Mitra ( maariyo mat) .. Hrishi is apna Chatrapati shivaji , a true friend .. rarest species ( joins rhythm , aby , mitra ) in the sacred bracket ...

makedattu trip

hi friends this time around we reached the place. i was honestly speaking , looking for a water filled cool place surrounded by treees , and ambience to envy. Had it not been for the sun , it would have been worth a visit, but i still dont believe the number of people flocking the place . Well leave that , really no mood to go through the agony. here is last of my trips , one of few . i rememeber not for so good reasons

Makedattu Bus Trip

Now this is a sincere request to all people please do not take these pics as the fun we had. These pics will actually deceive all of you to believe that we had a very very good time in makedattu. but mark my words, you will not like to be in the situation we were. After coming out from warm water, and legs stuck with sand on the ground burning as a hot iron utensil kept on gas. Most smiles in most of the pics in this trip are due to that magical word which is said before taking pics -- CHEESE ....

The fare of the bus to move from Sangam to Makedattu hardly 4 Kms was too high, and i was thinking only my company buses are cutting the pockets. you will see a few pics of first class road connecting makedattu to sangam.

Above are grandpa and grandmom of vipul , who showered love on all of us , and we really had a great time with them. Started to live a life for the brief time they were in bangalore. We had a great time. Really somethings just can't be expressed in words , and this is one such feeling. Just a void when they left to delhi with vipul.

These are wild animals left open in the bus. From left , Ashish , Vipul , ever smiling (coolest of them all) sameer , and yes .. dumbest of them all ... Meee... At this point we are sitting in fooly AC bus , with world class shockers .. till date holding it in hands . Below are two pics of the wonderful connecting road .

Above pic is the evidence of the route , which was most of the times bumpy and got dangerous at places. With sun burning us , this bus ride was hot and humid.

Above pic was probably the best stretch of road. well , since blog was dedicated to bus ride between sangam and final destination, i will take a leave , and come back with makedattu experiences soon .. :)

Sangam

After Chunchi falls we went to Sangam , which seemed to be full of water , fun and joy. but our destination was makedattu. So we decided we will make a move and not stop here , but then we came to know that to go to makedattu , we need to cross the river and go to other side to catch a bus and go afead. the water which seemed to be very inviting , was warm , and not so happening. Then we had to take off the shoes and this was worst part as the sand on the banks was dirty and very very hot , and stones were like red hot. Still there was a lot more to come. and we decided to play in water for a later time ( which eventually will be the climax to the otherwise dull and lifeless trip). In the picture below, i tried and succedeed to dig my legs atleast a foot in sand.

In the Picture below, we are still not going in water and decide to move into it at a later stage . Here is Me in yellow, sameer in green and Vipul in white. and behind us is Sangam

Sangama is the confluence of two rivers – Arkavathi and Kaveri(Cauvery), but this can be enjoyed most in times of rains when these rivers flourish in water. April May is certainly not the time for the same , but yes in case you wanna take revenge from any your friends, this is the best time to guide them and get them sun tanned , and baked in hot sun. If that is not enough , they will not see any modern or urban areas for 80Km radius , and in just case something happens, there can not be any assistance for a long time. There were a lot of other pictures also taken at the occassion but i really dont have courage to revive the memories of the same, so guys , please pardon me for not posting other pics here. But yes , next makedattu is right there on the cards.

The Great FALL -- CHUNCHI FALLS

Till last year , my greatest debacle in terms of seeing a waterfall was aby falls, not cauz it was not good but may be because it just fell short of expectations i had carried from the reviews of the people around here. But this time around , there was neither an expectation neither we got anything. The curprit --- the girl in red. Not that she might have drank the entire waterfall , oops , i forget to tell you that it is waterless waterfall , atleast , the time of year it was planned was nothing but a failure .. Khair , the pics are very good and can be deceiving for all , even us .. but all thanks to the wonderful Kodak Digicam of Sameer ...

Now Chunchi falls , or the Great fall .. was full of sand dust and .. rocks .. expecting water .. not stand a chance for it till it is your own sweat .. .. and we could see traces of water atleast a Km away if not less. While coming to Chunchi falls , we saw a lavish Gate which said "chunchi falls 5 Kms " but an elderly lady sitting there told there is a dead end and there is another enterance. We dont know if there was a dead end but one thing is sure , we went in mazes and loops and again saw huts and villages which were nothing but seemed that we have transpired in time to a back date , say mediveal times. All mouses made of hay , grass and mud. all doors shut and like a colony of ants just trampled by mischevious gang of children. With none to ask for directions and relying heavily on senses and boards, we finally reached The Great fall .This is me standing at the deepest accessible place there . the other straight route we left was actually the correct one :) but when the day is not your way , it really is not .

Below is image of what we supposed to be hosting a plentiful of snakes sleeping warmly in depth of mother earth. But vipuls' grandpa stopped me from doing that, and Sameer's all intention of the wonderful weekend went in vain .

below are few pics of Chunchi fall disaster , and i dont think any one will disagree ... see the wicked smile on sameer's face here ( green t-shirt )

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MEKEDATU AND CHUNCHI FALLS

What Happens when A herd of Mad Eye Moodies refuse to bend to the nerves and go for impossible ... It ends in something good ... but the May 13 2007 was surely not a day to remember or cherish. However Dont mistake it from pics ... I am going to split the Day of 13th May as always in parts ... as the space is always a constraint... This time we had another reason to cheer. We were going under the blessing of Vipul's grandparents, with whom I had my best times atleast in bangalore. With the quality of food to the love that was showered on us for the stay in Bangalore could not be expressed in words. So the journey started from our Place in Bangalore HSR layout. The journey was planned to start early in the day at 6:00 AM where the person who arranged the trip was to join, but she declined at the final moment. So we finally had the cab coming to us at 8 AM and to pick another friend , we had to travel lengthwise across the other end of bengalooru. we waited for her for 20 min , and then the journey started . already delay was over 4 hours. Then we decided to stop for a wonderful breakfast at a place in bangalore. This is the time when we started off to makedatu , but Rizana insisted to visit Chunchi falls first ... so we all decided to reach the place. My God , the route to chunchi falls went through all the villages in the world and the roads to die for ... please take take it too optimistically :) Then we went to Chunchi falls ... finally reached ... Will write at length about wonderful chunchi falls next ..

We all going for the wonderful breakfast ....

My Mysore House

Other than the cherished moments i had in infosys while training , in which the accomodation was provided by the company , i was asked to move out once this training was completed. and then we group of 10 went hunting for a house right in the mysore , from street to street where there can be a dignified place to stay. We finally got a haunted house , which was closed since past 5 years , and as always with a spirit to break the terror in the house , we all decided to move in. But it must really have something in it, for tthe thought of us moving in the same caused ripples and many of our house mates were moved to bangalore and we did not get a shot to challenge the so called spirit in the house. Nevertheless , we moved to a 3 BHK with a splendid interior and cool environment. I am putting up pics of the same . The house was then occupied by 6 of us , me , ashish , dipankar ( my love) , Neeraj ( Laziest of them all ) , Aravind ( i have not written it ) and Sidhi Bhaiya (coolest of them all ). I will post about all of them in my next few posts . here are a few shots of the home i stayed for my brief stay in mysore. The First Pic is drawing Room .

And this is the Kitchen ... had everything here ... and morning tea ... bus that place was jannat (paradise)

above is the place we used to brush brush brush our worn out teeth , and as such was meeting point .....

Above is the drawing room ( other angle) with such a lavish living space , and Neeraj cud be found most of the time sleeping here , or if you are lucky you can find Neeraj getting a scolding from apna Dipankar , and if you are luckiest of them all , you can always find deepak and dipankar here :) watching TV ...

No points to guess this is my room .. both above and below . See , Siddhi is still sleeping , it was 3 PM when this was taken , and he has still not brushed ...

Mysore Dushera Trip

In Mysore, Dussehra is the most popular festival. It is celebrated on a grandiose scale here. Elephants are decked up with robes and jewelery and taken in processions through the streets of the city. In fact, many people visit Mysore from all over the country to watch this colorful event. There is also a floating festival in the temple tank at the foot of Chamundi Hill and a procession of chariots around the temple at the top.
If you ever happen to be in Mysore at that time of the year , one will not fail to notice , banana leaves on enterances and vehicles. People dancing and carrying procession here and there.
The Dussehra of Mysore or Mysore Dassara as it is famously called is a 10-day long festival. On the day of Dussehra, a procession of caparisoned elephants carrying the idol of goddess Chamundi is taken through the city. The festival is celebrated in a grand style with scores of cultural performances in the great Durbar Hall of the Maharaja's Palace. On Vijaydashami, the 10th day of the festival, a colorful procession featuring caparisoned elephants winding through the gaily-decorated streets of the city, mark the occasion.

During the festive season the entire city is decorated and lightened in a most impressive way, that attracts thousands of tourists to the city. The Palace and other important buildings are also embellished and illuminated - worth a sight.Majestic processions, a torch light parade, dance and musical events vitalize the placid city. Many cultural programs are organized in the Mysore Palace, performed by famous artists. Sport events, poet's meet, food festival, film festival are also held. The famous Dasara exhibition is organized at Doddakere Maidana, by the Karnataka Exhibition Authority, where many public and private sector, State Government departments and other business class set up their stalls to promote their industries. Craft fairs, traditional wrestling matches are other highlights of the exhibition.

The parade of Mysore is undoubtly the best one , maybe just after the Republic Day Parade,still it is really a worth a watch , and no fees for the same

The dancers above are by far the best performance i ever saw, second year in succession , and these falw-less , error free synchronised moments and dance steps throughout the Devaraja Road is a pleasure to watch. The parade possession also had all reach in all sections of the society with subjects ranging from Water conservation to Girl Education.

The rain played a spoilt kid once again with all things so wet , had to put my Sony Cell back in poly bag , and missed a few shots , but this rain was by no limit of imagination going to stop the enthusiasm either in the people participating in parade or the ones cheering it .
Below can see people flocking the roofs for watching a celebration of lifetime - Mysore Dussera

In the pic above , one can see the number of people who go to watch this mega , heart pleasing and wonderful display of the our culture , and the preparations of people to make this occassion a grand success. I would here also praise the police for managing such a great crowd with such an ease ... even though they resorted to heavy beating of the people not listening ..

2006 Mys Dussera was one of my best mys dushera , and believe me if u r in Bangalore or Mysore , or any part of India, this is one thing that should not be missed. The magestic procession and raw display of faith and power at its best in Mysore