2011 - Bye Bye

I know I am a little late to say goodbye to the last year but like they say “Better late than never”. The last year was a mixed bag; but I wouldn’t call it a happening year. Trips were far lesser than previous years. More friends got married and others settled into their married life. Many got new members in their family. Office wasn’t too bad. I stayed alone for the first time in my life for quite long – stayed in Bangalore the last two months. And I managed to escape one more year remaining single.

The best thing to happen last year was my trip to Laddakh. It was something I wanted to do for a long time and finally I could make the trip. The place was amazing and it was a dream come true.

I can’t let the year go without thanking friends who really made the year memorable. I can’t mention all the things but I will mention few of the people and moments -

• I will start with Minakshi, without whom the Laddakh trip wouldn’t have been possible. And we shared many memorable moments together.
• Shubhi for making my stay in Bangalore comfortable. I don’t know how I would have survived without her.
• Rupesh, Nitin and Birendra for making the office life enjoyable.
• Seema for helping me with her advices.
• Shubhi and Devadarshan for helping me win the TT and Badminton titles.
• Navdeep for the wonderful time spend playing badminton.
• Febin for all the movies and time spent playing pool.
• Kunal, Febin and Sahil for the great times spent together.
• Manas, Saurav, Ashish and Hina for always being around.

I would like to thank all the people who were part of my last year. And I am hoping for an eventful year - my last year in twenties. So its “ciao 2011” and “here you go 2012”

Bangalore diaries – taking a break

It’s time for a break. I will be heading home tomorrow morning on a week’s vacation. And I can’t wait being at home, enjoy food cooked by Mom. I have already told her what I would like to eat. I can already see the table set.

I have been in here for quite some time now. The initial few days were very difficult. I was feeling home-sick all the time. The work wasn’t too good then; the team members were not familiar; and the area was totally alien. But slowly things started getting better. And now if I look back at the time spent here, I would say it was a time well spent. In fact I have enjoyed the trip.

I have visited some places around which were pretty good. Made new friends here. Got familiarized with the teammates and it is actually fun to be in office with them. Work has also increased but it is good; a lot of learning and I am enjoying it. And in between all this won 4 titles in the Bangalore Sports meet – TT and Badminton, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in both. That felt really good.

But the best part about Bangalore was my friend. When you have good friends around, anything can turn enjoyable. I never thought it could be so much fun. So thanks to my dear friend, I actually enjoyed the Bangalore stay.

I will be back in Bangalore in first week of January. Till then it is time for home sweet home.

Bangalore diaries – Shivanasamudra + PlanetX

One of my friends here in Bangalore suggested I visit Shivanasamudra. It is a place known for its waterfalls. Shivanasamudra is some 150 kms from Bangalore and around 30 kms from Mysore. So we planned to go to Shivanasamudra in the afternoon, visit Talkad and then go to PlanetX, Mysore. Talkad is again a lake. PlanetX is a place where you have stuff like bowling, karting, pool, gaming zone, mini golf course, restaurant, etc. So far the places that I had visited around Bangalore, it was just me and my friend. This time though we had a friend of her’s for company – Rajesh. Rajesh knew the places well and so it was a welcome addition.

We picked Rajesh and then Rajesh took the driving task – a welcome relief for me having driven on all the previous trips. We followed the Mysore road. We stopped at a place for breakfast. I had ‘Plate Idly’ there. The size of the idly was bigger than any I had seen or eaten before. It was almost as big as a chapati (roti). It was served with sambhar and chutni. I had a tea to top it up – a nice breakfast.

We proceeded towards our destination. The road was pretty good and we were having a nice smooth drive. Then we had a take a diversion from the Mysore road. The road wasn’t as good as before. And my friend decided to do the driving. Soon she got bored with driving and it was my turn. As soon as I started driving the road again became good. Perfect timing – I must say.

We reached one of the falls. We wanted to go in the falls but it wasn’t allowed there. We could only have a distant view of the falls. But it was beautiful. We spend some time there capturing and enjoying the amazing view.

Then we proceeded towards another falls called the Bharachukki falls. As we reached there we could see people going towards the falls with towels and clothes which suggested we could actually get in the water. It was way down and we had to make our way through a long chain of stairs. As we climbed down we were expecting the effort it would take to climb those stairs on our way back. We made it down in good time and headed towards the waters. We had to cross a small stream. The rocks were very slippery and I almost fell down once. But we managed to cross it and reach the falls. There were lots of people there who were enjoying themselves in the water. Some had brought bathing clothes with them while some had entered the waters with clothes on. It was a sight in itself to see so many people enjoying the water together.

She was all set to enter the water while Rajesh didn’t want to enter water. I was undecided as always. She went to the falls and came back. She was enjoying it. She asked me join her. I finally agreed. I went into the water. Stood under the falls. The water came crashing on me. It wasn’t hard; instead it was pleasant and refreshing. Entering water with your shirt and jeans on isn’t something you do everyday. As I came out of water for a break the wet jeans made it difficult to walk. But I was feeling good. So was she. Rajesh meanwhile had found a stone to sit on. He was sitting there probably watching the view and keeping an eye on us. We asked Rajesh to join us but he didn’t. So the two of us went back. This time we went further into water. We didn’t like the crowd there and so came back to our original place. We enjoyed a few more rounds of shower in the falls and came back.

The way back included climbing the stairs. It was a long and hard task. We took breaks before finally reaching the top; breathing heavily. We had cucumber with chilly paste – a bad combination we soon found out. I changed my clothes and we headed towards Planet X. The road wasn’t good, just okay. We stopped near Talkad to visit some temples (I have forgotten the names). Rajesh told us the story behind the place – Due to a curse the entire place was covered in sand. The site that we were seeing was actually dug out of the sand. Every year the place gets covered with sand; and the structures are dug out.

The sand there certainly looked out of place. And one isn’t supposed to doubt the stories. There were three main temples. We had to walk on sand to see them. We would have been on a round trip of more than a km to visit the three temples and come back to the car. We then headed towards Mysore skipping Talkad.

We reached Mysore in another couple of hours and headed for PlanetX. The place looked good. We had around 4 hours to spend there before the place got closed. We started with eating as everyone was hungry. We ordered sandwiches coupled with beer/breezer. I had cranberry breezer which I liked. Then we headed towards bowling. There was an hour’s wait for bowling. So we went for pool to pass time. Since we were three, it was Rajesh versus the two of us. Rajesh was playing well and won easily the first game. He would have won the next 2 games as well but he didn’t say the pocket once and pocketed the cue ball the second time. Soon he was back to winning ways. We enjoyed pool for an hour and then went to bowling. Bowling was fun. Here I was playing really well for a change and won easily. Once the game got over, she wanted to have another round of bowling. We had another round of bowling, this time I was bowling left-handed as my wrist was paining. This time though I lost badly.

After bowling we decided to go for Hookah. I hadn’t tried it before so was looking forward to it. It was disappointing. It was just flavored hookah and I didn’t quite like it. But the other two seemed to like it. We had some snacks for company and headed back for Bangalore.

As we reached the car we remembered that we were almost out of petrol. It was quite late and most of the petrol pumps were already closed. The tank had come on reserve. It was definitely not good. We stopped and asked for directions. We continually kept looking for an open petrol pump. We passed 5-6 petrol pumps but all were closed. It was getting scary now. The idea of spending the night in car wasn’t pleasing at all. Luckily we found a petrol pump soon. We got the tank full. It was my turn to drive now. I think we reached Bangalore in two hours flat. We dropped Rajesh first. Then as we headed further we managed to lose our way after reaching quite close. A few u-turns later I dropped my friend and came to my hotel.

A fun-filled but tiring day had come to an end. Monday morning office was looking at us with anticipation while all we could think of was a good sleep.

She hates my cargos

I went to visit my friend. We were to go for a movie. I was wearing my favorite cargo - the one which looks like an army pant. They are quite comfortable and I wear it on weekends wherever I am going. It was one such weekend.

She asked “Where did you buy this cargo”

I answered “Big-bazar. Isn’t it nice?”

She answered in the negative.

I didn’t bother as she disliked most of the things I liked. I thought the matter was closed.

Next day we met again. I was again wearing the same cargos. She saw them and said “Not again”

I said “Well you see these are my favorites. And until it is a formal occasion I wear these on weekends”

She “They don’t look good. I will buy you new ones.”

I “I am comfortable in this. I don’t want new ones. What makes you dislike them?”

She “They look cheap. And don’t suit you.”

I “Because they are from big-bazaar?”

She “Maybe”

I “I don’t care. I am comfortable in them.”

Next weekend I again met her in my cargos. She said she isn’t going anywhere with me until I change the cargos. I replied “Ok. Then let’s just stay here. I am not changing my cargos ”

She said “I am going to cut this cargo”

I “Doesn’t matter. I will still wear them”

She “I will cut it at places you won’t dare to wear them”

I “I don’t mind. I will be with you so you would be embarrassed”

She “We’ll see. I might even burn your cargos.”

I “What have you got against them. They are very comfortable and I don’t want any harm to them”

I am left wondering how come she hates my cargos so much.

Bangalore diaries - a trip to Mysore

Come to Bangalore and not going to Mysore doesn’t make sense. Does it? I was debating with my friend on this. My friend didn’t want to go to Mysore while I really wanted to go. I was pretty interested in visiting Vrindavan Gardens having heard a lot about it. After a long discussion we started for Mysore. We had to take the Mysore road and keep following it.

The plan was to visit Mysore Palace and then Vrindavan Garden. We thought we could spend quite some time in Mysore Palace and then in the evening go and visit Vrindavan Gardens to see the musical fountains. On the way we had an argument and the duration of our trip lengthened. We spent almost half the way without speaking to each other.

We reached Mysore Palace and were pretty hungry. We tried Bhel Puri, Pani Puri but they weren’t any good. We proceeded towards the Palace. My friend had been here some 15 years ago but found the place changed quite a bit. That was kind of expected I guess.

We entered the palace. No cameras were allowed. My friend acted as the guide. We went across the palace going over paintings, artifacts and antiques (if I can call them so). Some of the things were pretty good and some pretty ordinary. Overall it wasn’t as good as I had expected it to be. But then it was still good.

Then we proceeded towards Vrindavan Garden. Vrindavan Garden was a nice place. Well maintained to start with. It covers a huge area. One can take a walk or sit anywhere and relax. Of course if you looking for some activities, you will have to create them on their own. There’s a lake where you could go for a boat ride. We didn’t go for it. Instead we took the long walk towards the musical fountain. The place was filling up fast. We found a place on top row of the stairs – the perfect place to be. Soon the musical fountains started. It started off well. There was some creativity initially but soon it became monotonous. It was fun though; especially for the nice company.

We started our journey back to Bangalore. Although the palace and the Vrindavan Garden were not as good as I had expected them to be, the experience was still good. Actually just being there felt so good. I am not sure how it would feel the second time; but I sure won’t mind going there again.

Looking beyond the mask

There are people who always seem to be relaxed. And there are those who are always relaxed. The two may seem to be alike but there is a lot of difference. Of course everyone would like to be in a relaxed state of mind always but not everyone can achieve it. So the next best thing probably is to appear relaxed. That creates a good impression and saves you a lot of questions.

But people who put on a good act may not be actually feeling what they look or show. They may be feeling entirely different. I understand their whole purpose is not to show others the true picture. But do they really want others to believe their act? Do they really want people to take them on their face value? Or do they want someone to try and look beyond the mask? Do they want to see how many people actually can actually look past the cover? How many people actually want to look past the mask?

I have no answer to these questions. I am quoting a line from the movie The Smurfs that fits the situation – “I don’t want people to give me what I ask for. I want them to give me what they want.”

Bangalore diaries - Hogenakkal trip

This Sunday I went to Hogenakkal with my friend. We had been planning an outstation day trip for some time and all of sudden zeroed in on Hogenakkal. We did some research on the probable places of visit but what made us select this destination were the following lines –

“Hogenakkal Waterfalls, known as the 'Niagara' falls of India, are not a single waterfall but a series of falls and they offer a promising holiday destination for nature lovers from within and outside the country.” (courtesy http://www.mustseeindia.com/Hogenakkal)

We found three routes to reach Hogenakkal. The shortest one was about 120 kms but included a hilly patch. The longest was around 180 kms but the road was awesome as per the site – a 4 lane highway. We decided to take the longest route which was Bangalore => Hosur => Krishnagiri => Dharmapuri => Pennagaram => Hogenakkal.

We started around 4 AM to avoid the city traffic as well as the crowd at Hogenakkal. My friend was driving while I was giving directions. After about half an hour and a wrong turn later my friend got irritated by my directions and handed over the driving seat to me. I had never driven this long before so it was going to be a new experience for me. As we drove the sun began to rise. The view was excellent. Cool breeze was blowing and the weather was fantastic. A slight drizzle on and off added to the beauty. The drive was simply amazing. We were chit-chatting all the way, enjoying the surroundings. We had halt at McDonalds for pre-breakfast and continued on. The road was 4-lane and brilliant and we had done well to choose this route. After Dharmapuri we had to take a diversion. Although it was a 2 lane road with no divider, the condition of the road was pretty good. And we reached Hogenakkal around 8.

The crowd wasn’t much at that time. We proceeded towards the main falls and had a nice walk watching the falls. The falls were pretty good. We even crossed a small stream on our way. We had a quick coracle (circular basket boat) ride. My friend wanted to have a bath in the falls while I was trying to avoid it. While we were still deciding on what to do, my friend decided to go for a head and body massage. I was left alone waiting. I decided to go for a head massage. The worst decision I took on the trip. I specifically told the guy that I wouldn’t be taking a bath, so that he can massage accordingly. And what he did was pour the entire packet of oil on my head in three turns. The massage was ok, nothing special. When he ended I had a feeling he had put too much oil. And soon the oil started dripping from my head. I had no option but to take a bath; ruing all the time my decision to go for the head massage. Anyways I took bath in the falls. No matter how much I hated it the bath was actually refreshing. After that we had a cup of tea and headed back.

On our way back we took the same route enjoying the same view in broad daylight now. We were having a nice conversation. We stopped for lunch and continued our journey back. I couldn’t believe I had driven so long, roughly 370 kms. I should have been a little more careful at a few places; but overall I believe I drove well. (Rest I will leave my friend to comment J).

All in all it was an amazing day. A beautiful place, a wonderful company and an amazing drive.