Few last minute changes in plan, i was left alone to travel to Mysore to attend Nandan's marriage. Most of the time, if i am left alone, i will leave the plan alone and continue with my work. This time i wanted to attend the marriage. Was breaking my head over Bike/KSRTC for a while. A crazy idea just needs a gentle push from a more crazier head, and my roomie took care of the job. Thank to Jebasingh, we were on my Unicorn the next day morning with 140KM to cover. The trip did start with few resolutions like will maintain 50KMPH, will not change lanes unnecessarily, will reach home before dark etc etc.
The first resolution to go was 50KMPH barrier, it was lost somewhere inside the city only. The weather was awesome, as it had rained the day before. So the ride was enjoyable in the morning. Reached mysore in around 2 hour 30 minutes. Next few hours was great, as i met most of the DP folks, the people with whom i had worked for around 3 years.
After the marriage, went straight to Chamundi Hills. Bad idea, considering that it was around 2.00PM. Qualified to be called hot and horrible, still there was enough enthu left to click a few snaps. After that proceeded straight to Brindavan gardens. Would have atracted more, if i had seen before visiting gardens around bangalore.
So it was at 7.50PM, we realized the need to go Bangalore. The night journey did spark some fear. Combined to this, it rained in few placed. Ended up searching for the road at few places, when light from the opposite lane, blinded us completely. Whenever a city passed by, we got excited, as though we had discovered electricity. Finally after a tired jouney, reached Bnagalore around 12.30PM.
This happens to be the first long trip in bike. Wonder whether i would be able to do 388KM in a single day later :-) Uploaded a few photos at picasa, those who are interested check it out.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Delhi-Agra-BITS-Shimla Trip
Wanted to post a detailed day by day post about the trip, but as usual it stopped with the thought. Cause is laziness but i think most of you would be thankful for the same :-) Anyway that happens to be the first trip beyond Pune. Three guys with hindi knowledge limited to "Hindi Nahi Maalum" planned for a 9 days trip. It did turn out to be great. Will try hard to keep it short.
Day 1 : At Capital City : April 2, 2011 the day i had the first flight journey of life time. The only thing i liked was the initial acceleration when the flight sped on the highway, other than that it was horrible. Bike is fantastic and even journey in SETC is better compared to the 2 hour journey amidst the clouds. All the hype about Air Hostesses too vanished. They were extremely beautiful. Would not deny the fact, but their well trained actions reminded me about robots. Brain is so tuned, that it produced a curve in the lips when some words were uttered. Few called it a beautiful smile. Landed in Delhi at around 2.30PM, went to Karol Bagh for the hotel. Thanks to the wise decision from Nirmal's relative, for choosing Karol Bagh. It resembled more of a Tamil Area, and we felt at home. Later visited India Gate, and it did look great. Returned back to see the final, and what a moment it was :)
Day 2: Agra Trip : Had booked the trip with Panicker Travels. The trip started at 6.00 AM in the morning. First stop was at Agra fort followed by visit to the world wonder, Taj Mahal. Too crowded to enjoy the beauty, but it did look great. Stopped at Mathura on the way back to see Lord Krishna's birth place.
Day 3, 4, 5: @ Pilani : Anyway thats the reason behind this trip. Prepared for the trip to Pilani, for the viva on tuesday. Thanks to our junior William, he made the trip and stay in Pilani a pleasant one. Roamed around the campus like college students, but the students there gave a weird look :-) Viva is something i like to forget and visit to the campus is someting i would not want to do again, but would take the memories with me for a long time. BITS seems to have given its students a lot of freedom, and walk on the college roads in the night was interesting. Anyway on wednesday we were on our way back to Delhi, and got a chance to test the North indian village transport :) It rocked, literally ;)
Day 6, 7, 8: Trip to Shimla : Day 6, once again booked trip to shimla with Panicker travels and it did start exactly at 6.00 AM. We went via Chandigarh and was impressed with how well it was planned and built. Stopped at a lake, rock garden and rose garden. Nothing of interest for adventure loving bachelor crowd. Reached Himachal later in the evening and cool weather created some interest. Reached Shimla in the night and it was awfully cold. Next day morning, visited Kufri and in the afternoon, went for shopping in the city. Day 8, we started back to Delhi, and visited Pinjore Garden and Kurukshetra on the way. Was happy to get down from Shimla. Reached Delhi in the night.
Day 9: Last day of the trip, roamed around Delhi. Tried Delhi Metro, visited Raj Path, roamed around Jamma Masjid, Red Fort and then around Connaught's place. Flight was in the evening, and after the two and half hours boring trip, we were back,
Through out the trip, feasted well and it is during this time i would have ate a lot of panneer and pizzas. The trip was fantastic over all (i am not takign into considertion the viva though) !!!
Day 1 : At Capital City : April 2, 2011 the day i had the first flight journey of life time. The only thing i liked was the initial acceleration when the flight sped on the highway, other than that it was horrible. Bike is fantastic and even journey in SETC is better compared to the 2 hour journey amidst the clouds. All the hype about Air Hostesses too vanished. They were extremely beautiful. Would not deny the fact, but their well trained actions reminded me about robots. Brain is so tuned, that it produced a curve in the lips when some words were uttered. Few called it a beautiful smile. Landed in Delhi at around 2.30PM, went to Karol Bagh for the hotel. Thanks to the wise decision from Nirmal's relative, for choosing Karol Bagh. It resembled more of a Tamil Area, and we felt at home. Later visited India Gate, and it did look great. Returned back to see the final, and what a moment it was :)
Day 2: Agra Trip : Had booked the trip with Panicker Travels. The trip started at 6.00 AM in the morning. First stop was at Agra fort followed by visit to the world wonder, Taj Mahal. Too crowded to enjoy the beauty, but it did look great. Stopped at Mathura on the way back to see Lord Krishna's birth place.
Day 3, 4, 5: @ Pilani : Anyway thats the reason behind this trip. Prepared for the trip to Pilani, for the viva on tuesday. Thanks to our junior William, he made the trip and stay in Pilani a pleasant one. Roamed around the campus like college students, but the students there gave a weird look :-) Viva is something i like to forget and visit to the campus is someting i would not want to do again, but would take the memories with me for a long time. BITS seems to have given its students a lot of freedom, and walk on the college roads in the night was interesting. Anyway on wednesday we were on our way back to Delhi, and got a chance to test the North indian village transport :) It rocked, literally ;)
Day 6, 7, 8: Trip to Shimla : Day 6, once again booked trip to shimla with Panicker travels and it did start exactly at 6.00 AM. We went via Chandigarh and was impressed with how well it was planned and built. Stopped at a lake, rock garden and rose garden. Nothing of interest for adventure loving bachelor crowd. Reached Himachal later in the evening and cool weather created some interest. Reached Shimla in the night and it was awfully cold. Next day morning, visited Kufri and in the afternoon, went for shopping in the city. Day 8, we started back to Delhi, and visited Pinjore Garden and Kurukshetra on the way. Was happy to get down from Shimla. Reached Delhi in the night.
Day 9: Last day of the trip, roamed around Delhi. Tried Delhi Metro, visited Raj Path, roamed around Jamma Masjid, Red Fort and then around Connaught's place. Flight was in the evening, and after the two and half hours boring trip, we were back,
Through out the trip, feasted well and it is during this time i would have ate a lot of panneer and pizzas. The trip was fantastic over all (i am not takign into considertion the viva though) !!!
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
And it continues
I am back from home, and believe me i didn't touch Non-Veg. Yep i consider it a great achievement, considering the consistency with which i have eaten Non-Veg for around 24 years. So this is what happened in home.
I entered my home on saturday morning, there were a few changes in the menu. Saturdays usually go with Fish, but that day it was Mutton and my mom was busy preparing it. Not a good time to say that you have decided to eat only Veg for a few days :( Still i told. What i got was a piercing look from my mom. To me it looked like "Have you fallen into the pit, my son ?". I just smiled. Her reply was pretty awesome. "You will lose your health, they compliment their diet with ghee, dal etc etc, which you dont do". Whats so awesome or puzzling was she used feminine gender. To say exactly in Tamil, she said "Avalga nei, paruppu nu ethavathu saapiduvaalga, unakku ethukku da intha mudivu". Probably she didn't mean anything so didn't give too much of thought about it.
Later my father joined, and i was asked repeatedly "Whom did you tell ? Why this sudden decision ? How long ?". I liked Dad's perspective when he asked, is there any stomach problem and were you advised by some Doctor ? Soon one of our relative arrived and was equally stunned on hearing this. And she went ahead and asked "Are you in love with brahmin girl ?". Appreciate their belief that i will fall in love that too with a brahmin girl. Anyway that was my response to them too.
Sunday, it was more fun. It was fish, something that i like more than other non-veg dishes. When i didn't eat, it got escalated to my sister and she asked a set of questions over phone :( Too many questions, too many doubts for just a simple decision :( :( :( My friends have gone a level up, and have decided upon a few names too.
Whatever it is, i came back from Madurai, without eating Non-Veg. The first weekend went fine.
Anyway, when a non-veg guys decided to eat veg, only strong reason the world accepts is a gal behind that. Or probably you feel for the animals that die. I dont have a strong reason, i dont feel pity for killing animals too, its just a change, just a test, to see how life goes without Non-Veg, how people respond etc etc. Till now, it has proved to be fun ;) Lets see how long it goes......
I entered my home on saturday morning, there were a few changes in the menu. Saturdays usually go with Fish, but that day it was Mutton and my mom was busy preparing it. Not a good time to say that you have decided to eat only Veg for a few days :( Still i told. What i got was a piercing look from my mom. To me it looked like "Have you fallen into the pit, my son ?". I just smiled. Her reply was pretty awesome. "You will lose your health, they compliment their diet with ghee, dal etc etc, which you dont do". Whats so awesome or puzzling was she used feminine gender. To say exactly in Tamil, she said "Avalga nei, paruppu nu ethavathu saapiduvaalga, unakku ethukku da intha mudivu". Probably she didn't mean anything so didn't give too much of thought about it.
Later my father joined, and i was asked repeatedly "Whom did you tell ? Why this sudden decision ? How long ?". I liked Dad's perspective when he asked, is there any stomach problem and were you advised by some Doctor ? Soon one of our relative arrived and was equally stunned on hearing this. And she went ahead and asked "Are you in love with brahmin girl ?". Appreciate their belief that i will fall in love that too with a brahmin girl. Anyway that was my response to them too.
Sunday, it was more fun. It was fish, something that i like more than other non-veg dishes. When i didn't eat, it got escalated to my sister and she asked a set of questions over phone :( Too many questions, too many doubts for just a simple decision :( :( :( My friends have gone a level up, and have decided upon a few names too.
Whatever it is, i came back from Madurai, without eating Non-Veg. The first weekend went fine.
Anyway, when a non-veg guys decided to eat veg, only strong reason the world accepts is a gal behind that. Or probably you feel for the animals that die. I dont have a strong reason, i dont feel pity for killing animals too, its just a change, just a test, to see how life goes without Non-Veg, how people respond etc etc. Till now, it has proved to be fun ;) Lets see how long it goes......
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Things that don't work with me
Few things which i have attempted many times and failed,
- Sleeping for 8 hours in the night daily.
- Remaining awake in the afternoon at work.
- Avoiding visits to facebook when there is work to do.
- Driving within the speed limits in bike.
- Pretend not to look at beautiful creations on earth when they are walking in front of you.
- Coding from the scratch without looking whether there is already an implementation that can be copied.
- Accepting "vi" as the editor to edit source code.
- Starting early from Office daily.
- Reading a book lying on the bed and not sleeping.
- Trying to remove few thoughts from the mind. I usually endup thinking all day/night about it.
- Recollecting everything that has to be listed down
- Writing a short and sweet blog post ;)
- Sleeping for 8 hours in the night daily.
- Remaining awake in the afternoon at work.
- Avoiding visits to facebook when there is work to do.
- Driving within the speed limits in bike.
- Pretend not to look at beautiful creations on earth when they are walking in front of you.
- Coding from the scratch without looking whether there is already an implementation that can be copied.
- Accepting "vi" as the editor to edit source code.
- Starting early from Office daily.
- Reading a book lying on the bed and not sleeping.
- Trying to remove few thoughts from the mind. I usually endup thinking all day/night about it.
- Recollecting everything that has to be listed down
- Writing a short and sweet blog post ;)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Four years with 6030
It laid there in my bed, silently, with its blue eyes twinkling. It was my four year old Nokia 6030 (think i got the name right). One of the most basic models from Nokia, without any special features. But it was a bit special to me, since it came as a present from my sister, when i was doing my final year.
It was fun then, final semester, with Airtel offering 100 free SMS daily, texting was what i did with that phone back then. Sending SMS inside classrooms when class is going on, reading the funny forward messages forwarded from my friends. Never knew where it originates, but they were absolutely funny. Funny one liners, fantastic stories, innovative mokkais, it was fun. Absolute fun. At times had to face the wrath of my parents for having book in one hand and mobile in another hand, and texting all time. They should have felt weird seeing their son smiling seeing the mobile. Few days it used to go past 100 sms but still continued. Inbox had to be cleared daily along with sent items. I had managed to save a few of them, and it amuses me a lot when i read them now, with a bit of nostalgic feeling. To quote a few
"Life is small, live it ! Troubles are momentary, face it ! Memories are sweet, cherish it ! You are good, I agree it ! I am too good, Accept it"
"You are a rose for all trees, you are a smile for all faces, you are a waterfall for all hills, you are a brother for all beautiful girls" - I got this as one of my senior decided to stress this to his friends in the middle of the night.
"Karpanayei Nesi, Kavithai Pidikum,
kavithayei Nesi, Kaathal pidkum,
kaathalai Nesi, Pennai pidikum,
Pennai Nesi, paithiyam pidikum"
"Loving what you get is compromise, Getting what you love is success, Loving even after knowing that you wont get is pure love".
Few of the above quoted have a huge history associated with them. Probably a few of my friends can realize it. I do have a few more, but cannot be shared ;)
Now that was past, coming back to what is happening at present. Lying in my bed, i was looking at my mobile. I had just one SMS in my inbox, a worthless message that i forgot to delete. So that took be back to all these memories. I do receive a lot of SMS now, but they are all just notifications or advertisements. They just irritate and get deleted as and when they arrive.
I used to talk a lot when i initially started working. I was without laptop or TV. My friends were in the same state. As time progressed, it slowly stopped, with few of my friends not even in the same country. My Nokia 6030 is sleeping silently near me, rarely disturbing me, and at times with its blue eyes twinkling when the screen saver gets activated just reminding me of the past.
I have no intention of replacing that until it decides to commit suicide. Get a feeling it just initiated the process. Just remembered that i haven't changed even the theme from the day i got it. Good that it doesn't have many features, i like to stay away from the virtual Net world at times, to lose myself in thought of my past, the thought of few people close to my heart, gals who have disturbed me so far, crazy buggers i see daily, gods, dogs, cats, bats, rats and if not anything else the universe in general.
It was fun then, final semester, with Airtel offering 100 free SMS daily, texting was what i did with that phone back then. Sending SMS inside classrooms when class is going on, reading the funny forward messages forwarded from my friends. Never knew where it originates, but they were absolutely funny. Funny one liners, fantastic stories, innovative mokkais, it was fun. Absolute fun. At times had to face the wrath of my parents for having book in one hand and mobile in another hand, and texting all time. They should have felt weird seeing their son smiling seeing the mobile. Few days it used to go past 100 sms but still continued. Inbox had to be cleared daily along with sent items. I had managed to save a few of them, and it amuses me a lot when i read them now, with a bit of nostalgic feeling. To quote a few
"Life is small, live it ! Troubles are momentary, face it ! Memories are sweet, cherish it ! You are good, I agree it ! I am too good, Accept it"
"You are a rose for all trees, you are a smile for all faces, you are a waterfall for all hills, you are a brother for all beautiful girls" - I got this as one of my senior decided to stress this to his friends in the middle of the night.
"Karpanayei Nesi, Kavithai Pidikum,
kavithayei Nesi, Kaathal pidkum,
kaathalai Nesi, Pennai pidikum,
Pennai Nesi, paithiyam pidikum"
"Loving what you get is compromise, Getting what you love is success, Loving even after knowing that you wont get is pure love".
Few of the above quoted have a huge history associated with them. Probably a few of my friends can realize it. I do have a few more, but cannot be shared ;)
Now that was past, coming back to what is happening at present. Lying in my bed, i was looking at my mobile. I had just one SMS in my inbox, a worthless message that i forgot to delete. So that took be back to all these memories. I do receive a lot of SMS now, but they are all just notifications or advertisements. They just irritate and get deleted as and when they arrive.
I used to talk a lot when i initially started working. I was without laptop or TV. My friends were in the same state. As time progressed, it slowly stopped, with few of my friends not even in the same country. My Nokia 6030 is sleeping silently near me, rarely disturbing me, and at times with its blue eyes twinkling when the screen saver gets activated just reminding me of the past.
I have no intention of replacing that until it decides to commit suicide. Get a feeling it just initiated the process. Just remembered that i haven't changed even the theme from the day i got it. Good that it doesn't have many features, i like to stay away from the virtual Net world at times, to lose myself in thought of my past, the thought of few people close to my heart, gals who have disturbed me so far, crazy buggers i see daily, gods, dogs, cats, bats, rats and if not anything else the universe in general.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Weekend Hosur trip
I joined the elite club of idiotic bachelors in bangalore, who get terribly bored on weekends and decide to go to Hosur to watch a movie, when it is running in nearby theatre in bangalore. The first trip was on Dec 11, 2010, a saturday, with Jeyahari, Arang and Nagarajan. Could not make it for the movie, but watched Circus, first time in my life time. Few things were interesting but the artists were terribly sad, for some reason. The final Bar was breathtaking.
The next trip happened recently on republic day, Jan 26, 2011. Once again holiday in the middle of the week. So once we embarked on our journey in Unicorn and Activa. Day ended beautifully with Aadukalam in the morning and Sirthai in the afternoon. Aadukalam was good, Siruthai was a mass masala. Thanks to the director's attention, the logic was cleanly wiped from start to end. Anyway, movies were enjoyable and it does sound illogical to search for logic in movies when it is purely for entertainment. Both the movies had something in common, a beautiful & fair looking gal falling in love with heroes, who are at the lowest level in the society. Planned for lunch at Janani Garden, but as usual, family crowd led by the homely TN women chased us away. Can understand Bachelors's crowd in hotels, but off late we do get a very stiff competition from family crowd in large numbers on weekends and holidays. Evening, we spent time in the Chandra Soodeshwarar temple, that was on a very small hillock near the bus stand, with the full view of Hosur in sight.
In both the trips, the desire to eat Bhajji with Coconut chutney in the evening, made us roam around Hosur streets. On the second trip, we managed to find one, but still without chutney. Freshly prepared super diluted Tea in glass tumbler, was refreshing and i do miss them in Bangalore. Though a pure waste of time, energy, money, i do like these one day trips to TN, with TN breakfast, lunch, snacks.
The next trip happened recently on republic day, Jan 26, 2011. Once again holiday in the middle of the week. So once we embarked on our journey in Unicorn and Activa. Day ended beautifully with Aadukalam in the morning and Sirthai in the afternoon. Aadukalam was good, Siruthai was a mass masala. Thanks to the director's attention, the logic was cleanly wiped from start to end. Anyway, movies were enjoyable and it does sound illogical to search for logic in movies when it is purely for entertainment. Both the movies had something in common, a beautiful & fair looking gal falling in love with heroes, who are at the lowest level in the society. Planned for lunch at Janani Garden, but as usual, family crowd led by the homely TN women chased us away. Can understand Bachelors's crowd in hotels, but off late we do get a very stiff competition from family crowd in large numbers on weekends and holidays. Evening, we spent time in the Chandra Soodeshwarar temple, that was on a very small hillock near the bus stand, with the full view of Hosur in sight.
In both the trips, the desire to eat Bhajji with Coconut chutney in the evening, made us roam around Hosur streets. On the second trip, we managed to find one, but still without chutney. Freshly prepared super diluted Tea in glass tumbler, was refreshing and i do miss them in Bangalore. Though a pure waste of time, energy, money, i do like these one day trips to TN, with TN breakfast, lunch, snacks.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A look back at 2010
This happened sometime in final semester in College. I was arguing with my friend about blogging. My take was that i would blog often after i enter the corporate world too. He was firm on the point that i would get bored and wont do it frequently. What he said is turning out to be right :-)
At the end of 2010, i had a feeling that nothing had happened in the entire year, but when i slowly look back, a lot has actually happened.... (Apdi ennada aachu, ethavathu set aayiduchaa nu kaetkatheenga).
January went fast, remember attending Prabhu anna's marriage and Sriram's anna marriage at Chennai.
Feb, the valentine month, only interesting thing was my mid semester exams. March, i cannot recollect anything. April was interesting with a trip to Yercaud and IPL match. Also attended Pramod Anna marriage at Chennai and non-veg food was amazing. May was important to me, as we upgraded from two wheeler to four wheeler, as we purchased a car for our family. Thought it would be easy to drive in Madurai but i was soon proved wrong as it turned out be a lot lot difficult. This would need a separate post so will skip it for now. It was in May i quit from my first company and ventured out. It was a very tough decision, made tougher because of the huge set of friends i had there. Thank god, i was a little selfish, so finally decided to move out.
Went to Bheemeshwari trip during september. Also purchased Bike here to commute to office. Slowly gained experience and confidence and by the end of the year, i was flying at high speeds ignoring the risks. Also attended FStival and visited college for that. October was important as it marked the marriage of a guy from our set. Vanni got married on Oct 24. Nov, once again visited college and had night lab after a long long time. It was fun. Also went to Mekedattu during November. During december for the first time went to Hosur, just to roam around and spend a day of weekend. And then visited Nandi hills for the first time in three years.
Also, 2010 was the year, where i ended up seeing a lot of movies. Probably a lot more than the total number of movies i might have seen in theatre from my childhood. 2010 was wonderful, few significant things had happened.
Lets see what 2011 has in store for me. Few things might changes, few things i know for sure won't. Let me wait and watch as it unfolds.
At the end of 2010, i had a feeling that nothing had happened in the entire year, but when i slowly look back, a lot has actually happened.... (Apdi ennada aachu, ethavathu set aayiduchaa nu kaetkatheenga).
January went fast, remember attending Prabhu anna's marriage and Sriram's anna marriage at Chennai.
Feb, the valentine month, only interesting thing was my mid semester exams. March, i cannot recollect anything. April was interesting with a trip to Yercaud and IPL match. Also attended Pramod Anna marriage at Chennai and non-veg food was amazing. May was important to me, as we upgraded from two wheeler to four wheeler, as we purchased a car for our family. Thought it would be easy to drive in Madurai but i was soon proved wrong as it turned out be a lot lot difficult. This would need a separate post so will skip it for now. It was in May i quit from my first company and ventured out. It was a very tough decision, made tougher because of the huge set of friends i had there. Thank god, i was a little selfish, so finally decided to move out.
Went to Bheemeshwari trip during september. Also purchased Bike here to commute to office. Slowly gained experience and confidence and by the end of the year, i was flying at high speeds ignoring the risks. Also attended FStival and visited college for that. October was important as it marked the marriage of a guy from our set. Vanni got married on Oct 24. Nov, once again visited college and had night lab after a long long time. It was fun. Also went to Mekedattu during November. During december for the first time went to Hosur, just to roam around and spend a day of weekend. And then visited Nandi hills for the first time in three years.
Also, 2010 was the year, where i ended up seeing a lot of movies. Probably a lot more than the total number of movies i might have seen in theatre from my childhood. 2010 was wonderful, few significant things had happened.
Lets see what 2011 has in store for me. Few things might changes, few things i know for sure won't. Let me wait and watch as it unfolds.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Weekend Trip - Mekedatu
I didn't go home past weekend. Not a big deal, but few of my friends get surprised by that. The idea of spending the weekend sitting at home started disturbing me and thought about going somewhere. Checked with Arangs, Jeyahari and Nagarajan, and Mekedatu was decided. Though i had second thoughts, thanks to the enthusiasm of the others, finally the trip was on.
Everything in the trip was an experience. We went in Tata Nano. We were not sure how it would work, moreover being newbies self driving was a challenge, and there was a small ghat section before reaching Mekedatu and we tested Tata Nano for the first time in that, travelled 4KM sitting on top of the bus, took bath in river after a long time.
The route to Mekedatu from Bangalore is through Kanakapura. From Bangalore take the kanakapura road, after reaching Kanakapura there is a small left turn that takes you to Sangama. Get the help of locals to get the Sangama road. We had thoughts of filling petrol after Kanakapura, but later learnt that there are not Petrol bunks after kanakapura, so drove back to kanakapura filled the tank and progressed again.
The drive was pleasant, there was not much traffic in Kanakapura road and the Kanakapura-Sangama road is good after one or two KMS with very less traffic. Tata Nano got too many looks after reaching Kanakapura, i dont know what they meant though.
Reached Sangama around 12.30PM. Sangama is the place where river Akravathi joins Kaveri. We then crossed the river in coracle to take the bus to Mekedatu. That was a special bus, wait for the photos to see how special it is. They charge 40 for the bus and 40 for the coracle trip, and they gave a discount of around 80 Rupees, after some calculation/discounts it came to 240 for 4 people. The coracle drive was ok.
The most thrilling part was the bus journey. The bus top was reserved for guys like us and we seized the opportunity. The route was so bad, and the bus was worse enough for the route. So the journey was wonderful. From Sangama to Mekedatu it takes 15-20 minutes for 4KM through the rough roads. Reached Mekedatu, where river Kaveri flows through narrow gorge, show its wrath on the rocks there by making the rocks, smooth and slippery. You can sit and watch how Kaveri flows furiously through the gorge or the rocks, if you don't have your girlfriend near you. We sat and watched the rocks for a while.
Started back to Sangama and took bath in the river for one full hour. It was wonderful, there was current but holding to the rocks it becomes enjoyable. The next one hour, was spent in the river, enjoying the river and also the comedies of the drunkards around. Finally after a enjoyable bath in Kaveri, started the journey back to home. On the way back drove through Nice road, which was nice.
Mekedatu, is a good place to visit for a day during or after monsoon season. No scenic places except for the narrow gorge, but the drive to Mekedatu, bus ride sitting on the top, the bath in river made it interesting. Anyway, drunkards are leaving behind their broken kingfisher's and signatures and families are adding enough plastic plates, packets and litter to spoil the place.
Yet to get the photos, but you will find them in a day or two at http://picasaweb.google.com/sens2003.
Everything in the trip was an experience. We went in Tata Nano. We were not sure how it would work, moreover being newbies self driving was a challenge, and there was a small ghat section before reaching Mekedatu and we tested Tata Nano for the first time in that, travelled 4KM sitting on top of the bus, took bath in river after a long time.
The route to Mekedatu from Bangalore is through Kanakapura. From Bangalore take the kanakapura road, after reaching Kanakapura there is a small left turn that takes you to Sangama. Get the help of locals to get the Sangama road. We had thoughts of filling petrol after Kanakapura, but later learnt that there are not Petrol bunks after kanakapura, so drove back to kanakapura filled the tank and progressed again.
The drive was pleasant, there was not much traffic in Kanakapura road and the Kanakapura-Sangama road is good after one or two KMS with very less traffic. Tata Nano got too many looks after reaching Kanakapura, i dont know what they meant though.
Reached Sangama around 12.30PM. Sangama is the place where river Akravathi joins Kaveri. We then crossed the river in coracle to take the bus to Mekedatu. That was a special bus, wait for the photos to see how special it is. They charge 40 for the bus and 40 for the coracle trip, and they gave a discount of around 80 Rupees, after some calculation/discounts it came to 240 for 4 people. The coracle drive was ok.
The most thrilling part was the bus journey. The bus top was reserved for guys like us and we seized the opportunity. The route was so bad, and the bus was worse enough for the route. So the journey was wonderful. From Sangama to Mekedatu it takes 15-20 minutes for 4KM through the rough roads. Reached Mekedatu, where river Kaveri flows through narrow gorge, show its wrath on the rocks there by making the rocks, smooth and slippery. You can sit and watch how Kaveri flows furiously through the gorge or the rocks, if you don't have your girlfriend near you. We sat and watched the rocks for a while.
Started back to Sangama and took bath in the river for one full hour. It was wonderful, there was current but holding to the rocks it becomes enjoyable. The next one hour, was spent in the river, enjoying the river and also the comedies of the drunkards around. Finally after a enjoyable bath in Kaveri, started the journey back to home. On the way back drove through Nice road, which was nice.
Mekedatu, is a good place to visit for a day during or after monsoon season. No scenic places except for the narrow gorge, but the drive to Mekedatu, bus ride sitting on the top, the bath in river made it interesting. Anyway, drunkards are leaving behind their broken kingfisher's and signatures and families are adding enough plastic plates, packets and litter to spoil the place.
Yet to get the photos, but you will find them in a day or two at http://picasaweb.google.com/sens2003.
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Vacation Well Spent
It was a near shutdown, thanks to the diwali, rajyotsava day, company leave policy and the kind Manager. 9 days to be spent @ home town, diwali, sweets, sister's visit, it was exciting to even think about. It also gave an opportunity to visit College and upgrade the servers. More than that to meet my Senior and Junior friends.
Day 1 (rather Night 1): Reached home on Saturday, finished off few work (including eating fish curry) managed to reach College by around 4 PM. It was Thevar Jeyanthi that day and journey through Madurai roads was thrilling. The followers of the leader we indulging in all sort of activiites, exactly opposite to what the leader might have wanted them to do. Joe, Balamurugan, LGP, GRK, Varadharajan and Gautam were already working. Met all the staffs from Unix Lab. It took a little time to recollect what we had done during our college days and what has happened after we left. Started with upgrading the TCENet server. It soon extended into Night and after a long long time, it was going to be a night lab in College. Had dinner at Aarthi, and i could see Aarthi has put up a brave struggle against change, with the only change being the cost of items. Worked till 5.00 AM, went home and crashed into bed.
Day 2: Woke up late, had lunch and started to college in Car. First time tried driving alone in Madurai City, where the only traffic rule applicable is to forget all the traffic rules. And it rained heavily once i started, visibility was reduced to less than 10 metres. Still i progressed, tried hitting two gals in TVSScooty. Their good luck they escaped. Rain stopped and i reached college without any further adventures. Was a bit delayed due to issues with AC. Yep the server room still has few issues with AC and UPS :) Started working upgrading the server and trying to configure Samba. Dinner was parotta, kothu parotta and dosai from TPK. Had a chat with Gautam, an enthusiastict second year guy.In the middle of the night, Samba configuration got over but it was not working as expected :( :( Windows machine were not able to login. Problem persisted through out the Night.
Day 3: Could not go home, had a quick rest for a hour in guest house and started the day exploring Samba. First it seemed to suggest issues with versions. Tried changing the configuration, didn't work. BitBala, LGP tried from their end, issue was not resolved. It was sometime in the evening, still the issue persisted. Anyway whatever it is, we have the solution with us. Yes, at last Joe pitched in after completing his work. Few minutes issue was resolved. Problem was with NSCD. Stopped "NSCD" everything worked fine. Bala, LGP, Varatharajan had completed work from their end. So putting an end to all that, started the thrilling night ride to home along with the friends.
Day 3 being Monday, gave opportunity to meet other staffs. Met the staff who had handled System Software, Compiler design etc. Surprised that she still remembered me, my name and friends name too. Was eager to see the staff who handled C/S technologis and was extremely happy that i could meet her, though she could remember the face, she has forgotten the name. I was quite amazed that even after three years, how staffs remember us. Had a quick chat with OOAD Mam, and could only wish Softwre Engg Mam. Anyway the staff who had talked to me during FStival, as though he recognized me, failed to recognize this time after two weeks as expected :) I would consider this as the default behavior but the other staffs were amazing. Also, TCS had visited the campus that day, once again made me nostalgic and took me back by three years.
Anyway All ended well in college, reached home and crashed in bed for a looong sleep.
Rest of Vacation: Next two days were successfully destructed by "Diablo: Lord of Destruction". Then Sister arrived with her family. Diwali followed, and since my little neice was around, it was interesting. Decided to celebrate the Diwali without seeing Actor/Actress interviews and succeeded. Soon it was time to leave, and reached here traveling for the first time in car from Madurai to Bangalore, since i had joined my Brother who was coming car. And it was more thriling with people violating the rules in highway as they wish.
Nine days vacation vanished, and now i am back to my working place. I was happy with the way the vacation went, since i managed to few things apart from staying in front of the computer and TV.
Day 1 (rather Night 1): Reached home on Saturday, finished off few work (including eating fish curry) managed to reach College by around 4 PM. It was Thevar Jeyanthi that day and journey through Madurai roads was thrilling. The followers of the leader we indulging in all sort of activiites, exactly opposite to what the leader might have wanted them to do. Joe, Balamurugan, LGP, GRK, Varadharajan and Gautam were already working. Met all the staffs from Unix Lab. It took a little time to recollect what we had done during our college days and what has happened after we left. Started with upgrading the TCENet server. It soon extended into Night and after a long long time, it was going to be a night lab in College. Had dinner at Aarthi, and i could see Aarthi has put up a brave struggle against change, with the only change being the cost of items. Worked till 5.00 AM, went home and crashed into bed.
Day 2: Woke up late, had lunch and started to college in Car. First time tried driving alone in Madurai City, where the only traffic rule applicable is to forget all the traffic rules. And it rained heavily once i started, visibility was reduced to less than 10 metres. Still i progressed, tried hitting two gals in TVSScooty. Their good luck they escaped. Rain stopped and i reached college without any further adventures. Was a bit delayed due to issues with AC. Yep the server room still has few issues with AC and UPS :) Started working upgrading the server and trying to configure Samba. Dinner was parotta, kothu parotta and dosai from TPK. Had a chat with Gautam, an enthusiastict second year guy.In the middle of the night, Samba configuration got over but it was not working as expected :( :( Windows machine were not able to login. Problem persisted through out the Night.
Day 3: Could not go home, had a quick rest for a hour in guest house and started the day exploring Samba. First it seemed to suggest issues with versions. Tried changing the configuration, didn't work. BitBala, LGP tried from their end, issue was not resolved. It was sometime in the evening, still the issue persisted. Anyway whatever it is, we have the solution with us. Yes, at last Joe pitched in after completing his work. Few minutes issue was resolved. Problem was with NSCD. Stopped "NSCD" everything worked fine. Bala, LGP, Varatharajan had completed work from their end. So putting an end to all that, started the thrilling night ride to home along with the friends.
Day 3 being Monday, gave opportunity to meet other staffs. Met the staff who had handled System Software, Compiler design etc. Surprised that she still remembered me, my name and friends name too. Was eager to see the staff who handled C/S technologis and was extremely happy that i could meet her, though she could remember the face, she has forgotten the name. I was quite amazed that even after three years, how staffs remember us. Had a quick chat with OOAD Mam, and could only wish Softwre Engg Mam. Anyway the staff who had talked to me during FStival, as though he recognized me, failed to recognize this time after two weeks as expected :) I would consider this as the default behavior but the other staffs were amazing. Also, TCS had visited the campus that day, once again made me nostalgic and took me back by three years.
Anyway All ended well in college, reached home and crashed in bed for a looong sleep.
Rest of Vacation: Next two days were successfully destructed by "Diablo: Lord of Destruction". Then Sister arrived with her family. Diwali followed, and since my little neice was around, it was interesting. Decided to celebrate the Diwali without seeing Actor/Actress interviews and succeeded. Soon it was time to leave, and reached here traveling for the first time in car from Madurai to Bangalore, since i had joined my Brother who was coming car. And it was more thriling with people violating the rules in highway as they wish.
Nine days vacation vanished, and now i am back to my working place. I was happy with the way the vacation went, since i managed to few things apart from staying in front of the computer and TV.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
What happened ????
Thats the question i had been asking myself nowadays. Nowadays, i am running out of time. I have not updated the blog for around a month. What am i doing ? I am not working 24x7. With the experience i gained in three years, i have mastered the art of sleeping over the problem. Managers seem to be satisfied, if i quote the problem to be with some variable in a unknown struct. I am not running behind any gal too. Stopped it even before starting since i know it will be an exhaustive run without a result. I have quit the habit of reading books sometime ago. I am not reading any English or Tamil books. Technical books are my sleeping dozes. If you are wondering, why the blog is not updated, believe even i don't know the reason. Could be bcoz of twitter, where i vent out my feelings now and then. Or could be because of facebook, where it shows a cute gal photo in News feed, which my friend of friend of friend of friend liked. Thanks to the "cute" gals who haven't set who are yet to discover the privacy settings of facebook. With a bit of satisfaction for finding few reasons for not updating my blog, let me quickly recap what i had been doing for the past one month.
* Attended PyCon 2010, met few of my Junior friends. Liked a few talks, slpet in a lot of talks. Most of the talks were not very interesting.
* Completed two exams in my MS course. Have two more exams to be completed to put an end to the theory papers.
* Attended my friend's Vanniaperumal marriage at Sattur. Drove from Madurai to Sattur and went beyond 100 KMPH and reached 120 for the first time. Enjoyed the marriage functions and met a few guys there.
* As usual watching a lot of movies, and for sure this year will be the year during which i have seen the maximum number of movies.
I could have summed it up as "Nothing significant" which would have obviated the need for this post :-) :-) :-)
* Attended PyCon 2010, met few of my Junior friends. Liked a few talks, slpet in a lot of talks. Most of the talks were not very interesting.
* Completed two exams in my MS course. Have two more exams to be completed to put an end to the theory papers.
* Attended my friend's Vanniaperumal marriage at Sattur. Drove from Madurai to Sattur and went beyond 100 KMPH and reached 120 for the first time. Enjoyed the marriage functions and met a few guys there.
* As usual watching a lot of movies, and for sure this year will be the year during which i have seen the maximum number of movies.
I could have summed it up as "Nothing significant" which would have obviated the need for this post :-) :-) :-)
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