Monday, December 19, 2005
Nagarjuna Sagar
Couple of days back (Dec 10th?) it was the golden jubliee of Nagarjuna Sagar. I had been to this Dam two times. But never did it occur to me that such a massive construction would take how much labour/time/money.
There was an article in the newspaper which tells us how much of a feat was it to construct the Dam 50 years ago. It seems for 15 years at any point of time (day or night) there were 50,000 labourers working on the Dam. And it seems, it had costed around 9 crores at that time.
There was an article in the newspaper which tells us how much of a feat was it to construct the Dam 50 years ago. It seems for 15 years at any point of time (day or night) there were 50,000 labourers working on the Dam. And it seems, it had costed around 9 crores at that time.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Money
I dont know when this meaningless greed for money will come to end.
Isn't what we get, enough for living? Why the heck do we need more,
when we get so much, when compared to other professions, when compared
to our previous generations? Dont tell me it's inflation. Actually it's
the other way. We are causing inflation.
I am seriously skeptic about some kinds of jobs in IT, whether they
are really worth getting paid so much for that kind of job. But it's
all economics. I was happy at that moment when I used to get just a
fraction of what I get now.
'Make hay while the Sun shines' shouldn't be applied here.
The whole idea of saving for the unpredictable future...stinks. Stinks
too bad when there's a major portion of the society which is still
struggling to make a living.
Are we so incompetent that we have to compare our capabilities/competency
on a scale of our paycheques.
Is this a negative side of the coin or is it an illusion?
Isn't what we get, enough for living? Why the heck do we need more,
when we get so much, when compared to other professions, when compared
to our previous generations? Dont tell me it's inflation. Actually it's
the other way. We are causing inflation.
I am seriously skeptic about some kinds of jobs in IT, whether they
are really worth getting paid so much for that kind of job. But it's
all economics. I was happy at that moment when I used to get just a
fraction of what I get now.
'Make hay while the Sun shines' shouldn't be applied here.
The whole idea of saving for the unpredictable future...stinks. Stinks
too bad when there's a major portion of the society which is still
struggling to make a living.
Are we so incompetent that we have to compare our capabilities/competency
on a scale of our paycheques.
Is this a negative side of the coin or is it an illusion?
My First Overseas Travel (Travel Diary)
Start Date : 23rd Nov 2005
Retunrn Date : 05 Dec 2005
I was supposed to be in our main office in Bedford, Boston for the so called
"Hell Week". This being my first overseas journey by flight I was naturally
very excited. Managed to take one day leave and go early so that I can be there
in US for the Thanks-Giving Day.
23rd Nov 2005 (Wednesday) (IST)
-------------------------------
Started from office at around 3.00 pm. My flight to Mumbai was scheduled for
5.20 PM. The previous night I was in the office itself as I had comitted myself
to complete my task. By the time I left my house in Yousufguda it was 4 PM and I
was worried that I would be late. Brother and his friend dropped me at the
airport and I was in time for check-in. It was a Jet Airways flight and was
decent enough. I landed in Mumbai at 6.30 PM. To my knowledge this was the first
time I was setting my feet in Mmbai. My connecting flight was scheduled for
1.30 AM the next day. I completed my immigration check and then went and rested
in the waiting lounge. The furniture was good in the sense that we could almost
relax to 120 degrees. The only way to kill time was by reading the book on
Sardar Patel that I had with me and that too was dry. Tried to sleep for some
time but couldn't.
24th Nov 2005 (Wednesday) (IST & Various other Timezones)
---------------------------------------------------------
Boarded my flight to Amsterdam at 1.30 AM. It was a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
(famous for its ageing cabin crew, particularly the air-hostesses). Entering the
flight I realized how crammed up the seat for the economy class were. It was
2-5-2 arrangement and almost 9 rows had to satisfy themseleves with one big TV.
I got the middle column. Food was served 3-4 times during the flight. From here
started my tryst with tasteless and alien food. Had to eat only for getting
energy. It was around 9 and 1/2 hours of non-stop flight. One thing very
interesting was that the current position, altitude of the flight w.r.t the
world map was regularly show on the TV. Also the outside temperature, current
local time, current time at destination, speed of the flight and remaining
duration of the journey was also shown. It's quite difficult to sit in the same
seat for such a long time. It was around 6.00 AM in the morning by the time we
landed at the Schipol International Airport, Amsterdam. Itw as still dark and
cloudy there. A tremendously big airport with five terminals A,B,C,D,E and
almost every terminal having upto 50 slots. Its quite easy to get lost in the
airport if not for the direction-boards set up everywhere. I had 5 hours to kill
before I could catch my next flight. Quickly found out my departure terminal,
got myself freshened up and then set out for going around this huge airport.
Went around the airport sometime by walk and sometimes using the walkways (sort
of horizontal escalators). It was time to have breakfast. I had to convert my
dollars into Euros to have breakfast. Found a Mc'Donalds outlet there and had
burger there. It was difficult to walk any further and so went back to my
departure terminal and killed the rest of time there.
Boarded my fligth for Los Angeles at 11.30 AM. A Northwest flight. Came to
know that Northwest had bought KLM, but still they operated as independent
entities. This time it was the famous Boeing 740-400. I was amazed by its sheer
size. Further it had two levels of seating. The upper level was a smaller one
though (maybe some 15 rows). It could carry around 450 passengers and could
reach a speed of 980 kmph. Quite interesting. Was better than the KML in terms
of the seating and also the cabin crew. An Italian guy and an American lady were
my neighbouts this time. Did some chatting with them for some time. Chatting
with the Italians, I realized how bad the Italians were at English. Later in the
trip I had some more experiences supporting this statement and in fact I can
now generalize it to encompass the whole of Europe.
It was around 2 PM by the time I landed at the Los Angeles airport. Collected
my luggage, got through the customs and immigration check and was very happy
that I had completed my air travel and would soon meet Prakash and his brother.
I was totally unaware of the travails that were in the offing. At the airport I
thought I'll relax for sometime before I call up Prakash's brother. For the
first time I used dollars in their original form. Then when I opened up my bag
for the paper which had the contac noo.s of all the people I know in US, I was
surprised and later angry with myself for not able to find it. I had missed it
somewhere while I hurriedly packed my baggage in hyderabad. This mistake of mine
was to cost very dearly. I had no option other than calling my brother in India
and ask for Prakash's contact number. But to do that I had to buy the costly
20$ AT&T calling card. Only a little later did I realize that it would give me
only 6 minuste of talktime to India. I consumed 3 such calling cards and 3 hours
before I could get Prakash's contact number. But when I called him up he wasn't
lifting and I was disgusted. One good thing that I did was that I left a message
telling where I would be waiting. After some time, I thought I would use the
internet to get in contact with someone else in US. So I went to the
international airport. But at the kiosks I could only browse, but I wanted
Yahoo messenger. I saw somebody with a Laptop. I approached him for help but
naturally he declined. Thus dejected, I decided to go back to the Terminal where
I had landed. When U walked back, to my surprise the place seemed very
unfamiliar. Moved back and forth to find "my place", but was clueless. I thought
I was lost, then suddenly realized that I had taken an escalator and had come
to the upper level. So I descended to the lower level and bingo I found
"my place". While I was roaming back and forth, the security personnel grew
suspicious over me and started passing occasional stare at me. I started
pretending that I was normal. Luckily, then came my saviours: Prakash, his
brother and another friend of his. I took a deep sigh of relief as one of my
ordeals had come to an end. I narrated the whole of it to them and they told me
how stupid had I been by not keeping multiple copies of all the documents. I
also realized how much I had to pay ( 60$) for this stupid mistake of mine.
We headed for Prakash's Brother's (Vasu's) house in his car and I realized
the differences between India and US. The concept of freeways was amazing. Cars
were racing at around 80 miles per hour one after another with great discipline.
Temperatures are measured in Fahrenheit. so I had to recall the formula
C/5 = (F - 32)/9 quite frequently.
Stay in LA (Thanksgiving Shopping) (24th-25th Nov 2005)
--------------------------------------------------
I refreshed myself at Vasu's house. As the next day was the Thanksgiving day,
I wanted to purchase some electronic goods as they would be very cheap during
this sale. But little did I expect that there would be so much crows for these
deals. The amount of preparation by the people was totally unexpected. As there
were different stored (You have these chains of shopping stores), people would
meet the previous night and decide as to who would go to which store and buy
what items. this is what Vasu and his friends in US did too. As there would be
a huge demand for these goods, it was decided that we should start early in the
morning (4 AM) then next day and stand in the queue and grab the items that we
need. The next morning I went to one of the stores (SEARS probably). It was very
cold. Luckily I had brought enough clothing from India to protect myself from
the cold. When I went there near the store, to my astonishment the queue was
very long. Inicidentally all these people had come the previous night itself and
hadn been waiting in the beitter cold the whole night. This reminded me of Chiru
fans over here in Andhra Pradesh queuing up before the theatres for watching
their beloved star's movie on the day of the release.
Prakash bough me a Panasonice Lumix digital camera for 200$. Was a good deal.
There were many good deals but we could grab only a few.
Adventures in Sin City
----------------------
After relaxing for sometime we started for Las Vegas in Vasu's car at around
5 PM. Sudhir, Teja & Dhol had already taken a room in Excaliber (one of the
hotels) and were waiting for us. It was 10 PM by the time we reached Vegas. Las
Vegas is located in the deserty state Nevada. After some communication found the
group and went into our toom in Excaliber. The room was supposed to be occupied
by only 2 people but we all managed to take shelte in the same room (we were
six of us in total). So everytime we had to go out or come in we had to go in
pairs so as to avoid the suspicion of the security guards. There were so many
hotels like Excaliber and the ground floor of all these hotels had casinos and
there were so many people testing their luck there.
After relaxing for some time in the hotel room we set out along the strip to
catch some of the shows. (Each hotel had some special show like the Bellagio
musical fountain, cirus-circus etc.)
We went to the tallest building in Vegas. (While in the lift we could feel the
gravity through our ears). On top of these building were some fun rides. As it
is the case with fun rides, only the first time is fun. Heard that there's an
amusement park chain named "Six Flags" in US which is very famous. But as the
winter had begun I didn't get a chance to visit. After this we dropped Prakash's
brother at the hotel room and went in search for the thing I had come to Vegas.
It was 3 AM in the night by the time we settled in our beds in the hotel room.
The next morning or rather noon (It was 1 PM by the team we were out of the
hotel) , we set out to quell our hunger. Amazing buffet lunch at an Indian
restaurant. Had been quite some days that I had Indian food. I will take the
taste of this restaurant to my grave. Roamed along the strip for some time.
Couldn't do much for the rest of the day. I did try my luck at the casinos.
Played the roulette and you know won 5$. I am a lucky guy. I had to leave to LA
as my flight was scheduled for 10 PM that night. Sudhir and Vasu dropped me at
the airport. I was just in time. There wasn't enough time so had to take the
baggage along with me into the cabin. So I removed the shaving blades and tongue
cleaner. I would soon realize how much this would cost me.
I landed at 8 PM in the LA airport to catch my flight to Boston which was
scheduled for 10 PM that night. I presented my ticket at the Northwest counter
and to my disappointment I was told that my flight was a US Airways one and
that it was scheduled for 12.30 PM the next afternoon. I checked up the ticket
and found that what she said was true. It was my mistake to not to have checked
up the ticket and blindly go by the itinerary sent by Gowri two days before I
left hyderabad. How I cursed myself for this mistake of mine. Had I been careful
I would have spent that night in Las Vegas with my friends. I had to do something
for the next 14 hours. I decided to go to the waiting place at the international
airport and sleep there. So I went there had dinner, and spent time till 12 AM
by reading the book I had with me. I could no longer stay awake, so tried
sleeping on the chair, but that was not possible. So had to sleep on the carpet
on the floor. Unfortunately the cold wouldn't let me sleep. Somehow managed till
5 AM and I no longer could stay laid down. So washed my face, had coffe and
breakfast and went to my departure terminal and waited there for my flight to
Boston.
Boarded the flight to Boston, a US Airways one, supposed to be the cheapest
domestic airways. Had to even buy earphones and snacks/drinks on board. After
flying for 6 hours with a stopping at Pittsburgh I landed at Boston at around
10 PM. This completed my onward journey. Collected my luggage and took a cab
and landed at the Renaissance Bedford, a luxurious hotel in Bedford. This is
where I was to stay for the next 6 days.
Retunrn Date : 05 Dec 2005
I was supposed to be in our main office in Bedford, Boston for the so called
"Hell Week". This being my first overseas journey by flight I was naturally
very excited. Managed to take one day leave and go early so that I can be there
in US for the Thanks-Giving Day.
23rd Nov 2005 (Wednesday) (IST)
-------------------------------
Started from office at around 3.00 pm. My flight to Mumbai was scheduled for
5.20 PM. The previous night I was in the office itself as I had comitted myself
to complete my task. By the time I left my house in Yousufguda it was 4 PM and I
was worried that I would be late. Brother and his friend dropped me at the
airport and I was in time for check-in. It was a Jet Airways flight and was
decent enough. I landed in Mumbai at 6.30 PM. To my knowledge this was the first
time I was setting my feet in Mmbai. My connecting flight was scheduled for
1.30 AM the next day. I completed my immigration check and then went and rested
in the waiting lounge. The furniture was good in the sense that we could almost
relax to 120 degrees. The only way to kill time was by reading the book on
Sardar Patel that I had with me and that too was dry. Tried to sleep for some
time but couldn't.
24th Nov 2005 (Wednesday) (IST & Various other Timezones)
---------------------------------------------------------
Boarded my flight to Amsterdam at 1.30 AM. It was a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
(famous for its ageing cabin crew, particularly the air-hostesses). Entering the
flight I realized how crammed up the seat for the economy class were. It was
2-5-2 arrangement and almost 9 rows had to satisfy themseleves with one big TV.
I got the middle column. Food was served 3-4 times during the flight. From here
started my tryst with tasteless and alien food. Had to eat only for getting
energy. It was around 9 and 1/2 hours of non-stop flight. One thing very
interesting was that the current position, altitude of the flight w.r.t the
world map was regularly show on the TV. Also the outside temperature, current
local time, current time at destination, speed of the flight and remaining
duration of the journey was also shown. It's quite difficult to sit in the same
seat for such a long time. It was around 6.00 AM in the morning by the time we
landed at the Schipol International Airport, Amsterdam. Itw as still dark and
cloudy there. A tremendously big airport with five terminals A,B,C,D,E and
almost every terminal having upto 50 slots. Its quite easy to get lost in the
airport if not for the direction-boards set up everywhere. I had 5 hours to kill
before I could catch my next flight. Quickly found out my departure terminal,
got myself freshened up and then set out for going around this huge airport.
Went around the airport sometime by walk and sometimes using the walkways (sort
of horizontal escalators). It was time to have breakfast. I had to convert my
dollars into Euros to have breakfast. Found a Mc'Donalds outlet there and had
burger there. It was difficult to walk any further and so went back to my
departure terminal and killed the rest of time there.
Boarded my fligth for Los Angeles at 11.30 AM. A Northwest flight. Came to
know that Northwest had bought KLM, but still they operated as independent
entities. This time it was the famous Boeing 740-400. I was amazed by its sheer
size. Further it had two levels of seating. The upper level was a smaller one
though (maybe some 15 rows). It could carry around 450 passengers and could
reach a speed of 980 kmph. Quite interesting. Was better than the KML in terms
of the seating and also the cabin crew. An Italian guy and an American lady were
my neighbouts this time. Did some chatting with them for some time. Chatting
with the Italians, I realized how bad the Italians were at English. Later in the
trip I had some more experiences supporting this statement and in fact I can
now generalize it to encompass the whole of Europe.
It was around 2 PM by the time I landed at the Los Angeles airport. Collected
my luggage, got through the customs and immigration check and was very happy
that I had completed my air travel and would soon meet Prakash and his brother.
I was totally unaware of the travails that were in the offing. At the airport I
thought I'll relax for sometime before I call up Prakash's brother. For the
first time I used dollars in their original form. Then when I opened up my bag
for the paper which had the contac noo.s of all the people I know in US, I was
surprised and later angry with myself for not able to find it. I had missed it
somewhere while I hurriedly packed my baggage in hyderabad. This mistake of mine
was to cost very dearly. I had no option other than calling my brother in India
and ask for Prakash's contact number. But to do that I had to buy the costly
20$ AT&T calling card. Only a little later did I realize that it would give me
only 6 minuste of talktime to India. I consumed 3 such calling cards and 3 hours
before I could get Prakash's contact number. But when I called him up he wasn't
lifting and I was disgusted. One good thing that I did was that I left a message
telling where I would be waiting. After some time, I thought I would use the
internet to get in contact with someone else in US. So I went to the
international airport. But at the kiosks I could only browse, but I wanted
Yahoo messenger. I saw somebody with a Laptop. I approached him for help but
naturally he declined. Thus dejected, I decided to go back to the Terminal where
I had landed. When U walked back, to my surprise the place seemed very
unfamiliar. Moved back and forth to find "my place", but was clueless. I thought
I was lost, then suddenly realized that I had taken an escalator and had come
to the upper level. So I descended to the lower level and bingo I found
"my place". While I was roaming back and forth, the security personnel grew
suspicious over me and started passing occasional stare at me. I started
pretending that I was normal. Luckily, then came my saviours: Prakash, his
brother and another friend of his. I took a deep sigh of relief as one of my
ordeals had come to an end. I narrated the whole of it to them and they told me
how stupid had I been by not keeping multiple copies of all the documents. I
also realized how much I had to pay ( 60$) for this stupid mistake of mine.
We headed for Prakash's Brother's (Vasu's) house in his car and I realized
the differences between India and US. The concept of freeways was amazing. Cars
were racing at around 80 miles per hour one after another with great discipline.
Temperatures are measured in Fahrenheit. so I had to recall the formula
C/5 = (F - 32)/9 quite frequently.
Stay in LA (Thanksgiving Shopping) (24th-25th Nov 2005)
--------------------------------------------------
I refreshed myself at Vasu's house. As the next day was the Thanksgiving day,
I wanted to purchase some electronic goods as they would be very cheap during
this sale. But little did I expect that there would be so much crows for these
deals. The amount of preparation by the people was totally unexpected. As there
were different stored (You have these chains of shopping stores), people would
meet the previous night and decide as to who would go to which store and buy
what items. this is what Vasu and his friends in US did too. As there would be
a huge demand for these goods, it was decided that we should start early in the
morning (4 AM) then next day and stand in the queue and grab the items that we
need. The next morning I went to one of the stores (SEARS probably). It was very
cold. Luckily I had brought enough clothing from India to protect myself from
the cold. When I went there near the store, to my astonishment the queue was
very long. Inicidentally all these people had come the previous night itself and
hadn been waiting in the beitter cold the whole night. This reminded me of Chiru
fans over here in Andhra Pradesh queuing up before the theatres for watching
their beloved star's movie on the day of the release.
Prakash bough me a Panasonice Lumix digital camera for 200$. Was a good deal.
There were many good deals but we could grab only a few.
Adventures in Sin City
----------------------
After relaxing for sometime we started for Las Vegas in Vasu's car at around
5 PM. Sudhir, Teja & Dhol had already taken a room in Excaliber (one of the
hotels) and were waiting for us. It was 10 PM by the time we reached Vegas. Las
Vegas is located in the deserty state Nevada. After some communication found the
group and went into our toom in Excaliber. The room was supposed to be occupied
by only 2 people but we all managed to take shelte in the same room (we were
six of us in total). So everytime we had to go out or come in we had to go in
pairs so as to avoid the suspicion of the security guards. There were so many
hotels like Excaliber and the ground floor of all these hotels had casinos and
there were so many people testing their luck there.
After relaxing for some time in the hotel room we set out along the strip to
catch some of the shows. (Each hotel had some special show like the Bellagio
musical fountain, cirus-circus etc.)
We went to the tallest building in Vegas. (While in the lift we could feel the
gravity through our ears). On top of these building were some fun rides. As it
is the case with fun rides, only the first time is fun. Heard that there's an
amusement park chain named "Six Flags" in US which is very famous. But as the
winter had begun I didn't get a chance to visit. After this we dropped Prakash's
brother at the hotel room and went in search for the thing I had come to Vegas.
It was 3 AM in the night by the time we settled in our beds in the hotel room.
The next morning or rather noon (It was 1 PM by the team we were out of the
hotel) , we set out to quell our hunger. Amazing buffet lunch at an Indian
restaurant. Had been quite some days that I had Indian food. I will take the
taste of this restaurant to my grave. Roamed along the strip for some time.
Couldn't do much for the rest of the day. I did try my luck at the casinos.
Played the roulette and you know won 5$. I am a lucky guy. I had to leave to LA
as my flight was scheduled for 10 PM that night. Sudhir and Vasu dropped me at
the airport. I was just in time. There wasn't enough time so had to take the
baggage along with me into the cabin. So I removed the shaving blades and tongue
cleaner. I would soon realize how much this would cost me.
I landed at 8 PM in the LA airport to catch my flight to Boston which was
scheduled for 10 PM that night. I presented my ticket at the Northwest counter
and to my disappointment I was told that my flight was a US Airways one and
that it was scheduled for 12.30 PM the next afternoon. I checked up the ticket
and found that what she said was true. It was my mistake to not to have checked
up the ticket and blindly go by the itinerary sent by Gowri two days before I
left hyderabad. How I cursed myself for this mistake of mine. Had I been careful
I would have spent that night in Las Vegas with my friends. I had to do something
for the next 14 hours. I decided to go to the waiting place at the international
airport and sleep there. So I went there had dinner, and spent time till 12 AM
by reading the book I had with me. I could no longer stay awake, so tried
sleeping on the chair, but that was not possible. So had to sleep on the carpet
on the floor. Unfortunately the cold wouldn't let me sleep. Somehow managed till
5 AM and I no longer could stay laid down. So washed my face, had coffe and
breakfast and went to my departure terminal and waited there for my flight to
Boston.
Boarded the flight to Boston, a US Airways one, supposed to be the cheapest
domestic airways. Had to even buy earphones and snacks/drinks on board. After
flying for 6 hours with a stopping at Pittsburgh I landed at Boston at around
10 PM. This completed my onward journey. Collected my luggage and took a cab
and landed at the Renaissance Bedford, a luxurious hotel in Bedford. This is
where I was to stay for the next 6 days.
Kabini Trip
Trekking into the jungles of Nagerhole (Kabini Trip)
Date: 14/05/05 - 15/05/05
This is about my expedition into the jungles of Nagerhole. The journey
itself to this place called Kabini Jungle Resorts was an experience. We hired
a Qualis and an Indica for this. Started at around 7.30 am from hotel Kanishka,
Bangalore. (The previous day we all had descended to Bangalore from Hyderabad
for Kiran's wedding). The older people were sitting in the smaller vehicle
and the rest eight of us were in the bigger one. Our driver Prakash was taking
us at 90-100 kmph and at times beyond that. We were just horrified at this. Uma
was regularly entertaining us with his vast knowledge of Hindi.
After travelling for about an hour we halted at Kamat hotel to have
breakfast. Eased ourself and then continued our journey. Went through Seriranga-
-patnam, passed by Mysore. All along this journey we were on the highway, but
as we went past Mysore the roads deteriorated, reducing our speed. The whole
of Mysore and infact the whole land that we saw was very fertile. This was
summer and we could see lush-green paddy fields on both sides of till the points
our sight could reach.
There weren't any signboards or milestones indicating where this place was
located and this made our journey very difficult. We had to stop at every other
junction and depend on local people to lead us. As our driver was a Kannadighan,
we didn't have to interact with the local people. Once I changed my seat with
Swathy to occupy the seat besides the driver, I put the cassette: 'Gilli' (tamil
movie in which Vijay & Trisha played the lead roles) and played it. I had heard
one of the songs earlier when I had been to Chennai and I liked it very much at
that time. The music was awesome and I enjoyed listening to it all the time.
Along the journey we played Antakshari. Neha's got a sweet and melodious
voice and Swati's was also good. The trio: Neha, Swati and Snigdha had a good
repertoire of songs and they were leading the game. Due to this all the time just
passed by and it was 3.30 in the afternoon, by the time we reached the resort.
The resort was built on the bank of Kabini River (or rather the man-made lake).
There were nets tied to the trees and I had seen things like these only in the
movies. We climbed the nets and danced and jumped like monkeys. I forgot that
I was no longer a child, but that's ok at times it gives you so much pleasure to
go back to childhood even for a few moments.
We were all hungry and so immediately had our lunch, got ourselves freshened
up and were ready for the Safari. We boarded the open top Jeep and embarked on
the journey through the jungles. Afsar was our guide. Initially for half an
hour we couldn't spot any creature other than birds, but soon we were all on our
feet looking at all the wild animals. There were plenty of deers and they were all
in big herds. Soon we spotted jungle fowls, bisons, Sambars, peacocks, wild dogs,
wild pigs and elephants. I missed my camera very much. There were many elephants
grazing the grass on the bank of the lake. Because the lake was man-made, we could
see dead trees amidst water (which had died of sumersion).
It was 8 pm by the time we were back to our tents. Had dinner and then roamed
for some time around the resorts and I could feel the mild breeze flowing. Later
we watched a documentary shot in the Nagerhole forest. Watching it sitting inside
the forest was an experience by itself.
Next day early in the morning at 7 am we started for another safari through
the jungles. The jungles were dense at some places but really not as dense as I
had expected. Perhaps visiting the place sometime during the monsoon would turn
beauty into it's superlative form. This was the first time I got an oppurtunity
to ride an elephant. It was good. Mary & Sundari were the elephants that carried
us on their backs. We got the chance of boating in those small-circular boats.
On this boat we entered the jungles in the water (the dead trees emerging out of
water). Some of use even rowed the boat. I too wanted to. Again I missed my camera.
We then returned to our tents, vacated them and started on our journey home.
Overall it was a beautiful experience in the company of my colleagues and nature.
I was enjoying every moment of it. How I felt I should leave everything and stay
in these jungles with these animals. There was this person called Wakefield, who
supposedly started the resorts and has been staying there all alone (without family)
for 25 years. He had followed his inner calling.
Some images here
Date: 14/05/05 - 15/05/05
This is about my expedition into the jungles of Nagerhole. The journey
itself to this place called Kabini Jungle Resorts was an experience. We hired
a Qualis and an Indica for this. Started at around 7.30 am from hotel Kanishka,
Bangalore. (The previous day we all had descended to Bangalore from Hyderabad
for Kiran's wedding). The older people were sitting in the smaller vehicle
and the rest eight of us were in the bigger one. Our driver Prakash was taking
us at 90-100 kmph and at times beyond that. We were just horrified at this. Uma
was regularly entertaining us with his vast knowledge of Hindi.
After travelling for about an hour we halted at Kamat hotel to have
breakfast. Eased ourself and then continued our journey. Went through Seriranga-
-patnam, passed by Mysore. All along this journey we were on the highway, but
as we went past Mysore the roads deteriorated, reducing our speed. The whole
of Mysore and infact the whole land that we saw was very fertile. This was
summer and we could see lush-green paddy fields on both sides of till the points
our sight could reach.
There weren't any signboards or milestones indicating where this place was
located and this made our journey very difficult. We had to stop at every other
junction and depend on local people to lead us. As our driver was a Kannadighan,
we didn't have to interact with the local people. Once I changed my seat with
Swathy to occupy the seat besides the driver, I put the cassette: 'Gilli' (tamil
movie in which Vijay & Trisha played the lead roles) and played it. I had heard
one of the songs earlier when I had been to Chennai and I liked it very much at
that time. The music was awesome and I enjoyed listening to it all the time.
Along the journey we played Antakshari. Neha's got a sweet and melodious
voice and Swati's was also good. The trio: Neha, Swati and Snigdha had a good
repertoire of songs and they were leading the game. Due to this all the time just
passed by and it was 3.30 in the afternoon, by the time we reached the resort.
The resort was built on the bank of Kabini River (or rather the man-made lake).
There were nets tied to the trees and I had seen things like these only in the
movies. We climbed the nets and danced and jumped like monkeys. I forgot that
I was no longer a child, but that's ok at times it gives you so much pleasure to
go back to childhood even for a few moments.
We were all hungry and so immediately had our lunch, got ourselves freshened
up and were ready for the Safari. We boarded the open top Jeep and embarked on
the journey through the jungles. Afsar was our guide. Initially for half an
hour we couldn't spot any creature other than birds, but soon we were all on our
feet looking at all the wild animals. There were plenty of deers and they were all
in big herds. Soon we spotted jungle fowls, bisons, Sambars, peacocks, wild dogs,
wild pigs and elephants. I missed my camera very much. There were many elephants
grazing the grass on the bank of the lake. Because the lake was man-made, we could
see dead trees amidst water (which had died of sumersion).
It was 8 pm by the time we were back to our tents. Had dinner and then roamed
for some time around the resorts and I could feel the mild breeze flowing. Later
we watched a documentary shot in the Nagerhole forest. Watching it sitting inside
the forest was an experience by itself.
Next day early in the morning at 7 am we started for another safari through
the jungles. The jungles were dense at some places but really not as dense as I
had expected. Perhaps visiting the place sometime during the monsoon would turn
beauty into it's superlative form. This was the first time I got an oppurtunity
to ride an elephant. It was good. Mary & Sundari were the elephants that carried
us on their backs. We got the chance of boating in those small-circular boats.
On this boat we entered the jungles in the water (the dead trees emerging out of
water). Some of use even rowed the boat. I too wanted to. Again I missed my camera.
We then returned to our tents, vacated them and started on our journey home.
Overall it was a beautiful experience in the company of my colleagues and nature.
I was enjoying every moment of it. How I felt I should leave everything and stay
in these jungles with these animals. There was this person called Wakefield, who
supposedly started the resorts and has been staying there all alone (without family)
for 25 years. He had followed his inner calling.
Some images here
What a Family can do
Recently I came across two instances where the to and fro side of having a family was visible from close quarters.
1) In the movie "Cindrella Man", Jim Braddock, the protagonist resurrects like a Phoenix to come back into the boxing ring and win the world heavyweight championship, and the major reason being the need to feed his family. If he hadn't had a family probably he wouldn't have felt the impulse to come back.
2) This is about my school teacher, who was very close to me and had philanthropic thoughts at the time when I was in school. He was the one who had encouraged me during my higher secondary education through monetary support. (I wouldn't call it support, but the action did encourage me). After a long time I met him and I was surprised to see the changes in his perspective. Seems like marriage & family have taken its toll. The moment you have wife and kids you have to look after them and plan for your kids future and so you need money/property for your family. Only if you are blessed with enough money can you take some part of it and spend on the community.
1) In the movie "Cindrella Man", Jim Braddock, the protagonist resurrects like a Phoenix to come back into the boxing ring and win the world heavyweight championship, and the major reason being the need to feed his family. If he hadn't had a family probably he wouldn't have felt the impulse to come back.
2) This is about my school teacher, who was very close to me and had philanthropic thoughts at the time when I was in school. He was the one who had encouraged me during my higher secondary education through monetary support. (I wouldn't call it support, but the action did encourage me). After a long time I met him and I was surprised to see the changes in his perspective. Seems like marriage & family have taken its toll. The moment you have wife and kids you have to look after them and plan for your kids future and so you need money/property for your family. Only if you are blessed with enough money can you take some part of it and spend on the community.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Che Guevara
Che Guevara...Only thing I know about him is that he is a revolutionary of the 60s who had the Latin American masses behind him, trying to spread communism across the entire South America.
Dont even remember his actual name.
Some good books on him would be appreciated.
Dont even remember his actual name.
Some good books on him would be appreciated.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Wonderful Photo Sharing site
In the last week I had send our new office photos to a lot of my friends which I did thru email. This is when I realized the need to share my photos online. Looked at "Hello Picasa" but it wasn't possible to share the photos publicly to everybody. Sometime back one of my friends (I guess it was vakiba) who had introduced Flickr (www.flickr.com) to me. I checked it now and I liked it very much. There are offline Desktop tools using which I can post my photos (haven't checked it though) and it's even possible to upload the photos by e-mail. I like it.
Here is where you can find my photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhiraj
Here is where you can find my photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhiraj
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Travelogue: Ride to Nagarjuna Sagar
Who : Hari, Prasad, Sudhan (Colleague @Progress) and myself
Distance : 320 km in total
Started : 7.30 a.m, 2-July-2005
Back in Hyd : 8.00 p.m same day
Places to visit: Dam, Boating to Nagarjuna Konda and Ettipotala.
Had been very busy with work for the past one month. So really needed some
means of relaxation. Initially Sudhan suggested we go to Belum Caves (Kurnool),
but keeping in mind the distance (~ 320 km each side), declined it and instead
decided to go to Nagarjuna Sagar. Our ever-enthusiastic guys Hari and Prasad too
jumped in. I wasn't expecting much from this trip...but it turned out to be a
worthy ride.
Started at 7.30 a.m from our flat at Somajiguda. Hari piggybacking on Prasad's
bike and myself on Sudhan's. It was cloudy and wind was blowing at good speed.
The climate ideally suits a ride. With little difficulty we were out of the
city. Stopped at one of the irani cafe's to quell our hunger. Couldn't expect
for better eateries along the route. But he served us stale food...probably
remnants of previous night's stuff.
We were going at tremendous speed as the road was good and it being early hours
of the day there weren't many vehicles. 100 kmph was a norm and occasionally
touched 120 kmph. Pulsar seems to be wonderful for long distance journeys. I was
sitting at the back and hadn't put a helmet. The thrust of the wind was enormous
and it was difficult to keep my eyes open. It changed my haistyle completely.
Whenever we were going past a heavy vehicle (coming in the opposite direction),
the bike would gently oscillate because of the force. We stopped every 40-50 km
by a road-side tea-stall for a sip. Close to Sagar, we saw a board saying
"Crocodiles here. It is not safe to swim here"...We looked all around and
could only find rocks but no water :-). By 10.30 we were at the Dam. There was
plenty of water in the valley and it was blackish...but still it wasn't reaching
the crest-gates. I was surprised to find considerably big waves reaching the
banks of the river.
Just at the left bank of the dam there was a fleet of steps running down to the
river bed...constructed during the Krishna puskaraalu time. We went down there,
drenched our feet in the water for some time and took some snaps. People were
bathing there. We too should have taken a bath :-(. Prasad had thought of it
earlier and came prepared for taking bath...but donno why didn't get into water.
We had to catch the launch which would start from the other bank of the dam so..
we rode on the dam and went to the other bank. Took some pics on the dam...and
here our Prasad suggested we take photos in different angles. He had a nice
digital camera.
FYI, the dam is constructed on Krishna river and was built in the late 50s and
supposed to be one of the earlier dams built during Nehru's reign. There's
a statue of Nehru and the plaque besides it showcased the belief of Nehru that
dams are the temples of modern India. The road on the dam was quite a long one.
One bank of the dam lies in Nalgonda and the other in Guntur. There are a total
of 26 canals, 13 each in the two districts. It seems that the crest-gates of
the dam weren't opened since 1999. So those of whom are waiting to visit the
place during the time when the gates will be opened, can drop that idea.
It was 11.30, We rushed to the launch (boat) and boarded it. It took us to an
island called Nagarjuna Konda which is about 1/2 an hour from the Dam. Nagarjuna
Konda is quite a good place, the main attraction being the Museum which hosts
ancient monuments (mainly related to Buddism) from 3rd-4th century A.D. Actually
the site was found in the valley in around 1930s and the initial excavation was
done then. The site would have been submerged because of the dam if they had
not moved it onto the island. There were stupas and other buddist structures on
the island which we couldn't see as we were running short of time. 1 hour to see
the complete island wasn't enough. The boating experience is nice. As an aside,
we were the last set of people to both board and alight the launch. We kept the
other people waiting for us.
By 1.30 p.m we were back at the dam. It had become sunny by then. Had food at
some hotel. The food was great (part of the reason being we were too hungry).
From there we went to the much hyped "Ettipotala Falls", which is around 17 km
from the Dam. We had good expectations on this...but it disappointed. There
wasn't much water. But I guess it's good enough for Andhra Pradesh.
Started on our return journey from there. Didn't have enough enthu and
energy to drive at high speed. Stopped every ~50 km for a tea. By 8.00 p.m we
were back in the city.
Find the pics here:-
1. http://www.medhas.org/gallery/index.php?list=events/NagarjunaSagar
(Courtesy Prasad)
2. Sagar with gates open
Distance : 320 km in total
Started : 7.30 a.m, 2-July-2005
Back in Hyd : 8.00 p.m same day
Places to visit: Dam, Boating to Nagarjuna Konda and Ettipotala.
Had been very busy with work for the past one month. So really needed some
means of relaxation. Initially Sudhan suggested we go to Belum Caves (Kurnool),
but keeping in mind the distance (~ 320 km each side), declined it and instead
decided to go to Nagarjuna Sagar. Our ever-enthusiastic guys Hari and Prasad too
jumped in. I wasn't expecting much from this trip...but it turned out to be a
worthy ride.
Started at 7.30 a.m from our flat at Somajiguda. Hari piggybacking on Prasad's
bike and myself on Sudhan's. It was cloudy and wind was blowing at good speed.
The climate ideally suits a ride. With little difficulty we were out of the
city. Stopped at one of the irani cafe's to quell our hunger. Couldn't expect
for better eateries along the route. But he served us stale food...probably
remnants of previous night's stuff.
We were going at tremendous speed as the road was good and it being early hours
of the day there weren't many vehicles. 100 kmph was a norm and occasionally
touched 120 kmph. Pulsar seems to be wonderful for long distance journeys. I was
sitting at the back and hadn't put a helmet. The thrust of the wind was enormous
and it was difficult to keep my eyes open. It changed my haistyle completely.
Whenever we were going past a heavy vehicle (coming in the opposite direction),
the bike would gently oscillate because of the force. We stopped every 40-50 km
by a road-side tea-stall for a sip. Close to Sagar, we saw a board saying
"Crocodiles here. It is not safe to swim here"...We looked all around and
could only find rocks but no water :-). By 10.30 we were at the Dam. There was
plenty of water in the valley and it was blackish...but still it wasn't reaching
the crest-gates. I was surprised to find considerably big waves reaching the
banks of the river.
Just at the left bank of the dam there was a fleet of steps running down to the
river bed...constructed during the Krishna puskaraalu time. We went down there,
drenched our feet in the water for some time and took some snaps. People were
bathing there. We too should have taken a bath :-(. Prasad had thought of it
earlier and came prepared for taking bath...but donno why didn't get into water.
We had to catch the launch which would start from the other bank of the dam so..
we rode on the dam and went to the other bank. Took some pics on the dam...and
here our Prasad suggested we take photos in different angles. He had a nice
digital camera.
FYI, the dam is constructed on Krishna river and was built in the late 50s and
supposed to be one of the earlier dams built during Nehru's reign. There's
a statue of Nehru and the plaque besides it showcased the belief of Nehru that
dams are the temples of modern India. The road on the dam was quite a long one.
One bank of the dam lies in Nalgonda and the other in Guntur. There are a total
of 26 canals, 13 each in the two districts. It seems that the crest-gates of
the dam weren't opened since 1999. So those of whom are waiting to visit the
place during the time when the gates will be opened, can drop that idea.
It was 11.30, We rushed to the launch (boat) and boarded it. It took us to an
island called Nagarjuna Konda which is about 1/2 an hour from the Dam. Nagarjuna
Konda is quite a good place, the main attraction being the Museum which hosts
ancient monuments (mainly related to Buddism) from 3rd-4th century A.D. Actually
the site was found in the valley in around 1930s and the initial excavation was
done then. The site would have been submerged because of the dam if they had
not moved it onto the island. There were stupas and other buddist structures on
the island which we couldn't see as we were running short of time. 1 hour to see
the complete island wasn't enough. The boating experience is nice. As an aside,
we were the last set of people to both board and alight the launch. We kept the
other people waiting for us.
By 1.30 p.m we were back at the dam. It had become sunny by then. Had food at
some hotel. The food was great (part of the reason being we were too hungry).
From there we went to the much hyped "Ettipotala Falls", which is around 17 km
from the Dam. We had good expectations on this...but it disappointed. There
wasn't much water. But I guess it's good enough for Andhra Pradesh.
Started on our return journey from there. Didn't have enough enthu and
energy to drive at high speed. Stopped every ~50 km for a tea. By 8.00 p.m we
were back in the city.
Find the pics here:-
1. http://www.medhas.org/gallery/index.php?list=events/NagarjunaSagar
(Courtesy Prasad)
2. Sagar with gates open
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Travelogue: Ride to Srisailam
Blogging after a long time. This one is about my recent ride to Srisailam on bike with my colleague Uma Sudhan.
Total Distance Covered : 480 km
Started : 5.45 a.m 01-May-2005
Reached back home : 8.00 p.m 01-May-2005
Bike : Pulsar 180 cc DTS-I
It all started with this colleague of mine buying the bike 2 days back. He
wanted to give away the bike for the first servicing as early as possible. So
four of us were looking out for places around hyderabad ( close to 150 km) worth
visiting. Nagarjuna Sagar was far too off. From some stupid website found that
Srisailam is around 150 km from Hyderabad. Then and there we decided that we'll
go there. But the other 2 guys dropped later.
We started at 5.45 in the morning from our room at Somajiguda. The guy with
whom I went is a Tamilian and he understands but cannot speak Telugu. So I was
sort of guide for him. And this guy had prior experience of going on
a bike to far away places. But for me this was the first time I was to ride for
such a long distance. The maximum I can remember is the ride to Mount Opera. I
guess it was around 60 km from the city. I was very excited with the thought
of it itself.
Had a lot of trouble finding out the way to Srisailam from Chaderghat. I would
have led this guy astray with my assumption that Srisailam and Nagrajuna Sagar
fall on the same route. Soon we were to realize that it is not 150 but rather
210 km from the outskirsts of the city. But we didn't want to turn back. So we
pushed off. Once we were out of the city outskirts it was mostly straight route,
except for a couple of diversions.
The ride through the ghats was pleasant except for the pain in the arse. He
was riding at 65kmph consistently. He couldn't go above that limit as it was a
new bike. Further it was morning so the Sun wasn't hot. Our first major stop
was at some place called Dindi, some 100 km along the route. We had tiffin at
some roadside restaurant and started off again. There read in "Eenadu" that
Aishwarya is going to wed Vivek: :-(. Every 20-30 km we would stop by a
roadside cafe and sip a tea and he would light up his cigar. Took some photos
along the way.
The next half of the journey is the one that gives the spin to this whole
experience. Didn't know that we would have to go through mountains and forests.
It was around 120 km that the forest stretch started. I wouldn't call it
dense though. Literally just you alone, surrounded by trees on both sides, with
some sumo or a car or a bus zooming past you once in a while. Seemed like a never
ending stretch of forest. Billboards with "Project Tiger" or some "Save Wild life"
stuff were quite common. Climbing up the mountain to other the road through the
forest was just amazing. Will not get the same feeling on a bus or a sumo. The
forest I am talking about is the Nallamalai forest. I was looking out eagerly
into the thicket on both my sides to find some wild creature so that I could get
it into my camera. But all we could find were innumerable monkeys all along the
forest.
Though the Sun was staring us, we didn't find it that hot because of the trees.
The forest had dried up completely at some places. Only after we were close to
Srisailam did we realize that we had been through 85 km of road through
the forest. We were soon near the Srisailam West Bank Dam. There we started feeling
the hot breeze. But the sight of the Dam was awesome. Huge one, basically the
height...at least for me. There were two places one after the other here worth
mentioning: Domalapenta and Eegalapenta.
No more patience to stretch this mail. Will cut it short over here. The places
worth visiting at Srisailam are
- Boat Ride. From a place called "paatal ganga" (Paatal ganga is the place
down the mountain on which the temple is) to the Dam Site. Around
15 mins of ride. Was good for me as it was my first experience.
- There's a ropewy by which you can descend from the top of the mountain
to paatal ganga. I would go by it only for namesake. Not at all thrilling.
- Caves. To reach to the caves we need to go on boats for 16 km. This is
supposed to be exciting. We didn't go to these caves as he said it
would take around 4 hours to go and come back.
- There are these small circular boats called "Teppelu" in telugu, which
could be a nice experience. There were plenty of them there. I wish
I had enough time to sit in this. But it can be dangerous.
- Swimming near patal ganga
- The Srisailam west bank Dam. It'll be a beautiful sight when they open
the gates. Sometime in July/August.
- Srisailam temple (Just for the fact that you had come so long and going
without visiting the God will be ominous)
I spoke to one of the policemen over there about spotting wild animals. He told
me that around a year back a Leopard had attacked a girl in one of the villages.
Further he told that Bears descend are spotted too often in the nights.
We thought we would be baked in sun while riding back. We started at around 2.00
p.m from there and luckily for us it turned out to be more exciting than the
onward journey. Thanks to the clouds which shielded us from the hot rays of the Sun.
It was quite cloudy and wind was blowing and there were some intermittent showers.
This environment made the ride through the forest very very..very pleasant. I spotted
a couple of peacocks and while I tried to capture them they ran off. Now I can only
locate a blue-green speck in the photo which is supposed to be a peacock :-). How
I wish I had a camera with zoom.
I conclude here. In all it was a really great experience. You'll not feel that
you had travelled so far (of course, it was he who was driving and I was happily
sitting behind :-)). Hari, you should have told me about this place earlier. For the
guys interested in Geography: Srisailam is in Aatmakuru mandal of Kurnool district.
I think we had to go through Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, MahbubNagar and Kurnool to reach
there.
I have decided to learn swimming, buy a bike and then go on a trip once again.
Probably July/August would be a nice time to visit with the jungles looking very
green (rather than gray). Further we should spend a night there and move around
any other places around there. Dont know if they have any night safari kind of
thing available. If so then it would be wonderful. Guys we should all go there
once..and remember only on bikes ...you'll lose the fun if you go on a car, sumo
or a bus. The only deterrent being if you bike breaks down at some point in the
jungle then you are screwed up.
Total Distance Covered : 480 km
Started : 5.45 a.m 01-May-2005
Reached back home : 8.00 p.m 01-May-2005
Bike : Pulsar 180 cc DTS-I
It all started with this colleague of mine buying the bike 2 days back. He
wanted to give away the bike for the first servicing as early as possible. So
four of us were looking out for places around hyderabad ( close to 150 km) worth
visiting. Nagarjuna Sagar was far too off. From some stupid website found that
Srisailam is around 150 km from Hyderabad. Then and there we decided that we'll
go there. But the other 2 guys dropped later.
We started at 5.45 in the morning from our room at Somajiguda. The guy with
whom I went is a Tamilian and he understands but cannot speak Telugu. So I was
sort of guide for him. And this guy had prior experience of going on
a bike to far away places. But for me this was the first time I was to ride for
such a long distance. The maximum I can remember is the ride to Mount Opera. I
guess it was around 60 km from the city. I was very excited with the thought
of it itself.
Had a lot of trouble finding out the way to Srisailam from Chaderghat. I would
have led this guy astray with my assumption that Srisailam and Nagrajuna Sagar
fall on the same route. Soon we were to realize that it is not 150 but rather
210 km from the outskirsts of the city. But we didn't want to turn back. So we
pushed off. Once we were out of the city outskirts it was mostly straight route,
except for a couple of diversions.
The ride through the ghats was pleasant except for the pain in the arse. He
was riding at 65kmph consistently. He couldn't go above that limit as it was a
new bike. Further it was morning so the Sun wasn't hot. Our first major stop
was at some place called Dindi, some 100 km along the route. We had tiffin at
some roadside restaurant and started off again. There read in "Eenadu" that
Aishwarya is going to wed Vivek: :-(. Every 20-30 km we would stop by a
roadside cafe and sip a tea and he would light up his cigar. Took some photos
along the way.
The next half of the journey is the one that gives the spin to this whole
experience. Didn't know that we would have to go through mountains and forests.
It was around 120 km that the forest stretch started. I wouldn't call it
dense though. Literally just you alone, surrounded by trees on both sides, with
some sumo or a car or a bus zooming past you once in a while. Seemed like a never
ending stretch of forest. Billboards with "Project Tiger" or some "Save Wild life"
stuff were quite common. Climbing up the mountain to other the road through the
forest was just amazing. Will not get the same feeling on a bus or a sumo. The
forest I am talking about is the Nallamalai forest. I was looking out eagerly
into the thicket on both my sides to find some wild creature so that I could get
it into my camera. But all we could find were innumerable monkeys all along the
forest.
Though the Sun was staring us, we didn't find it that hot because of the trees.
The forest had dried up completely at some places. Only after we were close to
Srisailam did we realize that we had been through 85 km of road through
the forest. We were soon near the Srisailam West Bank Dam. There we started feeling
the hot breeze. But the sight of the Dam was awesome. Huge one, basically the
height...at least for me. There were two places one after the other here worth
mentioning: Domalapenta and Eegalapenta.
No more patience to stretch this mail. Will cut it short over here. The places
worth visiting at Srisailam are
- Boat Ride. From a place called "paatal ganga" (Paatal ganga is the place
down the mountain on which the temple is) to the Dam Site. Around
15 mins of ride. Was good for me as it was my first experience.
- There's a ropewy by which you can descend from the top of the mountain
to paatal ganga. I would go by it only for namesake. Not at all thrilling.
- Caves. To reach to the caves we need to go on boats for 16 km. This is
supposed to be exciting. We didn't go to these caves as he said it
would take around 4 hours to go and come back.
- There are these small circular boats called "Teppelu" in telugu, which
could be a nice experience. There were plenty of them there. I wish
I had enough time to sit in this. But it can be dangerous.
- Swimming near patal ganga
- The Srisailam west bank Dam. It'll be a beautiful sight when they open
the gates. Sometime in July/August.
- Srisailam temple (Just for the fact that you had come so long and going
without visiting the God will be ominous)
I spoke to one of the policemen over there about spotting wild animals. He told
me that around a year back a Leopard had attacked a girl in one of the villages.
Further he told that Bears descend are spotted too often in the nights.
We thought we would be baked in sun while riding back. We started at around 2.00
p.m from there and luckily for us it turned out to be more exciting than the
onward journey. Thanks to the clouds which shielded us from the hot rays of the Sun.
It was quite cloudy and wind was blowing and there were some intermittent showers.
This environment made the ride through the forest very very..very pleasant. I spotted
a couple of peacocks and while I tried to capture them they ran off. Now I can only
locate a blue-green speck in the photo which is supposed to be a peacock :-). How
I wish I had a camera with zoom.
I conclude here. In all it was a really great experience. You'll not feel that
you had travelled so far (of course, it was he who was driving and I was happily
sitting behind :-)). Hari, you should have told me about this place earlier. For the
guys interested in Geography: Srisailam is in Aatmakuru mandal of Kurnool district.
I think we had to go through Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, MahbubNagar and Kurnool to reach
there.
I have decided to learn swimming, buy a bike and then go on a trip once again.
Probably July/August would be a nice time to visit with the jungles looking very
green (rather than gray). Further we should spend a night there and move around
any other places around there. Dont know if they have any night safari kind of
thing available. If so then it would be wonderful. Guys we should all go there
once..and remember only on bikes ...you'll lose the fun if you go on a car, sumo
or a bus. The only deterrent being if you bike breaks down at some point in the
jungle then you are screwed up.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Renting as a Bachelor
One Reason why I would wish to lose my bachelorhood
Writing out of anguish...that we (the so called "BACHELORS") had to suffer
to fulfill one of the three basic amenities of life (" roti, kapada aur makan").
There might be very many good reasons why a bachelor would love
to lose that tag...It could be due to the basic instinct, or could be _fill_,
but what I felt the most driving one was the need to find a makAAn. I dont
know how many of our friends would have endured it but... we certainly had
enough of it. Not once but twice....and not too sure...how many times in future
before I settle with a girl besides me. Well the story starts like this:
It all started when we were to be kicked out of our hostels. We thought
we could easily find one..but nay said the God. The hunt for the house started.
Factors being : cost, space, water availability, ventillation, location suitable for
everyone, a good owner who was allow BACHELORS and the last but not the
least...good beauty (i hope u get what I mean) around. (We soon came to realize
that the before last factor was of prime importance). We had to compromise
on many things later just because of that inadvertently attached tag to us .
Luckily after some serious hunting...could locate a few prospective ones.
How come those owners ...who were for sure BACHELORS at least for
sometime in their past could be so wrathful. How can they forget those days
of yore where they were at the receiving end.
I dont know what is the situation there in Mumbai, Chennai, B'lore & Pune. Do
you guys feel the same kind of exploitation. why dont you give some name to this
kinda oppression.
Well I dont know if the people of the opposite sex too find the same problem.
Hope they dont....what say gals?
Writing out of anguish...that we (the so called "BACHELORS") had to suffer
to fulfill one of the three basic amenities of life (" roti, kapada aur makan").
There might be very many good reasons why a bachelor would love
to lose that tag...It could be due to the basic instinct, or could be _fill_,
but what I felt the most driving one was the need to find a makAAn. I dont
know how many of our friends would have endured it but... we certainly had
enough of it. Not once but twice....and not too sure...how many times in future
before I settle with a girl besides me. Well the story starts like this:
It all started when we were to be kicked out of our hostels. We thought
we could easily find one..but nay said the God. The hunt for the house started.
Factors being : cost, space, water availability, ventillation, location suitable for
everyone, a good owner who was allow BACHELORS and the last but not the
least...good beauty (i hope u get what I mean) around. (We soon came to realize
that the before last factor was of prime importance). We had to compromise
on many things later just because of that inadvertently attached tag to us .
Luckily after some serious hunting...could locate a few prospective ones.
How come those owners ...who were for sure BACHELORS at least for
sometime in their past could be so wrathful. How can they forget those days
of yore where they were at the receiving end.
I dont know what is the situation there in Mumbai, Chennai, B'lore & Pune. Do
you guys feel the same kind of exploitation. why dont you give some name to this
kinda oppression.
Well I dont know if the people of the opposite sex too find the same problem.
Hope they dont....what say gals?
Friday, July 23, 2004
The 23rd Day
Important Date
Looks like the 23rd day of every month has got lot of importance in my life. Here
are some events:-
January 23 = Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose born (year 1897)
March 23 = Martyr's day (Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru & Sukhdev, year 1931)
April 23 = Joined Pramati (year 2003)
May 23 = Brother's b'day (year 1980)
June 23 = Sarithakka's b'day (year 1979)
Lemme see this list grow.
Amity
Recently went to Jammu for visiting the "Vaishno Devi" Temple. If at all there's one thing that I wont ever forget about this trip, that would the following event that happened with us.
Shows how kind people can be.
While roaming around the hills of the villages Krimachi & Mansar, (Udhampur district) we
(my brother, cousin and uncle's son) were close to being lost, but luckily found a settlement.
The lady from one of the houses came out and helped us by all means. She even invited us
to have lunch at their home (not even knowing who we were and where we from, humanity
at it's best). Not just this lady, others were as much willing to treat us with utmost hospitality.
This touched me. Can we attribute to the race or region? I dont think we south indian people
aint that open & helpful.
Friday, July 09, 2004
Movie : The Legend of Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh : A Great Leader / Enterpreneur
Will write more abt this later.
Saw the movie "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" made by Rajkumar Santhosi in Muppi's PC at
home. I was so impressed by Bhagat Singh's and his abilities that I was so sorry about
myself that till this age of 22 I wasn't aware of what really Bhagat Singh was. At most
what I knew abt him was that he was a great freedom fighter who was hanged with another
two fighters Rajguru & Sukhdev on 23rd March 1931. And our history books too mentioned
only that point. But after watching the movie realized how significant a role that he
and the organization Hindustan Socialist Republican Association had played in getting
Independence to India.
If you have the notion that all these revolutionaries were pure head-strong guys who
were ready to take up any sort of activity, means to pursue their goal without being
rational then you are wrong. Go better see the movie or read the articles at
http://www.parwhaz.com/shaheed-bhagatsingh/letters.htm
Will write more abt this later.
Useful CVS commands
Have been looking for the cvs command to list the modules available on the
server. Finally got it today.
but need to understand the output a little.
server. Finally got it today.
cvs co -c
cvs co -S
but need to understand the output a little.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Two Victories (Reflections on Kolkata and Adelaide)
Two Victories (Reflections on Kolkata and Adelaide)
- by Harsh Bogle. Published in the January 2004 issue of the
"Wisden Asia Cricket" magazine
I remember the day well. It was the 15th of March 2003, a young man of 28 was
replaying in his mind the most famous win in cricket history and watching the
attention targeted at two others, younger and more flamboyant. Cameras, words,
handshakes, those friends in fame and strangers in anonymity, were clustered
around Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman. One had taken 13 for 196, including
India's first ever hat-trick. The other had scored 340 runs including the
highest score by an Indian in Test cricket. Rahul Dravid had scored a crucial,
but easily overlooked, 180, had been in a partnership of 376, and had batted
through the fourth day of the Test. And had lost his No. 3 position in the Indian
batting line-up.
I see another day. The 16th of December 2003. Ajit Agarkar has shown the world
that he can belong at this level. Anil Kumble has served a reminder that there
is more in his tank. And VVS Laxman has scored another incandescent hundred,
shared in another partnership of over 300 against the best cricket team in the
world. Rahul Dravid is now less than a month short of being 31. This time the
symbols of immediate infatuation are directed towards him. And he has his No. 3
position again.
In many different ways, in different languages, words and accents, the sages
tell you that if you hang in there your time will come. At Adelaide, Dravid
showed there is much truth in these old, worn out sentiments that have seen
the odd millennium and a few centuries go by. Indeed, he might have been a sage
himself, his body merely seeming to be at the most beautiful cricket ground
in the world, his mind at some exalted, higher level of detachment.
He had 'hung in there' for seven years, averaging more than 50 at home and
away; like a solid piece of furniture - you know it is there. There were other
classic objects d'art around him, some delicate, some rather more robust. But
none carved out of the most solid oak, happy to take the weight, and just as
happy being understated. If the world was all plywood, there would be no need
for an oak. If one-day cricket was all that mattered, there would be no need for
the virtues he embodies: resilience, solidity, patience. They count now.
There is orthodoxy in most of what he does; not just in the manner the bat
comes down to meet ball, straight and full, but in the way he has grown in life.
He started early but wasn't a prodigy, and was 23 by the time the selectors
started showing interest in him. He had done the hard yards at first-class level
and he was quite happy to do that in Test cricket as well. When a man grows one
step at a time, every step is a celebration, sometimes when you get too much too
soon you don't understand the value of what you have.
He has a strong memory and he thinks deeply about the game. And with a bit of
help from VVS Laxman he will remind you that lightning can indeed strike twice.
At Kolkata, like at Adelaide, India were demolished on Days One and Two, fought
back on Day Three, turned the tide on Day Four, and snatched a win on Day Five.
In both games, sport had showcased the finest human qualities. That is why you
must have five-day cricket; that is why you must play five-setters in tennis;
that is why you must play golf over four rounds. Both games showed that
momentary disappointment can be replaced by lasting joy; that if you are willing
to ride the rough, the smooth will follow; that sweetness is often the result of
letting the bitter have its moment. Dravid knows that well, so does Laxman. So
too does Steve Waugh, who has played the game having been dealt similar cards.
I wonder, though, if Dravid and Laxman know that there was another bystander
present on both occasions. When I reached the little commentary booth assigned
to the ABC at Eden Gardens, I saw a beautifully carved sandalwood Ganesha amid
all the cables. The well-known Australian commentator, Jim Maxwell, brought one
along hoping it would act as a remover of all his obstacles. There was much
discussion that day on whose obstacles the sandalwood Ganesha was removing.
I had forgotten about it till the Test match at Adelaide, when Jim drew my
attention to the very same Ganesha placed carefully on the table in front of us.
There was more discussion, but I suspect it won't be around for too much longer!
"Wisden Asia Cricket" magazine
I remember the day well. It was the 15th of March 2003, a young man of 28 was
replaying in his mind the most famous win in cricket history and watching the
attention targeted at two others, younger and more flamboyant. Cameras, words,
handshakes, those friends in fame and strangers in anonymity, were clustered
around Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman. One had taken 13 for 196, including
India's first ever hat-trick. The other had scored 340 runs including the
highest score by an Indian in Test cricket. Rahul Dravid had scored a crucial,
but easily overlooked, 180, had been in a partnership of 376, and had batted
through the fourth day of the Test. And had lost his No. 3 position in the Indian
batting line-up.
I see another day. The 16th of December 2003. Ajit Agarkar has shown the world
that he can belong at this level. Anil Kumble has served a reminder that there
is more in his tank. And VVS Laxman has scored another incandescent hundred,
shared in another partnership of over 300 against the best cricket team in the
world. Rahul Dravid is now less than a month short of being 31. This time the
symbols of immediate infatuation are directed towards him. And he has his No. 3
position again.
In many different ways, in different languages, words and accents, the sages
tell you that if you hang in there your time will come. At Adelaide, Dravid
showed there is much truth in these old, worn out sentiments that have seen
the odd millennium and a few centuries go by. Indeed, he might have been a sage
himself, his body merely seeming to be at the most beautiful cricket ground
in the world, his mind at some exalted, higher level of detachment.
He had 'hung in there' for seven years, averaging more than 50 at home and
away; like a solid piece of furniture - you know it is there. There were other
classic objects d'art around him, some delicate, some rather more robust. But
none carved out of the most solid oak, happy to take the weight, and just as
happy being understated. If the world was all plywood, there would be no need
for an oak. If one-day cricket was all that mattered, there would be no need for
the virtues he embodies: resilience, solidity, patience. They count now.
There is orthodoxy in most of what he does; not just in the manner the bat
comes down to meet ball, straight and full, but in the way he has grown in life.
He started early but wasn't a prodigy, and was 23 by the time the selectors
started showing interest in him. He had done the hard yards at first-class level
and he was quite happy to do that in Test cricket as well. When a man grows one
step at a time, every step is a celebration, sometimes when you get too much too
soon you don't understand the value of what you have.
He has a strong memory and he thinks deeply about the game. And with a bit of
help from VVS Laxman he will remind you that lightning can indeed strike twice.
At Kolkata, like at Adelaide, India were demolished on Days One and Two, fought
back on Day Three, turned the tide on Day Four, and snatched a win on Day Five.
In both games, sport had showcased the finest human qualities. That is why you
must have five-day cricket; that is why you must play five-setters in tennis;
that is why you must play golf over four rounds. Both games showed that
momentary disappointment can be replaced by lasting joy; that if you are willing
to ride the rough, the smooth will follow; that sweetness is often the result of
letting the bitter have its moment. Dravid knows that well, so does Laxman. So
too does Steve Waugh, who has played the game having been dealt similar cards.
I wonder, though, if Dravid and Laxman know that there was another bystander
present on both occasions. When I reached the little commentary booth assigned
to the ABC at Eden Gardens, I saw a beautifully carved sandalwood Ganesha amid
all the cables. The well-known Australian commentator, Jim Maxwell, brought one
along hoping it would act as a remover of all his obstacles. There was much
discussion that day on whose obstacles the sandalwood Ganesha was removing.
I had forgotten about it till the Test match at Adelaide, when Jim drew my
attention to the very same Ganesha placed carefully on the table in front of us.
There was more discussion, but I suspect it won't be around for too much longer!
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Technical Education : Interview with Dr. U. R. Rao
Interview with Dr. U. R. Rao on the current state of technical education
http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/feb/11bpo1.htm
http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/feb/11bpo1.htm
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Importance of Punctuations
This ones about the importance of punctuations in a language in it's written
form
- from the book "Eats, shoots and leaves" by Lynne Truss
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it,
then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards
the exit. The panda produces a badly puncutated wildlife
manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough,
finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to
China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
form
- from the book "Eats, shoots and leaves" by Lynne Truss
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it,
then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards
the exit. The panda produces a badly puncutated wildlife
manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough,
finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to
China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
Views on Outsourcing
Positive views on Outsourcing by Chris Anderson (ca@wiredmag.com) Wired's editor in chief.
It's not hard to see how outsourcing to India could lead to the next great era in American enterprise. Today, even innovative firms spend too much money maintaining products: fixing bugs and rolling out nearly identical 2.0 versions. Less than 30 percent of R&D spending at mature software firms goes to true innovation, according to the consulting firm Tech Strategy Partners. Send the maintenance to India and, even after costs, 20 percent of the budget is freed up to come up with the next breakthrough app. The result: more workers focused on real innovation. What comes after services? Creativity.
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