Ońkār

Visa Interview

2010-06-16T23:46:00.002+05:30

I recently had my visa interview on June 14th, at around 9:30 AM. This is how it went.

I had a transcript with me in the form of a sealed envelope. I was asked to go out of the consulate, open it and then return. I was then cleared by security to proceed for the processing.

An officer at a counter asked me to give the appointment letter,sevis receipt, ceac page, passport, hdfc receipt, gre report, toefl report and degree certificate. These items were placed in a separate bag provided by the consulate.

I was asked to go to another building where I stood in another queue to hand over the DD of 9$.

There was a long wait after this.

By the time I got my chance for the interview it was 9:30AM. The time as per the appointment letter was 8:45 AM.

The VO was a guy. He asked me to hand over that consulate bag having the basic docs mentioned above.

VO: What course will you be studying at CMU
Me: MS Information Networking
VO: What kind of a course is it ? ( Note that this is what I heard )
Me : I explained
VO: ( The VO is pissed off at this point ) I didnt ask you to tell me what kind of course it is, I asked you tell me what kind of courses you would be studying there.
Me: ( I'm kinda tense since the VO aka GOD is pissed . ) I told him that I would be studying Operating Systems, Distributed Systems , I would be taking a minor course in managerial economics, and database management. ( This is all I could think of that time, I least expected the VO to ask me to list down the curriculum! )
VO : ( The VO is still pissed, a little more than before) You told me that this course is a specialization in networks, and here you are telling me you have a finance related course. Is that something to do with networks too ( kind of a sarcastic tone over here)?
Me: ( A little more tense than before) OK . Some of the other networking related courses are Embedded Systems, Sensor networks, OS, DS, Telecommunication Networks.
At this point the VO was satisfied.
VO: What background do you have that makes you get into a specialization in networks?
Me: I explained to him that Ive been working for Cisco for the past 2 years.
VO: Can you explain the kind of work you do there
Me: I explained . Thinking at the back of my mind as to what the f*** would this bugger understand anyway.

30 seconds pause after this question. A Visa interview usually gets over in that period. And here I was, having a 30 sec pause, killing me second by second.

VO: Who will be sponsoring you?
Me: told
VO: How will he be supporting you?
Me: told.
VO: OK. Your visa has been approved. You will receive the passport in a weeks time.

This is not how an interview would usually be. Most of the other students going abroad for higher studies have reported much rosier stories. I am happy that after all this crap , my visa has been approved :).

5 states again??? - The Wayanad Trip

2010-06-09T12:22:00.016+05:30

We were hell bent on making this trip happen. After all this was probably the last trip before leaving for the US. The backhodi gang was gonna split. The first member, Prof Natarajan, left way back in 2009. Bakchodiness had started dwindling in the absence of the great Sri Sri Sri Natarajan. Nevertheless we managed to keep our spirits high and within no time , bakchodi was back to normal. But I must say that I am disappointed with Abhiram for ditching us whenever we planned a trip ( Nandi Hills being the only exception. Anyway your car was more important :D ) .

So Wayanad happened. Sridhar( TN) , Vivek and Rahul ( Bihadi babus ) , Sunil Unn Unn Kumar ( Gulti) , Sreejith( Our Mallu Driver) and I ( Mannina Maga) . Proof that Bakchodi happens irrespective of cast, creed, color, sex ( A line that I thoroughly mugged while studying history&civics in high school! )

We headed out on Saturday ( June 5th) at 6:30AM. Reached Dream House Resorts at Muttenga by lunch time . The place seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Sridhar received a lot of BCs and MCs . He was in charge of booking. But once we entered our rooms, we were a happier lot. But more BCs and MCs poured in when we realized that the every dish served for lunch was drowning in coconut oil.

We covered Pootkot Lake and View Point at Lakkidi on the first day. Yawn! Boring places. Day 1 was a disappointment. But have no fear, Magic Moments Vodka is here. Guitars + Vodka + Some drizzling + Bakchods resulted in some GOOD shit!

We went to Edakkal Caves and Meenmutty Falls ( Keeps reminding me of the lungi clad Mellu actor Mammutty :P ) . There was some climbing to do to reach the Edakkal Caves( Edakkal Rock Shelter to be more precise, a guide there corrects every visitor entering the place ) . The climb was no big deal at all. There are some ancient inscriptions on the walls as can be seen in the pic to the left. If you look closely you should be able to find the the figure of a the tribal leader with a fundoo headgear carved on the wall.

Reaching the falls was quite a task. We had to climb down a hill to reach the foot of the falls. The climb back up was even worse. There were ropes tied at strategic points to help us climb . Without these ropes we would have been R.I.P. But All the efforts were worth jumping into the water and standing right beneath the falls. Do not worry. I shall not torture thou by pasting andi clad pics of the bakchod gang....your welcome.

Rahul was the only one amongst us who had not been to the Brindavan Gardens. So we decided to go there on the way back to Bangalore. We reached just in time for the musical fountain. This was my fourth time at this place. All of us found it boring :P. I reached home by 12 midnight. This was a good weekend getaway. Hoping that we guys reunite again sometime and head out for another one.......soon!

Do listen to a video we recorded at our room during this trip. Purani Jeans :).

5 States

2010-03-21T15:00:00.018+05:30

And so the epic trip finally happened. This was going to be big. Sadly this time the group was much smaller. Although we were only 4 of us ( Sunil , Arvind, Sridhar and I ) , it was time for some heavy duty bakchodi.

This was our route :

Bangalore -> Hyderabad-> Delhi -> Manali -> Pathankot -> Amritsar -> Bikaner -> Jaipur -> Delhi-> Agra-> Delhi-> Bangalore ....phewww!

And the 5 states "state machine" is Andra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh

If I intend to complete this blog , its going to take too long! Hence I am just going to list out the things we did at each place and throw in a few pics here and there. I think that should be enough to burn you folks :D.

Manali:

- Skiing
-Para Gliding ( This was freakkin awesome! You can watch it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN5k3Z2oaMk )
-Rafting

Amritsar:
-Jallianwalah Bagh
-Golden Temple
- Wagah Border( this was awesome!)

Bikaner:
-Desert Safari
- Camping overnight in the desert

Jaipur:
-Amer fort
-Jal Mahal
-Albert Hall Museum
-A drive through pink city( they are fined heavily if they use any other color on the buildings there!)

Agra:

-Taj Mahal

Delhi:

-Riding on the metro
-Red fort
-Jama Masjid
-Chandni Chowk ( Chaosss)
-Lotus Temple
-Kutub Minar

A legendary 10 day trip. Unforgettable. \m/

@INFINITY 2009

2009-12-20T16:14:00.003+05:30

When I found out that INFINITY 2009 was happening again, a sense of pride ran through me. The juniors were about to carry forward a legacy. It was like the baton of a relay created by my seniors, grabbed by my batch and then handed onto the juniors after us. I was taken back to the days of INFINITY 2007, when my batch had organized the fest. Some of the best days of our lives alright!

This year I had the honor of being invited as the judge for the MOCK PLACEMENT event. My friend and fellow RVian , Sandeep had also been invited as a judge. So Sandeep and I left for RV all set for a new experience of having to judge rather than being judged during the numerous fests that we attended during our college days.

Bumping into old friends, juniors and lecturers was fun. But the funny part was the way my junior Suhas treated us like as if we were his managers. We were given bouquets and given a tour of the department! Duh!! After a lot of convincing he agreed to stop doing that!! Thank you Suhas!!

Suhas was the student coordinator for the event we were going to judge. The second round involved group discussions among the shortlisted candidates. 24 candidates were divided into 3 groups. The topics we gave them included “Don’t kiss and tell” , “Is Parole justified for criminals who have been awarded a life sentence”( It was the time when the Jessica Lal case was hot in the media ) and one more topic which I don’t remember.

The GD pertaining to the first topic involved some hilarious interpretations by some of the candidates. One of them given by a guy was something like this : “You must first talk to the girl, get to know her, talk to her about your feelings for her and then kiss her!” .

10 candidates were shortlisted. I was quite surprised to know that there was not a single 4th year student shortlisted. Either the juniors are much smarter than their seniors, or the seniors were too bored to attend fests. There was a first year student shortlisted too!!

Some more judges joined us for interviewing the students. Rama and Ranjitha from the 2009 batch joined Sandeep and I respectively in our interview panels. It was fun barging questions, both tech and non-tech, at the candidates. It was even more entertaining to listen to some of the answers.

When they were asked about where would they see themselves five years hence, some of them replied saying they would be doing their PhD, or would have completed their MBA and working in some XYZ company. This answer was like music to my ears . As an interviewer it was a green signal for me to reject the candidate immediately. When I started questioning their faithfulness towards my company, it dawned upon them that they had made a blunder. Some of them smiled, while some of them started giving some lame excuses.

We finally declared the winners and provided some important feedback to the remaining candidates.

Although it was a situation where the tables had turned, and I was sitting as the interviewer, its quite ironical for me that in 2 years time, I might switch places and anxiously wait outside a room to be interviewed by a panel for some company in the US after completing my MS(if I do get an admit that is!!! ). It was quite a pleasant experience overall. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Karma will play its role, and help me out when the times comes when I switch back to being an interviewee.

Congratulations to the team of INFINITY 2009!!!

Coorg

2009-11-22T16:14:00.011+05:30

One phone call did the trick. I called up a friend, who had the contact number of a Home Stay at Coorg, and voila , the trip was in the making. A long weekend was coming up, which ignited our desire to pack our bags and get out of Bangalore, ensuring that we are no where close to our laptops, or an internet connection for that matter which would result in us checking that “harmless” e-mail that might have been a potential SOS from the manager regarding a bug, or some shitty customer case that was going to make my manager feel a burn in the most remotest corners of a human imaginable.

Although the accommodation was taken care of, there was still one thing that we were still unsure about. We needed to reach the goddamn place! Bus tickets! Being able to make reservations 2 days before the long weekend was one achievement, but getting the bus tickets definitely entitles me to receive the Nobel Peace Prize , what when Obama got it for doing nothing!

Tickets check… Accommodation check…. 4 buggers ready for some bakchodi at Coorg….double check!!!

I knew the guys were gonna kill me since I had booked the last row of a ksrtc ‘deluxe’ Rajahamsa Non A/C. But this was a case of incompetence helping competent folks like me. The god forsaken website had some glitch, and although our seats were the last ones left as per the website, we ended up getting seats towards the middle of the bus. Thank you ksrtc.co.in, you saved my ‘butt’.

Our home stay was in the middle of a coffee estate at Napoklu. The owners of the place were very hospitable. The rooms were perfect, and the service was great. They arranged a cab for our tour of Coorg. We had already made a list of places to be visited prior to leaving Bangalore. Our first stop was Dubbare. This was the most awaited part of the trip. Rafting!!! We had one heck of a driver with us. The roads were pathetic. Despite that he was driving like a maniac. No wonder there were two punctures in the course of our 2 day stay here! Rafting was great fun. It would have been way better if the rapids were actually rapid! There were 3 points along the river, that provided the rush that we were looking for. At the second rapid, something exciting happened. I was thrown overboard. I did manage to hold onto the raft because of a rope along the sides of the raft. As the raft kept moving forward, my legs kept thumping against the rocks beneath. The guys finally managed to pull me in. Just a few bruises on my legs, nothing major. But the fact that I had something awesome to narrate to folks when I get back from the trip was satisfying. There was a fourth spot where we rowed against the flow of the river, towards a rapid , and once we reached it, we stopped rowing and allowed the rapid do its magic. This fourth spot is not open to all. The guy who accompanies the people, gauges the bakchodi quotient of the group in the raft and then decides to take them to this spot.

The queue for rafting was quite long. We had to wait for about 2 hours for our turn. Our driver hence suggested that we could check out the Buddhist temple at Kushalnagar which was close to Dubbare and get back for rafting. When we got back to Dubbare we realized we were the last batch, and the organizers were waiting for us. It was courtesy his freak like driving that we managed to squeeze in the visit to the temple and get back. As soon as the car stopped, we literally dashed out of the car, put on the safety gear, caught hold of an oar and jumped into the raft.

On the second day, we left at 8 for conquering Tadiendamol. This was a part of the trip that I was really looked forward to. The home stay folks packed lunch for all of us. The trek was simply amazing. At the starting point, we found a couple of sticks left by previous trekkers, while some of us just made them for ourselves from some of the bushes nearby. The weather was perfect for a trek. I thoroughly enjoyed capturing the scenes that Tadiendamol had to offer. The feel of the breeze after reaching the top of the peak was invigorating, more so since we took our shirts off as soon we reached the top!

After the trek, our driver picked us up and took us to Cheluvara falls. He recommended this place since it is less crowded compared to the other places in Coorg. He was telling the truth alright! When we reached there, there was one other group present. That’s it. Once they left, the falls was all ours. It was the kind of place where we could stand right beneath the falls. After the tiring trek, the natural massage here was legen…wait for it…dary!!

I found Talacauvery to be a serene and enchanting place. A temple rests on the top of this mountain. The temple is built around the source of the river Cauvery. There is a flight of stairs from the temple to the highest point of the peak.
We were in the midst of the clouds, with the wind blowing in full force on us. We got down after a while, and proceeded to the ‘thelas’ close to the temple. The mirchi bajjis and hot tea seemed like the elixir of life.

We had already checked out of the home stay before leaving for Talacauvery since we would have to go directly to Madikeri to catch our bus after Talacauvery.

All in all, Coorg was a package full of awesomeness.

Peaceful Pondicherry

2009-08-17T14:27:00.026+05:30

I booked the seats on S.R.S Travels through www.redbus.in based on the feedback given by some of the kind customers who took the pains of getting back to that site after their journey. Some mentioned “excellent” and some “very good” which made me choose this bus( well.. did I have any other choice? The feedback for the other god forsaken buses were bad, very bad , and worst :P ) .

It turned out to be pretty good. My little cousin Suraj came to Bangalore that morning form Manipal. He made sure he came to my place by 8 so that we could catch our bus by 10:30 near Madivala . The seats were comfortable, the AC was working! , it was a video coach, and they didn’t play a Tamil Movie ( haleluyah to that! )

We reached Pondicherry ( aka Puducherry off late) by 6am. Grabbed an auto asking him to take us to a decent hotel. I think we must have travelled about 4km from the bus stand to reach the hotel he recommended for which he charged a whopping Rs60/- . The auto rates are a** rap*** in Pondicherry ( this coming form someone who has been in Bangalore for the last 5 years says it all ) . We stayed at the Devaki Elite. The location of this hotel is ideal. In the heart of the town , and close to Rock Beach(more about it later).

Our plan for the first day was to check out Auroville. Breakfast was good. While Suraj went for a standard masala dosa, I picked my personal favourite , Rava Masala , slurp!! We were all set to explore Pondicherry . We hired an Activa for 150/day. Awesome deal. I would suggest this to any tourist for two reasons. First, as I mentioned earlier , the rates quoted by the autowallas made me laugh at them . Secondly , Fuel is way cheaper than other cities. You need to keep a deposit of 500 bucks, provide a copy of the driving license, and submit some ID card. Auroville is about 10km from where we stayed. A nice ride to Auroville, but once you get off the main road, the road leading towards auro was bad! This road was infested with firangs. We asked a gori mem for directions, she was kind enough to lead us to the entrance of the visitors’ centre while we were kind enough to only follow and leave it at that :-P.

The visitors’ centre had a gallery showcasing photographs of this place. A walk around this place lets you learn more about Auroville and its values. They have a mini theatre that plays a movie about Auroville. Once you watch the movie, you are issued a pass that gives you access to an area close to the Matri Mandir. A building in the form of a sphere , lying at the centre of Auroville. The interiors of this sphere is supposed to be completely formed of marble, with a crystal ball at the centre. The sun’s rays are electronically made to concentrate on this crystal ball . Anybody can get into the Matri Mandir, provided you take an appointment two days in advance(if I remember right).

It was freakin hott . Its about a 20 min walk from the entrance of Auroville to MatriMandir. After getting back to the entrance, we had some exotic juices available at a stall there. Hibiscus juice and another one made from some flower I don’t remember. Funky coloured juices, but what was of more importance was the fact that they were cold.

Got back to our hotel, gorged ourselves with food, and dozed away to glory for the next 3 hours or so. But having read some blogs and checked some photo galleries, I knew that Rock beach was beckoning .

We set out again at 5:30 PM. Rock beach is just a 10 min drive from our hotel. There is a road called the “The Promenade” that runs along the seashore, with huge black rocks forming what is called the Rock beach . This road is closed for vehicles in the evening enabling the people of Pondicherry to use it for their evening walks. The moment we entered this place, the first thing that came to my mind was the beautiful Corniche Road of Abu Dhabi, the city where I spent the first decade of my life. Images of time spent at this wonderful place started flowing through my mind. Well, the time spent at Abu Dhabi would probably call for a separate blog entry all together.

Coming back to Pondi, although the aesthetics of “The Promenade” cannot be compared with “The Corniche”, this one carries its own charm. Plenty of restaurants, and shops lining the streets on one side, while a path for pedestrians on the other side, with the rocks separating this path from the Bay.

The Promenade has several statues and buildings that belong to a bygone era. A war memorial, A black statue of the Mahatma, with Nehru’s right opposite to it. But the most picturesque of them all is the Light House of Pondicherry standing tall and handsome. Unfortunately it has been closed for visitors since several years.

Paradise Beach was our next stop on the second day . In order to reach this beach you need to take a boat from a spot which is about 5-6 km from the city centre. A 15 min ride on the boat takes you to paradise beach on an island. The beach was not too crowded. It had a shack were you could cool down after some bakchodi in the water. We spent about an hour there.

We spent some time shopping for souvenirs in the evening. This shop called PUDUMAI on the Promenade( somehow this name sounds very posh to me, fyi its called beach road too :D ) is a good place to check out . A section of the town is called White Pondi. This is the area where you can check out French architecture and admire the well planned lanes .

A cute little 24 hour café called Le Café is present on the Promenade . It’s a nice feeling to sit there, sip some hot coffee or chocolate, and gaze into the vast expanses of the Bay of Bengal. The brownies were delicious.

There is some history to this place too. It used to be the Port Authority office for the French. There are some photos in the Café that depict the days when it was used as a port. A ride along the Promenade from one end to the other, some jobless roaming across the town , followed by Dinner at Pizza Hut marked the end of our trip. Thus ended the 2 day sojourn at Pondicherry. We left the next morning to Chennai to catch up with cousins.

If you are looking for a weekend getaway , I strongly suggest Pondicherry. Its not the place to go for if you are looking for adventure. But if you want to spend a weekend of relaxation then this is definitely the place. By the way I also got a massage at an Ayurvedic Centre which was truly rejuvenating. The punch line that Pondicherry Tourism uses is quite apt. You have to go there to appreciate the title “Peaceful Pondicherry”.

Hogenekal Falls

2009-07-15T21:34:00.016+05:30

After the epic trek on Skandagiri hills, we were high on adventure and were dying to go on another trip . Lots of suggestions poured in. But finally ,it was Hogenekal Falls that was decided. If I remember right I think it was Bharat’s suggestion. Mr. Bharat is one heck of an adventurous guy . I guess amongst all of us in RVCE – ISE, this guy has been to the maximum number of places in ,around and out of Bangalore.

That’s why we can always depend on him for reviews :-D.

We started from silk board at 9am. As usual the journey involved taking Pratibha’s case . FYI, until this trip Pratibha didn’t know that transvestites and gays were not the same :-p.

After a game of Antakshari( Sneha was in full form during Antakshari!!! ), a lot of leg pulling, and munching on some snacks we reached Hogenekal at 1pm.

If you are a vegetarian, food is a major issue! Our intention initially was to stop at a place on the way to Hogenekal for lunch and then proceed for the falls. But on the way we totally forgot about this. Moreover we forgot to mention about this to our driver.

At Hogenekal we found this small shack which was serving dosas. They had 2 types of Dals. Fish Dal and normal Dal. I could hardly see the difference .Every time the guy came to serve the stuff, I had to double check if it was the veg dal or not. Despite this, the dude was almost on the verge of pouring some fish onto my banana leaf!!!

After filling ourselves, we hired a coracle that would take us close to the waterfalls. This was not the time of the year when we could catch the waterfall at its best. But it was due to this very same fact that we could get into those spots where people generally could not have been able to go. The experience of travelling in a coracle is wonderful. The fisherman took us right below a portion of the falls where the force of the water is much lighter than the actual falls itself, but nevertheless providing an enchanting experience of having a shower in the midst of nature. He then stopped at a point in the middle of the ravine. This spot was great fun. A rocky area with a couple of patches where the water was flowing gradually into the main stream, thus creating mini pools on the way. Not many tourists were aware of this spot and hence we had this place all to ourselves!. Mayank, Archana, Bharat and I climbed over the rocks to reach the top. The way to the top was not that tough, but getting down was a bit scary. It was a bit slippery and one wrong step could definitely make you lose balance. But bottom line...it was worth it :-D.

The fisherman then took us to an island , a fish curry haven . Bharat , Shams and Archana hogged away to glory while the rest of us relaxed on another side of the island .

We left the place at about 6:30pm and reached Bangalore by 10:30pm We were all dead tired! I guess everybody slept on the way back to Bangalore. Coincidentally , the driver played “The Hangover” on the DVD player in the bus .

Attendees: Archana, Sneha, Pratibha, Vivek, Vinay, Bharat, Shams, Onkar, Mayank

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

2009-07-02T14:25:00.005+05:30

I am really looking forward to Transformers 2. What a concept. What a movie. I salute all the Autobots, SAM WITWICKY and especially OPTIMUS PRIME!!!!

TISSUE ART

2009-07-01T17:35:00.003+05:30

Taking advantage of the thickness ( or rather thinness ) of the tissue paper, I created this ( in the office to be frank) . I would appreciate it if you could comment on what you think this drawing depicts. Feel free to think(or don't think) out of the box. I will provide my view of what this represents once I get certain number of comments on this ( hopefully , fingers crossed ).

"My Conscience", "Mr.Dhobi" and "RVCE sweat shirt"

2009-06-30T14:16:00.002+05:30

The item in question is a sweat shirt that was very dear to me. It had the initials “R V C E” right on the chest. I bought this sweat shirt when I was in the middle of my freshman year. It was a matter of great pride and honor to wear that shirt . There was a strong sense of belonging felt towards my institution. There was a voice within me, that screamed the four letters out loud, whenever I wore that shirt. It was secondary as to how comfortable that sweat shirt was. But I would like to emphasize that this fact, though secondary to the argument about my zeal for being an ardent RVian, most definitely bolsters the value that this sweat shirt or any college shirt , has and will always have, in the lives of college students. This was the sweat shirt which my “dhobi” misplaced. It hurt me very badly. I was furious and all set to “thulp” (a word which my good friend Sridhar Srinivasan would vociferously use to voice his anger ) him. Nevertheless I controlled myself and just calmed down. My conscience spoke to me , and said, what benefit would it give you to sever your relations with a hard working, but poor ,dhobi who has to run a family of four which included 2 children about the age of 4 and 6 respectively, over one sweat shirt. The dhobi was willing to pay for the damages caused. I refused that , since I felt disgusted in filching him off his money ( despite the fact that I love this sweat shirt, this is an indirect way of saying that, we “poor” engineering students were fleeced of our pocket money by being lured to by these shirts, which I reiterate, in no way reduces the emphasis that I am trying to put on the patriotic value they possess).

I had set a reminder in my cell phone today morning, to remind me to collect my laundry on the way back home from Mr.Dhobi ( name concealed for the sake of maintaining the reputation of the honorable man ) . There was a huge smile painted all over his face. The man drew out a sweat shirt from inside a plastic cover. No brownie points for guessing whose sweat shirt it was. Mine!!!. I was so happy. This is the reason for writing this article. The first thing that ran across my mind was the fact that I listened to my conscience and did the right thing. I saved the bitterness that would have grown out of an argument, the day he brought it to my attention that he had lost my sweat shirt. Hell, I don’t think he would have even bothered to check if my sweat shirt could be found in some other person’s shop, had I blasted him. Today was one of those days where those general feelings of goodness culminated into a moment of greatness. I thanked God for having reunited me with my sweat shirt. Glancing through my article, I attempted to put myself in the reader’s shoes. And for a moment my perception was that , I might be a person too obsessed with a material thing like a sweat shirt. I believe its these small joys of life, that actually complete it. It’s the emotional value you attach to it that reminds you that its not just a “thing”. At the same time I would like to vehemently stress on the value you need to give for a human life. The life and feelings of people around you (like Mr.Dhobi) and most importantly, the life and feelings of “YOU”. Listen to your conscience. My prayer would be that after reading this article, you heard a small “Wussup” from deep within you

SKANDAGIRI - A NIGHT TREK

2009-06-16T14:55:00.020+05:30

My journey started with my Hero Honda Street. I left home at 11 pm. I picked up Pratibha on the way , and reached Vijaynagar by 11:45PM. It was a bad start to the whole trip, since I skidded while approaching a hump on ring road, and was about to fall off, but I somehow managed to control the bike and continue riding. Obviously I didn’t tell this to Pratibha cause I was sure she would freak out :-p. We went to Sham’s place first. Watched the New Zealand Vs Pakistan match until our friendly neighbourhood Bharat arrived with the mini van.

Next stop was Aneesha’s place , two crosses away from Sham’s house . The girls as usual had to delay the whole proceedings. We waited for 20 min until they came down and boarded the bus. Archana seemed to be her usual hyper self. She almost jumped from the third floor for no reason. I think she needs some counseling.. :-p…. ok I’m just exaggerating( or am I ? :-p )

So we started by 1 AM from Vijaynagar . The biggest single timepass on the bus was pulling Archana’s leg , figuratively ofcourse ( although literally also it would be pretty easy, considering that Archana gives the word feather-weight a different dimension altogether! :-D )

We had the privilege of having the Information Science VTU Topper , Chaya G on this epic peregrination. Her dependable Sony Powershot was used to the maximum , enabling all of us to ensure that the next day, everyone’s facebook and orkut status updates were running in full swing.

We reached the foothills of Skandagiri by 2 AM , hired a guide and started the trek at 2:15AM . Initially Mr. Bharat said he would guide us. We actually started the trek trusting that dumass. Just 5 minutes into the trek and he gave up saying we should probably hire a guide.

The number of visitors to Skandagiri has increased to such an extent that the chaiwallas were able to indentify the business potential this trekking spot has. About 20 minutes on the way to the top, there is this gap between 2 boulders that provides shelter to the life saving tea stall which is god send considering the low temperatures in the middle of the night.

We reached the top at around 5.15 AM. The time taken to reach the top was 2.5 hours. The ace trekker from our class, Jeethendra , assured me the next day that 2.5 hours was pretty decent. We had lots of breaks in between too courtesy Pratibha U R :-D. Thanks Pratibha for allowing us to take rest at regular intervals and making sure that we do not get too tired on the way ( ;-) ).

The night started to fade away gradually, with the first rays of the sun beaming onto the hills. Chaya and Aneesha made sure that they caught the various stages of the sunrise on their cameras. I gobbled up 3 plates ( or was it 4 ? ) of boiling hot maggi . It was less about hunger, and more about savoring the hot noodles, with a conscious effort to finish it off before the freezing gales turned the noodles into popsicles. Ok I am probably exaggerating now. But I guess you got the point. It was freezing upstairs.

It was time to get snap happy. Lots of pics, solo and group ones. There was a small temple there too. We spent about 3 hours on top. We started descending at around 8AM. We reached the foothills by 10AM. The number of breaks were much lesser this time. Thank you Pratibha once again :-D. We got into our mini van and headed back to the city.

It had rained like cats and dogs in Bangalore the day we were supposed to leave for the trek. It was on the verge of getting cancelled. It was Bharat’s plan to first head towards Skandagiri, assess the situation as to the whether it was possible to trek there. If not, we would change the trip to just a night out at good old Nandi Hills. Thanks to Bharat’s idea, Skandagiri worked out. It didn’t seem like it rained over there.

We stopped at Adigas’ Sampige , Malleswaram for some brunch at around 11:30 AM. My favourite Rava Onion Masala Dosa was popping out of the menu for some reason. I couldn’t resist. Drooool!!! We then headed towards our starting point, Vijaynagar. I headed back home from Sham’s place where I had left my bike.

A chance to catch up with old friends, an opportunity to take the cases of gullible people like Archana and Pratibha .But honestly, there was a sense of achievement in having conquered the Skandagiri hills, and a feeling of joy for having done something different for the weekend. With the mist hanging in the air, the cold breeze caressing our senses, and the sight of the clouds spread over the surrounding hills like a blanket engulfing a new born, the experience was truly majestic. Skandagiri was truly amazing. I am game for another trek here. What say you?

P.S : Just to make sure I mentioned all the people who came for this trip , here is the star cast:
Dakshayini, Archana, Pratibha, Chaya, Aneesha , Bharat, Shams, and I

GO GOA

2009-03-04T18:07:00.008+05:30

When you hear the name GOA, one can be assured that the neurons upstairs fire up the pleasure centers of the brain. Goa is synonymous with FUN. This was the reason why my friends and I decided that our next trip would be to this wonderful place.

We guys set out on our voyage on Dec 23rd. About 3 weeks before this day, we had decided that come what may, we would first go ahead and book the tickets, so that it would force us to start planning the trip and prevent backing out. So we immediately decided and booked the tickets.

We found out that there are no confirmed tickets available to Goa directly. So we inquired from friends and found out that there is this place called Londa(yea you read it right :-)) where we could get off the train and then hire a cab for a 3 hour drive to Panjim.

Our train was at 9:15 pm. We were there at the Bangalore station by 8 pm . Arvind had already reached the station quite early. So we made the poor guy walk all across the breadth of the Kempegowda bus terminal to get burgers for all of us. Once the train started moving, we dug into the burgers and hogged it like no man had eaten burgers before.

We reached Londa in the morning. After some negotiation with the cab drivers we struck a deal to take the 9 of us for 2200 to Panjim. One of the most f****ed up journeys of my life. The road was pathetic. The condition of the roads was the reason why it took 3.5 hours. We finally reached Baga Beach by noon. I had made reservations for us at this place called Sol Beach Resort. The guy was waiting for us at the lane that leads to the famous Tito's of Baga. The resort was on the same lane.

Every point of entry to the beach was guarded by 3-4 policemen. Hence, we had to walk our way from the main road to the resort. The high level of security was a result of the terrorist threat that was looming around GOA after the Mumbai attacks. GOA being a hot destination for foreigners, was a sensitive spot during this period. It was for this very same reason that we guys had almost come to a point where we were gonna cancel the trip. But then we just couldn’t resist the opportunity. Who knows whether all of us would get a chance again, considering higher studies/professional commitments.

The first thing we did was hit the beach. The most happening beach of GOA, with adventure and excitement written all over the place, was really calling us to do some heavy duty bakchodi. Lots of options available to burn your dough. The first thing we tried out was the BANANA BOAT.

A highlight of this trip was the number of times , Mr Kumar Vivek , proved that he was a wuss, time and time being. He didn’t get onto the Banana Boat , until we guys tried it for a couple of times. The look on his face was worth framing and placing in the Hall of Fame for Pussies.We finally managed to pull him onto the ride. Once the boat started moving towards the sea, you could see the tension building on Vivek's face. There comes a point in the ride , where the banana boat guy purposely tilts the rubber tube that we sit onto towards one side with the intention of throwing us into the water. Ofcourse all of us had life jackets. Once we all fell into the water, we could hear the faint sound of a girl shouting out for help only to realize that its our very own Kumar Vivek :-). While Sandeep held his right hand, and I the other, we got him back onto the rubber tube of the boat with Vivek meanwhile shouting "I think water went into my lungs , I can't breathe man , I can't breathe" . We still laugh our asses of recollecting that incident of the great Bihari wuss.

We limited ourselves to that one ride for the day, since we had plans which needed to be executed to ensure that the rest of the 3 days were as amazing too. We set out in search for bike rentals. God, that was a pain alright. Every time I rubbed off the sand from my ears or back, the rates increased by 100 bucks.Sheeesh. We finally managed to get 4 activas for 400/day for 3 days. Pretty decent deal I think. We were shit tired after the journey , the beach masti and all the running around for activas. We didn’t roam much the day we arrived. We got back to the resort , rested for a while , and then set out in the night to check out GOA after dusk.

There was already a ban on beach parties for security reasons. We dropped into a beach side shack. Couple of hookas and sizzlers under the moonlight, relaxing on the comfortable bamboo chairs, watching a street performer juggling and breathing fire , was cool. We crashed onto our beds after the meal.

Having finished the Banana ride as a starter, we knew there were some awesome rides awaiting us. So the first half of day 2 was dedicated to WATER SPORTS. Jet skiing was superb. But the one thing that would be cherished after the trip would be the chance of being able to fly like birds through the serene and calm GOA skies above the Arabian Sea. PARA-SAILING. This is one of those things that make you say to yourself "Man this is life!"

I bought those straw chappals that Goa is famous for. If anybody plans to go to Goa, I suggest you buy these and use them throughout your trip, because they are really comfortable, cheap(Rs100, you could probably bargain for even lesser :-p) , and you save your own shoes or whatever footwear from getting screwed.

The second half of day 2 was at fort Aguada. One major screw up here was that we hadn’t got our facts right. We thought that Fort Aguada was the location for the shooting of some scenes for Dil Chahta Hai. But it turned out that Vagator is the actual place. Nevertheless Fort Aguada was a great place. A perfect place to take some solo pics, worth putting up on orkut/facebook :-). And also for some memorable group photographs worth framing. I am sure some where down the line the photographs of this place will take us down memory lane and remind us of those good times.

The third day was planned to give us a chance to do some site seeing. Lucky for us , we found this travel agent who was more than willing to suggest places that we could visit, and moreover he even helped us plan out the trip , where to go first , prioritize etc etc. He did all this despite the fact that we were not actually gonna hire his vehicles or get him some business. Its people like him that assure you that this world still does have some good people left.

As suggested by our friendly neighbourhood travel agent, we set out straight to the Basilica of Bom Jesus, the majestic old church of Panjim , where lies the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. It is miraculous to see that a significant portion of the Saint's body has still remained intact and escaped decay. This church attracts people from all across the globe. We also experienced an exhibition inside the church called "the light and sound show"( I am not really sure of the name, this title is as per the memory of Vivek). The show was a depiction of the life of St.Francis Xavier in a span of 30 min.

Before we set out for the church, we first booked tickets for Ghajini at Inox in Panjim. The idea was to finish off the site-seeing by evening, hog some food and then a night show.

There was this shop close to the church which sold stuff that seemed worth taking back home as souvenirs. All of us ended up buying coffee mugs and straw hats which would eventually end up in some corner of our office cubicles to serve us constant reminders that "yes you did have fun in your life".

Our next stop was Donna Paula. Its one of the most famous tourist spots in the whole of Goa especially for couples. There were a couple of cars decorated with flowers with the sign "Just Married" hanging behind them which, I guess, was testimony to the fact that this spot was a symbol of love for the people of Goa. Well since that was the case, don't ask me why we bachelors' were there. We were there to do....TIME PASS ;-).

Miramar Beach is one of the few beaches in Goa that I observed didn’t attract the kind of crowd that beaches like Calangute or Baga attract. No banana boats, no jet skiing or para sailing, none of the fancy rides. The tranquility of this beach was a welcome change to the otherwise busy and noisy beaches of Goa. It was the kind of beach , you could sit and relax for hours, stare into the ocean, and probably let the creative juices flow out of you.

The most boring experience of this trip was the cruise that we went on. There was a DJ playing some really sad music. There were some dance competitions for couples and children . The end. Nothing in store for bachelors like us. Bachelors and Bakchods, isn’t it intriguing that the two words sound and mean almost the same . The “ch” in them probably brings that effect . “ch” referring to the beginning of many other beautiful words substantiates my point I guess.

One of the most bakchod experiences of the trip was of us riding along the streets of Panjim on our Activas and singing away to glory, songs like " Pal Pal Hai Bhari" , "Yuhi Chala" , "Yeh Kali Kali Ankhein", "Its my Life" and some Atif Aslam songs since they are well suited for the cause.

After some chats and chuskis at miramar beach, random singing while sitting on the beach doing nothing until it was time for the movie, we finally headed towards Inox theatre.

It was freakin cold at around 2 in the morning while riding back to our hotels.

The last day of the trip didn't have as much activity as the other days. We had to return the Activas by 10 AM. We packed our stuff by 11, hired a cab, had lunch at a place in Calangute and headed back to Londa to catch our train which was bound for Bangalore at 7:30 PM. Before we left , some of us got temporary tatoos, which was the only thing worth mentioning that we did on the last day.

This trip was definitely the best trip I ever had in my life. The train journey, the lunatic like riding on the Activas, the hookas, the hot chics, the water sports, the tatoos are things that made this trip really memorable. But above all, I strongly believe that its the company of some amazing group of friends with a high bakchodi quotient who make the trip what it is. GO GOA.