Time: Aug 30 2008
Place: Mysore Infosys DC, Balamuri Falls, KRS
Company: Family (Wife and parents)
Highlights: A sudden plan formed on Saturday morning at 7 am just because we got up early! Left at 9.30 am (never before left to a picnic so late in the day!). Reached Mysore Infosys campus at 1 pm. Went around the campus, played Table tennis, saw the sports complex and the multiplex. Had lunch, cycled, swam but couldnt go bowling as it was full.
On the way back, glimpsed through the overflowing Balamuri (they have stopped walking along the concrete while the river skimmed through it because river is no longer skimming through it, its going on it in pours) and then to KRS (almost full dam with gates open and the same brilliant Brindavan garden). Couldnt see the lights nor the musical dancing fountain due to rains and also had to head back before it was too late. A nice drive back home, via Kamat Lokaruchi where we had dinner. Safe arrival by 10.30 pm.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Hubli
Time: Aug 24 2008
Place: Hubli
Company: Family (wife and mom in law)
Highlights: Wife's father's first year death anniversary. Left at 6 am on Janshatabdi Express and reached at 1 pm. Very comfortable journey and a pleasant weather. Went to Mutt in Hubli where proceedings took place from 3 pm to 6 pm followed by lunch. Back by Rajahamsa Executive 8.30 pm bus which reached Bangalore next day at 6.15 am. Very uncomfortable.
Place: Hubli
Company: Family (wife and mom in law)
Highlights: Wife's father's first year death anniversary. Left at 6 am on Janshatabdi Express and reached at 1 pm. Very comfortable journey and a pleasant weather. Went to Mutt in Hubli where proceedings took place from 3 pm to 6 pm followed by lunch. Back by Rajahamsa Executive 8.30 pm bus which reached Bangalore next day at 6.15 am. Very uncomfortable.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Karighatta and Ghosayighatta
Time: Aug 3 2008
Place: Karighatta, Mahadevpura and Ghosayighatta
Company: Family (2 cars)
Album: Click here
Highlights: A sudden plan formed on Saturday thanks to mom resulted in this unexpected trip to Karighatta, Mahadevpura and Ghosayighatta. All nearby places to Srirangapatna.
Karighatta boasts of Lord Venkateshwara temple atop a small hill (which can be accessed through both steps and road) and river flows at the bottom of the hill.
Mahadevpura also boasts of a small temple with the river flowing just beside it in great fury.
Ghosayighatta also has the river flowing just beside the river but comfortable steps make it easy to enjoy the river. With heavy rainfall in the last few days, Cauvery was dangerously full. A thoroughly enjoyable day.
Place: Karighatta, Mahadevpura and Ghosayighatta
Company: Family (2 cars)
Album: Click here
Highlights: A sudden plan formed on Saturday thanks to mom resulted in this unexpected trip to Karighatta, Mahadevpura and Ghosayighatta. All nearby places to Srirangapatna.
Karighatta boasts of Lord Venkateshwara temple atop a small hill (which can be accessed through both steps and road) and river flows at the bottom of the hill.
Mahadevpura also boasts of a small temple with the river flowing just beside it in great fury.
Ghosayighatta also has the river flowing just beside the river but comfortable steps make it easy to enjoy the river. With heavy rainfall in the last few days, Cauvery was dangerously full. A thoroughly enjoyable day.
The Yearly Tirumala Trip
Time: Jul 25-27 2008
Place: Tirumala
Company: Family
Highlights: To and fro in the overnight passenger train. Up the hill in Jeep and down in bus. Had booked a hotel near Tirupati bus stand for freshening up. Kalyanotsavam Seva at Tirumala. Had to book 3 months in advance through DD. A running commentary of the things around for wife and sister-in-law and s-i-l's dad as they were unfamiliar with the place. Lunch at Uttaradi Mutt in Tirumala.
Although this could be categorised under the "Yearly Tirumala Trip", it was a special one because it was the first with my wife.
Place: Tirumala
Company: Family
Highlights: To and fro in the overnight passenger train. Up the hill in Jeep and down in bus. Had booked a hotel near Tirupati bus stand for freshening up. Kalyanotsavam Seva at Tirumala. Had to book 3 months in advance through DD. A running commentary of the things around for wife and sister-in-law and s-i-l's dad as they were unfamiliar with the place. Lunch at Uttaradi Mutt in Tirumala.
Although this could be categorised under the "Yearly Tirumala Trip", it was a special one because it was the first with my wife.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Honeymoon in Mauritius!
Time: Jul 15-22 2008
Place: Mauritius
Company: Wife
Highlights:
Day 0: Left at 8.30 pm in Volvo bus to the new Bengaluru International Airport. Just me and my wife all the 40 odd kilometers in the bus. Like a big limo. Someone surely has to rethink about the timings, route, etc of the bus to reduce such gross fuel wastage. Reached the airport by about 10.30 pm. Waited for check in.
Day 1: Check in. Immigration. Security Check. Boarding. 3 am. Sleepy. Air Mauritius flight via Chennai. Chennai at about 5 am. Disembarked to allow them to clean the flight. Kind of mismanaged ambience in Chennai airport. Security check again. Boarding again. 6.30 am. Some issue about baggage being unloaded by mistake in Chennai. Uneventful and safe journey. Wonderful clouds at 37000 feet, as usual. It’s a different world out there. But when we came below the clouds at about 10.30 am local time Mauritius (12 noon IST), it was all bleak and cloudy and raining, thus damping the spirits. After days of research into weather and choice of honeymoon destinations, one wouldn’t want to land in a rainy place. Anyways. Immigration and visa. (Visa on arrival in Mauritius). Baggage claim. Currency conversion. No direct conversion from INR to Mauritian Rupees (MRU). INR to USD (1:40 approx) and USD to MRU (1:26 approx). A long journey (2 hours) to our resort (Casuarina) in a coach along with others. Welcome drink and briefing at the resort about do's and dont's. Our room. Seemed fine. Lunch. Miserable. Hard for Indian Vegetarians. Beach in the bleak weather. Another briefing by an agent of Seaside holidays, the partner of Make My Trip, with whom the whole package had been signed with in the first place. Briefing on do's and dont's of the next 3 days, and the optional water sport activities. Hard time deciding within a short span of time although we were well prepared and knowledgeable about things to expect. Finally decided on the best few. Table tennis. Champagne in the room, although wine was promised. Dinner, like break fast, complimentary. Better than lunch.
Day 2: Wonderful continental breakfast. Bread, omelet, fruit salad, juice, yogurt. 8.50 SIC (seat-in-coach) to a destination where a jetty transferred us to kind of middle of the ocean where we were put oxygen masks to go 10 ft below the ocean water to the sea bed where we walked for about 15 mins amidst the fish and other ocean fauna. An amazing experience. Then, super high speed boat transfer to an island (Ile aux Cerfs). On the way, visited waterfalls, sitting in the boat itself. Also went for parasailing, kind of in the middle of the Indian Ocean with a distant view of Mauritius. Lunch in the island. Yuck! But nice island with shallow water (2-3 ft) for miles together. Hence the beautiful view. Sometimes emerald green and sometimes sky blue. Back at resort by 5. Table tennis again. Nice refreshing dinner.
Day 3: Easy day. Toured the northern sections of Mauritius. A supermarket for shopping, some nice viewpoints of Port Louis such as Fort Citadel and a church, and finally Caudon waterfront where many Bollywood films are shot. Nice 3 hours spent on the waterfront with nothing to do but laze around.
Day 4: Toured the southern sections. Took about 1.5 hours to get to south. Chameral waterfalls. An artificial waterfall – river diverted to create the view. But considering that the river water is made to flow to ocean, someone has to rethink this. Enough water is going to the ocean as it is!
Next destination: Seven colored earth. It wasn’t all that sunny for us to appreciate it but good enough. Apparently a volcano didn’t have the sufficient push in it to burst out and instead it burnt the surface of the earth. The oxides within changed the color of the earth and hence the name. A unique place in the world.
Next destination: Ganga Talab. (Ganga Lake). A lake in front of a Hindu Temple which was purified by tumblers of River Ganges from India (poured by Indira Gandhi and some saints) has completely transformed its entire properties into similar properties that are akin to the actual Ganga river in India. Hence the name. No bathing allowed nor any ashes-depositing.
The temple in itself is a Shiva temple. Apparently this is the 13th Jyotirlinga in the world. There are 13 Jyotirlingas in the world. 11.5 in India, 0.5 in Nepal and 1 in Mauritius. Details of the 12 Jyotirlingas can be found here. (Kedarnath [tail] and Pashupathinath [head] in Nepal are considered as one Jyotirlinga. Hence the decimals!)
Apparently, here in Mauritius Jyotirlinga temple, during the 2004 Mahashivratri celebrations, a lady saw the 3 eyes of Shiva on the idol which has been photographed. Also, the white milk that was poured on the Shiva idol turned into blue. This too has been photographed.
No business transactions are held inside the temple except offerings by devotees. Many idols placed within to cater to all sects of Hindus. Also a gigantic Shiva idol (about 108 ft) is placed nearby. It is the 2nd tallest Shiva idol, next only to the tallest in Gurgaon, Delhi, India. This however is not the angry Shiva idol but the softer one, without the third eye and no damrot (the sound-making toy). Also this Shiva avatar is the one with normal clothes and wishes well for all.
Next: Lunch in an Indian restaurant on a green leaf, the traditional style. Expensive, but nice. Next destination: Biggest Crater on Mauritius. Formed by the Volcano that created Mauritius. Nice view of the horizon/ocean from there. Next: Clothes shopping + Diamond shopping + Ship models shopping. Back to room. Welcome cocktail drink in the resort.
Day 5: Went in submarine! 30 mins in the sub again in the middle of the ocean. This time to view the aqua life, a ship wreck and coral reef of the ocean. Nice experience, although I felt a little queasy. Spent a relaxing time at the beach. Just got tanned, read novel and heard the little waves. Also, for the first time, enjoyed the sea water on beach. Also went to an hour tour on glass bottomed boat to see more of the aqua life.
Day 6: Went to gym in the morning. Walked the full length and breadth of the resort to explore everything! Went to swimming pool and lazed around. Again, a nice novel under the sun, after an hour in the pool. Went pedaling on Indian ocean. Went to Spa and steam bath after lunch for a nice 30 min massage. Realized that spa is nothing but the Indian age-old tradition of mom giving child the nice oil bath on Sunday mornings!
Day 7: Checked out by 11 but kept the luggages till our pick up scheduled at 3. Went on local bus to Grand Bay beach and spent about 3 hours there. Just walking on the beach, doing art on beach sand, going to a nearby temple and eating roadside chapathis! Pick up to airport by Seaside Holidays at 3 pm. Reached airport by 4.30. Check in. Immigration. Security Check. Boarding at 7 pm.
Day 8: Reached Bangalore at 2.30 am. Home at 4 am. Again, the 3 am Volvo bus occupied only by me and my wife!
Overall expenditure of roughly about INR 80000 per person. An enriching experience, and a good destination for honeymooners.
Friday, April 18, 2008
My Engagement!
Time: Apr 13, 2008
Place: Hubli
Company: Parents and Relatives
Album: Click here
Highlights: Well, my engagement! Thats it!
Place: Hubli
Company: Parents and Relatives
Album: Click here
Highlights: Well, my engagement! Thats it!
Munnar
Time: Apr 4-8 2008
Place: Ernakulam, Munnar
Company: Colleagues and some of their girl friends, including mine (;))
Album: Click here
Highlights:
Day 0: Left to Ernakulam in Airavatha Volvo KSRTC bus from Bangalore at 8 am. Seat spacing distributed throughout the bus because of issues in booking through ksrtc website. Bollywood movie Apne aired in bus. But thanks to Hogenekal issue, as soon as we entered Tamil Nadu through Hosur, an anti-element of the society threw a stone on our bus and the windshield cracked. Although glass pieces flew all over the bus aisle (including Preetham’s lap), the windshield didn’t shatter. Went to Krishnagiri Police Station to lodge an FIR to claim insurance.
Day 1: Reached Ernakulam at 10.30 instead of 8. Aankhen movie in the bus. Tempo Traveler reached the spot where we got down. Stifling heat. Went to service apartment rented by Diana. Freshened up. Diana’s house at 1 pm. Photo session with her. She was all the more bubbly, thanks to the occasion of her engagement. Lunch. Left to Munnar at 3.30 pm. Reached Munnar at 7.30 pm. Checked in at Munnar Tourist Home. Walk to Munnar town for dinner and a visit to Church (which was closed).
Day 2: Breakfast at Saravana Bhavan. Yummy! Wait to Ashwin, who was supposed to join us at Munnar from Bangalore directly, turned sour as he didn’t reach till noon and we had to carry on without him. Went to view point and walked amidst tea estates. Also visited couple of dams (remember one of the names as Mettupatty Dam), played with rifles, couple of gals went horse-riding, mirthful conversations and played the fool with camera. Other places visited include Echo point, Top station and Pampadum National Park. Went for a long walk inside the forest on a road which is supposedly the highest (in terms of MSL) in South India comparable only to roads in Himalaya. Trekked too. Couple of them got leeched! Back to Munnar town and Appam dinner (no mention of non veg as 12 of them preferred veg!).
Day 3: Went to visit Nilgiri Thar on another National Park. NT is a mountain goat not found anywhere else other than in Himalayas. Found plenty of them. Moreover, natural beauty was insurmountable. High peaks, classic tea estates, over-the-clouds, greenery-everywhere and beautiful, beautiful air! Saw South India’s tallest mountain peak. Called fondly as Elephant Face because of the resemblance. Came back and hogged omelets! Left to Ernakulam at 12 noon. Reached Ernakulam by 4 pm. Pizza Hut. Train to Bangalore at 5 pm. Dumb C, Antakshari, PJs, Love Stories (!) of colleagues, etc!
Day 4: Reached Bangalore at 4.20 am. On the dot as per schedule.
On the whole, a wonderful trip. Also, most memorable, as it was the first with my fiancée.
Place: Ernakulam, Munnar
Company: Colleagues and some of their girl friends, including mine (;))
Album: Click here
Highlights:
Day 0: Left to Ernakulam in Airavatha Volvo KSRTC bus from Bangalore at 8 am. Seat spacing distributed throughout the bus because of issues in booking through ksrtc website. Bollywood movie Apne aired in bus. But thanks to Hogenekal issue, as soon as we entered Tamil Nadu through Hosur, an anti-element of the society threw a stone on our bus and the windshield cracked. Although glass pieces flew all over the bus aisle (including Preetham’s lap), the windshield didn’t shatter. Went to Krishnagiri Police Station to lodge an FIR to claim insurance.
Day 1: Reached Ernakulam at 10.30 instead of 8. Aankhen movie in the bus. Tempo Traveler reached the spot where we got down. Stifling heat. Went to service apartment rented by Diana. Freshened up. Diana’s house at 1 pm. Photo session with her. She was all the more bubbly, thanks to the occasion of her engagement. Lunch. Left to Munnar at 3.30 pm. Reached Munnar at 7.30 pm. Checked in at Munnar Tourist Home. Walk to Munnar town for dinner and a visit to Church (which was closed).
Day 2: Breakfast at Saravana Bhavan. Yummy! Wait to Ashwin, who was supposed to join us at Munnar from Bangalore directly, turned sour as he didn’t reach till noon and we had to carry on without him. Went to view point and walked amidst tea estates. Also visited couple of dams (remember one of the names as Mettupatty Dam), played with rifles, couple of gals went horse-riding, mirthful conversations and played the fool with camera. Other places visited include Echo point, Top station and Pampadum National Park. Went for a long walk inside the forest on a road which is supposedly the highest (in terms of MSL) in South India comparable only to roads in Himalaya. Trekked too. Couple of them got leeched! Back to Munnar town and Appam dinner (no mention of non veg as 12 of them preferred veg!).
Day 3: Went to visit Nilgiri Thar on another National Park. NT is a mountain goat not found anywhere else other than in Himalayas. Found plenty of them. Moreover, natural beauty was insurmountable. High peaks, classic tea estates, over-the-clouds, greenery-everywhere and beautiful, beautiful air! Saw South India’s tallest mountain peak. Called fondly as Elephant Face because of the resemblance. Came back and hogged omelets! Left to Ernakulam at 12 noon. Reached Ernakulam by 4 pm. Pizza Hut. Train to Bangalore at 5 pm. Dumb C, Antakshari, PJs, Love Stories (!) of colleagues, etc!
Day 4: Reached Bangalore at 4.20 am. On the dot as per schedule.
On the whole, a wonderful trip. Also, most memorable, as it was the first with my fiancée.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Dwarka
Time: Mar 8 - 15, 2008
Place: Mumbai, Khandala, Lonavla, Dwarka, Bet Dwarka, Somnath
Company: Parents
Album: Click here
Highlights:
Day 1: Left to Mumbai in airplane. It was about 14 months since I had last flown. Felt nice. Taxi from airport and accomodation arranged by neighbor. Went sight seeing in Mumbai at 1 pm. Places seen (and what I felt) are as follows: Siddhi Vinayak temple (improper queue system), Haji Ali (unclean on the pavement), Lakshmi Temple (very nice; its said that since Lakshmi (Goddess of Money) has sat here, everyone makes wealth in Mumbai), Hanging Garden (nice), Gateway of India (construction going on) and Chowpatty beach (liked the concept of renting mats!). An hour of traffic to go and 2 hrs of traffic to go back home. Rashid, our taxi driver, was a very nice fellow. It felt nice to be in the same city as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and many such stars, who roamed in the same streets at one point of time!
This was my second visit to Mumbai. I had last been here in 1990, thats about 18 years ago, and I do not remember anything other than the visit to Essel World, stay at Gurudwar with local trains passing by and the steam of the steam engine that emanated from me when my mom gave me a good bath after she learnt that I hadnt taken bath (since it was cold water!) since 7 days! I liked the main Highway (the road that goes to Ahmedabad) connecting many parts of Mumbai, and how fly-overs are constructed at every major junction. The speed with which everyone hurried reminded me of US city highways like the one in Chicago, Rt 9 in Boston suburbs and Rt 90 in Boston. The skyline at Marine Drive (filled with lots of couples' PDA) especially when the lights lit up reminded me of New York's Manhattan. Just as how 'the city never sleeps' and 'all roads lead to Mumbai'. Of course, it is the 7th filthiest city in the world but one should appreciate the way how Mumbai never stops when there is a bomb blast or a flood-rain or if it is midnight or early morning. I liked it!
Day 2: Left early to Gateway of India again with Rashid to go to Elephanta Caves. An hour's boat ride to go and an hour's boat ride to come back and 2 hours to spend there. A toy train to go from port to main (is)land. A climb up the mountain for about 15-20 minutes. Nice caves, (broken) idols, etc. Lots of monkeys. A further climb of about 10 minutes leads to the peak (Cannon Hill). After reaching Mumbai again, had a nice South Indian lunch near Sion circle and left to Khandala. Mumbai-Pune expressway is as good as any international freeway. Khandala is just about 2 hours from Mumbai outskirts. Khandala/Lonavla are twin cities. Got a nice valley-view inn for a reasonable rate. Went to sunset point and saw the beautiful nature interspersed with man-made expressway!
Day 3: Early morning view of the valley with its now-and-then train-spotting was a treat. Went to Lion's Point (so much resemblance to Grand Canyon) and then to Bhushi Dam (a treat in winter when water falls through the steps) and then to Whalwhan dam (a great initiative by Tata) and finally to Karla Caves (have to climb 250 steps; caves in the rock resembling Canada-side view of the Niagara Falls; steep path beside a towering cliff). Journey back to Mumbai. Since we had time, went to Juhu Beach (but couldnt go to ISKCON). Rashid dropped us off at Mumbai Central where we caught the Sourashtra Mail to Okha at 8.25 pm. First time in my life, I went in AC 2 Tier (even used the Upper class waiting room). Was oh-so-wonderful!
Day 4: A lazy day. Got up at 10.30. Whiled away the time till 4 pm when finally we reached at Dwarka, train being an hour late. Excellent hospitality at Madhwa Mutt (Tel no 0992 4090326. Manager MR Ramesh). Gomathi River joins Arabian Sea near the temple and so the river itself is salty. River dries up to a trickle between 7 pm and 7 am. But the river can be crossed using boats too to go to another vast beach which is absolutely deserted. A stunningly beautiful beach with clear water which now and then keeps giving out multiple-shell-shaped conches. Story goes that actual City of Dwarka has submerged in the ocean. So, riches from that Palace where Lord Krishna ruled keeps coming out to the beach in the form of conches, pearls, etc. Esp found at night 2 am or 3 am when the Sea has receded.
Temple itself is magnificent. Constructed by Vajranath (who is son of Aniruddha who is son of Pradyumna who is son of Lord Sri Krishna) by the power of Manthras using Vishwakarma as an architect. It has 2 portions : Front and back. Front has 4 storeys indicating Chardham (Badrinath, Puri, Rameshwaram and Dwarka) and back has 7 storeys indicating Sapthapuri (Mayapuri aka Haridwar, Avanthika aka Ujjain, Madurai, Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi aka Varanasi, Dwarka). Temple is about 5200 years old. It has 2 side doors. One is called Swarg (Heaven) dwar (Door) and another is called Moksh (Enlightenment) Dwar. The Former has about 56 steps indicating something (couldnt understand!). One thing I didnt understand is why this temple was an exception in terms of idol facing towards west. Almost all temples that I have been to face East (exception of Udupi which has a convincing story though) but this was facng West.
Day 5: Bath at Gomathi. Took a taxi and visited Nageshwar (one of the 12 Jyotirlingas), Gopi Thalab (where we get Gopi Chandnas for sandhya vandanam when lake gets dried up in Summer) and Bet Dwarka (western-most point of India, situated on an island where Krishna had his residence; have to go in a jetty filled to the brim and scary with hardly any life-jackets aboard; very windy too and birds try to get foods from patrons who throw stuff into the air and sea). Returned back to Madhwa Mutt. Went to Badakeshwar temple in the evening for an unbelievable sunset. Its a temple situated on the sea and almost 200 degrees from north to south is just arabian sea. The sea shores are similar to those picturised in Bollywood flicks taken in Australia. Again, hardly any crowd which adds that much more to the naturally beautiful scene. Again back to main temple, saw aarthi (30 mins stranded in queue, but filled with awesome Krishna devotees who kept singing amazing songs one after the other)
Day 6: Private bus to Somnath. left at 7.30 am and reached at 2.30 pm with stops at Harshad Mata and Moola Dwarka. Nothing great about them but just another tourist spots. Road from Dwarka to Somnath is almost beside sea shore for full 7 hours. Took a temple trust's room. Took an auto to visit nearby places like where Krishna was shot at, shot from and finally departed Earth. He was shot on the foot by an unsuspecting archer from a distance who thought it was a bird. Archer breaks down when he realises his folly but Krishna consoles him that it was all a part of master plan and this is how he had to leave Earth. Also archer is none other than Vaali who was killed ignominously in Krishna's previous birth as Rama. Hence, justice to all! Krishna was then resting below a tree and it is this tree that we can see now. Also the place from where the archer shot is another facinating place where we can see 3 Lingas (Shiva's idols) in open sea washed every now and then by waves!) Krishna finally departed from a place called Prabhas Kshetra where his feet are etched as a mark of respect. A board displays his end date as Feb 18 3102 BC 2:27:30 hrs. (He was born on Jul 19 3228 BC). Another nearby place where Kapila, Hiranya and Saraswathi (underground river) meet as a Triveni Sangam and then finally head towards Arabian Sea. Lots of 'punya' if one takes bath here, and hence we increased our punya counters!!
Somnath temple itself is great. Old and new temples are one beside the other. Another Jyotirlinga darshan. Nice light and sound show depicting rise and fall and rise and fall and rise and fall (phew - yeah, it sorta gets boring) of the Somnath temple. But an interesting fact is that there is a tower in the temple premises (just beside the sea) from where there is absolutely no obstruction direct to the south pole.
Day 7: 9 am Somnath to Veraval railway station in Auto. 10 am Veraval to Rajkot in Jabbalpur express train. 2 pm lunch at Rajkot station. 5 pm Saurashtra Mail (from Okha) to Mumbai. [Tradional sleeper seems so unluxurious after AC!!]
Day 8: 7 am Mumbai Dadar. Taxi to Domestic airport (international standards). Long wait from 8 am to 1 pm). Indigo flight back to Bangalore.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bichchale and Chippagiri
Time: Feb 9-10 2008
Place: Manthralaya, Panchamukhi, Bichchale and Chippagiri
Company: Parents and brother’s in-laws
Highlights:
Day 1: River bath. Water receding by the year. As usual. Darshan from up close, thanks to mom’s relatives. Saw the garlanding. Meditation hall and pooja. Lunch.
Went to Bichchale, about 30 kms from Manthralaya. Place where Raghavendra swamy’s best disciple Appannacharya was born. Saw Appannacharya’s house which is more than 400 years old. Raghavendra Swamy used to sleep and pray in that house and the place where he used to sleep and pray is marked for Pooja.
R Swamy did penance in this place for about 13 years. Beautiful place with nice gushing river just beside the Brindavan. Absolute peace and a perfect place to perform penance.
Place called so for this reason: Appannacharya used to beg (bikshe) and he used to tie the obtained rice in cloth and put it up on a tree. After the Pooja was done, he used to sprinkle the holy water on that rice and it used to become food. Henceforth and with time it came to be called Bichchale.
Place has other notable things like grinding machine which was used to cook R Swamy’s favorite dishes, both swamy’s self (found and) placed idols, etc. Supposedly a very powerful place where ‘dreams come true’.
Then went to Panchamukhi. R Swamy did penance here for 12 years after which he was asked by the Gods to enter Brindavan in Manchale (which is now called Manthralaya). R Swamy was Prahallad in one generation, Vyasaraja in another generation and R Swamy in this generation.
Day 2: Went to Chippagiri via Adoni and Aloor. Place is known for Vijayadasaru’s holy place. Again, nice serene place, amidst farm lands, and situated outside the city limits. It was in this place that he found an idol inside a small pond (which is now a holy pool) and did Pooja to it. Upon death, this idol was kept on his burial and a small sanctum sanctorum is constructed as hinted by Vijayadasaru through one of his great disciple’s dreams. Finally went to Kasapuram near Guntakal. Famous lord Hanuman temple.
Place: Manthralaya, Panchamukhi, Bichchale and Chippagiri
Company: Parents and brother’s in-laws
Highlights:
Day 1: River bath. Water receding by the year. As usual. Darshan from up close, thanks to mom’s relatives. Saw the garlanding. Meditation hall and pooja. Lunch.
Went to Bichchale, about 30 kms from Manthralaya. Place where Raghavendra swamy’s best disciple Appannacharya was born. Saw Appannacharya’s house which is more than 400 years old. Raghavendra Swamy used to sleep and pray in that house and the place where he used to sleep and pray is marked for Pooja.
R Swamy did penance in this place for about 13 years. Beautiful place with nice gushing river just beside the Brindavan. Absolute peace and a perfect place to perform penance.
Place called so for this reason: Appannacharya used to beg (bikshe) and he used to tie the obtained rice in cloth and put it up on a tree. After the Pooja was done, he used to sprinkle the holy water on that rice and it used to become food. Henceforth and with time it came to be called Bichchale.
Place has other notable things like grinding machine which was used to cook R Swamy’s favorite dishes, both swamy’s self (found and) placed idols, etc. Supposedly a very powerful place where ‘dreams come true’.
Then went to Panchamukhi. R Swamy did penance here for 12 years after which he was asked by the Gods to enter Brindavan in Manchale (which is now called Manthralaya). R Swamy was Prahallad in one generation, Vyasaraja in another generation and R Swamy in this generation.
Day 2: Went to Chippagiri via Adoni and Aloor. Place is known for Vijayadasaru’s holy place. Again, nice serene place, amidst farm lands, and situated outside the city limits. It was in this place that he found an idol inside a small pond (which is now a holy pool) and did Pooja to it. Upon death, this idol was kept on his burial and a small sanctum sanctorum is constructed as hinted by Vijayadasaru through one of his great disciple’s dreams. Finally went to Kasapuram near Guntakal. Famous lord Hanuman temple.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Salumarada Thimmakka's Hometown
Time: Jan 6th 2008
Place: Hulikal (home town of Saalumarada Thimmakka)
Company: Volunteers of treesforfree.org
Album: Click here
Highlights: Leisurely trip to Hulikal with volunteers to meet Thimmakka who has done so much to the society by way of planting trees. Also went to a rose garden and had a small meeting there to discuss plans for 2008. Needless to say, some nice games like Dumb Charades, Blindfold, etc.
Place: Hulikal (home town of Saalumarada Thimmakka)
Company: Volunteers of treesforfree.org
Album: Click here
Highlights: Leisurely trip to Hulikal with volunteers to meet Thimmakka who has done so much to the society by way of planting trees. Also went to a rose garden and had a small meeting there to discuss plans for 2008. Needless to say, some nice games like Dumb Charades, Blindfold, etc.
Mysore DC again!
Time: Dec 30th 2007
Place: Mysore Infosys DC, Mysore Palace
Company: Adiga and Guru (High school buddies)
Highlights: Swim, pool, bowling and lunch at the DC. Siesta at Guru's (who is training Infy BPO freshers currently) room in Mysore. Palace under lights. Awesome. Wonderful night drive back in Adiga's new Palio Stile.
Place: Mysore Infosys DC, Mysore Palace
Company: Adiga and Guru (High school buddies)
Highlights: Swim, pool, bowling and lunch at the DC. Siesta at Guru's (who is training Infy BPO freshers currently) room in Mysore. Palace under lights. Awesome. Wonderful night drive back in Adiga's new Palio Stile.
Monday, December 24, 2007
861
Time: Dec 20-24, 2007
Place: Tirupati, Tirumala, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Elagiri
Company: Parents
Highlights:
Day 1: Vaikunta Ekadasi. So, visited nearest Venkateshwara temple and went through the Vaikunta dwaram. Also, since it was Thursday, visited Raghavendraswamy Mutt. Then, left to Tirupati at about 12. Reached at 7 pm thanks to some unforeseen deviations. Although a safe journey, not very happy about the drive. Mainly because went over many pot holes and in one instant, a moving bus touched the side view mirror.
Day 2: Vaikunta Dwadasi. Left to Tirumala at 6. Holy bath at Pushakarni. Dwadasi lunch at Uttaradi Mutt. Entered queue at 9. Reached sanctum sanctorum at 11. Nice darshan. Entry through Vaikunta Dwaram and through the Vaikunta Dwara corridor. This is possible only two days of the year : Vaikunta Ekadasi and Vaikunta Dwadasi. Very well decorated and lit. Quick darshan of Varaha temple. Visited Akash Gange and Papanashini. Former is great but latter is so-so. Mainly because former is full force-filled gush of waterfalls but latter looks very artificial. Came back to Tirupati by 3. Went to SriKalahasthi Road and visited the accident spot at 7th mile stone where grandparents passed away this year April. Poignant memories.
Day 3: Monthly rites for grandparents performed at Tirupati Raghavendra Swamy Mutt. Took a very long time than expected. Get together with all maternal relatives. Left to Kancheepuram at 2 and reached by 5. Darshan at Kamakshi temple and Varadaraja Swamy (another instance of Tirumala’s Lord Venkateshwara) Temple. As with all Tamil Nadu temples, it was massive. Also, one of the greatest and best idols I had ever seen. Very large and one can go very near. Also, because of the continuous ascending steps, the idol is visible to one and all from afar too. Very satisfying. More than Tirumala in fact! Then, touched the sacred Golden and Silver Lizard for which this temple is famous for.
Day 4: Visited Ekambaranathar Temple. This is the place where Parvati did her penance under a mango tree and finally got married to Shiva. The mango tree is said to be over 3500 years old. Again, a massive temple. Then left to Vellore. Reached Vellore within 2 hours. Went to Golden Temple constructed by Shakthi Amma hosting Goddess Lakshmi Narayani. Almost a mini Tirumala with huge queues, waiting boxes, X-Ray scanning machines and rushing crowds. The temple itself is within a crescent shape and on heavy rush days like Poornami or Amavasya, one is forced to stand in queue on all arms of the star! Due to improper planning and exhaustion, we had to leave the place by 5, but it is said to be very good under lights. Nevertheless, a place worthy of a visit because of the Goldenness of it all!
Day 5: Left to Bangalore at 9. Found Elagiri on the way and visited this beautiful hill station. Nice boating on a serene lake and pleasant view points. Wonderful drive back to Bangalore on NH 46 till Krishnagiri and then NH 7. What a beautiful road! Just like any other international expressway. Easily went past the 100 many times. Reached home at 4.
Drove 861 kilometers in all!
Place: Tirupati, Tirumala, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Elagiri
Company: Parents
Highlights:
Day 1: Vaikunta Ekadasi. So, visited nearest Venkateshwara temple and went through the Vaikunta dwaram. Also, since it was Thursday, visited Raghavendraswamy Mutt. Then, left to Tirupati at about 12. Reached at 7 pm thanks to some unforeseen deviations. Although a safe journey, not very happy about the drive. Mainly because went over many pot holes and in one instant, a moving bus touched the side view mirror.
Day 2: Vaikunta Dwadasi. Left to Tirumala at 6. Holy bath at Pushakarni. Dwadasi lunch at Uttaradi Mutt. Entered queue at 9. Reached sanctum sanctorum at 11. Nice darshan. Entry through Vaikunta Dwaram and through the Vaikunta Dwara corridor. This is possible only two days of the year : Vaikunta Ekadasi and Vaikunta Dwadasi. Very well decorated and lit. Quick darshan of Varaha temple. Visited Akash Gange and Papanashini. Former is great but latter is so-so. Mainly because former is full force-filled gush of waterfalls but latter looks very artificial. Came back to Tirupati by 3. Went to SriKalahasthi Road and visited the accident spot at 7th mile stone where grandparents passed away this year April. Poignant memories.
Day 3: Monthly rites for grandparents performed at Tirupati Raghavendra Swamy Mutt. Took a very long time than expected. Get together with all maternal relatives. Left to Kancheepuram at 2 and reached by 5. Darshan at Kamakshi temple and Varadaraja Swamy (another instance of Tirumala’s Lord Venkateshwara) Temple. As with all Tamil Nadu temples, it was massive. Also, one of the greatest and best idols I had ever seen. Very large and one can go very near. Also, because of the continuous ascending steps, the idol is visible to one and all from afar too. Very satisfying. More than Tirumala in fact! Then, touched the sacred Golden and Silver Lizard for which this temple is famous for.
Day 4: Visited Ekambaranathar Temple. This is the place where Parvati did her penance under a mango tree and finally got married to Shiva. The mango tree is said to be over 3500 years old. Again, a massive temple. Then left to Vellore. Reached Vellore within 2 hours. Went to Golden Temple constructed by Shakthi Amma hosting Goddess Lakshmi Narayani. Almost a mini Tirumala with huge queues, waiting boxes, X-Ray scanning machines and rushing crowds. The temple itself is within a crescent shape and on heavy rush days like Poornami or Amavasya, one is forced to stand in queue on all arms of the star! Due to improper planning and exhaustion, we had to leave the place by 5, but it is said to be very good under lights. Nevertheless, a place worthy of a visit because of the Goldenness of it all!
Day 5: Left to Bangalore at 9. Found Elagiri on the way and visited this beautiful hill station. Nice boating on a serene lake and pleasant view points. Wonderful drive back to Bangalore on NH 46 till Krishnagiri and then NH 7. What a beautiful road! Just like any other international expressway. Easily went past the 100 many times. Reached home at 4.
Drove 861 kilometers in all!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Amboli Falls in Belgaum
Time: Nov 8 - 12, 2007
Place: Belgaum, Amboli Falls, Goa
Company: 10 Colleagues and 3 of their friends
Album: Click here and here
Highlights: Rani Chennamma Express to Belgaum. Great fun in train. Good lodge booked my dad's colleague Mr Kanitkar in Belgaum. Amboli Falls (and story of Ambay!) and other local sight seeing on Day 1. Trek back up the mountainous road. Local people's expert comments on lack of water in Gokak falls led to a change in plans on Day 2: Goa! Baga beach, baga fort, Calangunte beach, Water jet skiing, and finally relaxing on the beach as the sun set. Belgaum fort and Ramakrishna mission on day 3. Back in Ju express. Wonderful conversations, as usual. In the midst, we found a few days old puppy barely surviving. Some kind hearted and pet-loving members of the team fed it well and took care of it for couple of days and even took it to Goa. But unfortunately it died.
One of the biggest trips for one of the longest durations with maximum people and cheapest per head cost! A project well executed! Only repent being that I wanted Goa to be a separate trip by itself, and we could have covered more places in and around Belgaum. Anyways....if this is the way I had to see Goa for the first time, well, so be it!
Place: Belgaum, Amboli Falls, Goa
Company: 10 Colleagues and 3 of their friends
Album: Click here and here
Highlights: Rani Chennamma Express to Belgaum. Great fun in train. Good lodge booked my dad's colleague Mr Kanitkar in Belgaum. Amboli Falls (and story of Ambay!) and other local sight seeing on Day 1. Trek back up the mountainous road. Local people's expert comments on lack of water in Gokak falls led to a change in plans on Day 2: Goa! Baga beach, baga fort, Calangunte beach, Water jet skiing, and finally relaxing on the beach as the sun set. Belgaum fort and Ramakrishna mission on day 3. Back in Ju express. Wonderful conversations, as usual. In the midst, we found a few days old puppy barely surviving. Some kind hearted and pet-loving members of the team fed it well and took care of it for couple of days and even took it to Goa. But unfortunately it died.
One of the biggest trips for one of the longest durations with maximum people and cheapest per head cost! A project well executed! Only repent being that I wanted Goa to be a separate trip by itself, and we could have covered more places in and around Belgaum. Anyways....if this is the way I had to see Goa for the first time, well, so be it!
Harihar
Time: Mid 1990s
Place: Harihar
Company: Family
Highlights: Visited the place where I had spent the first three years of my life (1980-1983) although I do not remember anything about my infanthood. Situated within Kirloskar quarters, a beautiful green landscape with a huge park and My Club. Wonderful bread omelette breakfast in the guest house. Beautiful Raghavendra Swamy Mutt on Tunga river bank. Challenged myself to walk over the bridge over Tunga. But it looked scary. So, as a punishment for my cowardice, the kid that I was, I sat on the railway tracks for 2 hours, apparently in a crime-prone zone! Drive back in Maruti Van with Gajendra uncle clocking 110 kmph and reaching Bangalore within 4.5 hours is etched in my memory.
Place: Harihar
Company: Family
Highlights: Visited the place where I had spent the first three years of my life (1980-1983) although I do not remember anything about my infanthood. Situated within Kirloskar quarters, a beautiful green landscape with a huge park and My Club. Wonderful bread omelette breakfast in the guest house. Beautiful Raghavendra Swamy Mutt on Tunga river bank. Challenged myself to walk over the bridge over Tunga. But it looked scary. So, as a punishment for my cowardice, the kid that I was, I sat on the railway tracks for 2 hours, apparently in a crime-prone zone! Drive back in Maruti Van with Gajendra uncle clocking 110 kmph and reaching Bangalore within 4.5 hours is etched in my memory.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Backpack Trip!
Time: Jan 2007
Place: Udupi, Pajaka, Manipal, Sringeri, Hornadu
Company: Just me!
Highlights:
Prelude: After two years in US, wanted to browse through my fav Indian township. Decided to do a backpack trip, and went without any prior reservations. Probably for the first (and maybe last!) time in my life!
Saturday: Took Friday night bus to Udupi and reached at about 7 am. Kept luggage at luggage counter, shoes at shoes counter and used the public washroom. Took a dhoti and dipped in the Madhwasarovara (temple pool in Udupi) for a quick bath. Darshan was over in minutes. Headed to luncheon room and was surprised that lunch was already being served. Took my seat on the floor and was shocked that they were already serving without putting the traditional banana leaf - meaning food was being served directly on the floor. I was dumb struck, but this was not done only to me - it was for everyone. I realized that it was perhaps one of those days. Anyways. I didn't even have a bottle of water with me to clean the floor. My neighbour thankfully offered her bottle and I quickly cleaned (as best as I could). Very surprised to be eating Rice and Rasam & Sambar directly from the floor. It was soon over.
Temple done, I suddenly thought of visiting Pajaka, a small hamlet where Madhwacharya was born. I had been there many years ago and thought it would be a nice visit. The buses to this village are very rare - like once in an hour. I waited anyways and went ahead with the plan. Reached Pajaka, went to the small Mutt-like place where Madhwacharya is worshipped and within few minutes was back in the same bus stand where I was dropped off. Someone else was there and was surprised to see me, a guy with backpack visiting Pajaka which is like the home of Madhwa Brahmins. She asked me, "Are you learning Sudha paata?" I guess Sudha paata is like an advanced version of Brahministic, Vedic learning equivalent to a PhD in our dialect. I chuckled inward and said no, I was just visiting Madhwacharya's home. Finally the bus came and I headed back to Udupi.
I then had a rendezvous with my Infy friend Divya. She had come from her home in Suratkal. Met her at the bus stand. It was blistering hot. She took me to an ice cream shop where we cooled off with Sundaes. She then took me to Manipal University in Manipal. I was quite taken aback with the advanced city of Manipal. It was as posh as any US city. We did some shopping in the mall and headed back to Udupi. It was time for farewell. She headed back home and I decided to head to Sringeri. Buses to Sringeri from Udupi are rare, so some folks told me to take some bus and get down at Basrikatte to catch another bus to Sringeri. Fair enough. It was a 3 hour ride on the last seat of the bus that climbed mountains. I guess it went via Agumbe because I remembered seeing sunset at Agumbe with my parents long long ago while we were on a trip with my dad's colleagues. Anyways. 8 pm at Basrikatte. A very very small village with hardly one or two dangling bulbs on one or two small shops. Few localites were sitting in front of these shops and looked at me as I got down the bus. They looked at me as if I was a foreigner. I too felt like a foreigner - it seemed so strange except I could talk to them in my own language. But what an adventure. I told them about my trip to Sringeri. They told that a bus will come shortly. I prayed that the bus will come because if it did not, I would be stuck in this small village for the night! Within minutes, a bus came and thankfully it was headed to Sringeri! Boarded that bus and it was a short ride to Sringeri.
Entered Sringeri, quick darshan and I was asked to have my dinner at the temple. It was expansive, with great steel plates! I was so glad to see the plates! Just looking at those beautiful plates, I was so grateful that I made up mind to donate handsomely to Sringeri's Annadhaana Scheme. Dinner done, I slept in a common hall where all devotees slept - directly on the floor. It was utterly cold since I only had one tiny blanket with me. But I slept well.
Sunday: Up at daybreak. Took river bath. Refreshingly cold at such early morning! Darshan done and I was ready to leave Sringeri at 7:30 am. I asked around and got to know that there was a bus to Hornadu shortly. Got the bus and went on a longish ride - almost 4 hours on winding and bumpy road that hardly had any asphalt on it. At 11:30 am, I was at Horanadu. Another of my favorite places. I guess the last time I was here was with my friends after an unbelievable 2-3 days of mountain trekking and life-altering experiences! Just like then, this time too I was glad for the last stop-over before heading back to Bangalore.
Horanadu is an awesome place, the temple is situated amidst the hilly backdrop and has this beautiful scenery all around that is mesmerizing. Anyways. Darshan done, lunch at the temple was just as great as Sringeri. I was all done by about 1:30 pm.
I enquired around and was told that there was no bus right then to Bangalore but there was a bus to Hassan. I got on that bus. It was a red KSRTC meaning hardly any comfort. But then it was an adventurous trip - so why not one more! Reached Hassan in the evening and just when I was getting down, there was a bus going to Bangalore. Got on that one too and this was Rajahamsa, which at that point of time was the luxurious KSRTC bus. Four more hours and I was back in Bangalore.
My first (and probably last) backpack trip. For years and years, I kept remembering this trip. A solo trip is special in its own inexplicable way. An unforgettable & unparalleled experience.
Place: Udupi, Pajaka, Manipal, Sringeri, Hornadu
Company: Just me!
Highlights:
Prelude: After two years in US, wanted to browse through my fav Indian township. Decided to do a backpack trip, and went without any prior reservations. Probably for the first (and maybe last!) time in my life!
Saturday: Took Friday night bus to Udupi and reached at about 7 am. Kept luggage at luggage counter, shoes at shoes counter and used the public washroom. Took a dhoti and dipped in the Madhwasarovara (temple pool in Udupi) for a quick bath. Darshan was over in minutes. Headed to luncheon room and was surprised that lunch was already being served. Took my seat on the floor and was shocked that they were already serving without putting the traditional banana leaf - meaning food was being served directly on the floor. I was dumb struck, but this was not done only to me - it was for everyone. I realized that it was perhaps one of those days. Anyways. I didn't even have a bottle of water with me to clean the floor. My neighbour thankfully offered her bottle and I quickly cleaned (as best as I could). Very surprised to be eating Rice and Rasam & Sambar directly from the floor. It was soon over.
Temple done, I suddenly thought of visiting Pajaka, a small hamlet where Madhwacharya was born. I had been there many years ago and thought it would be a nice visit. The buses to this village are very rare - like once in an hour. I waited anyways and went ahead with the plan. Reached Pajaka, went to the small Mutt-like place where Madhwacharya is worshipped and within few minutes was back in the same bus stand where I was dropped off. Someone else was there and was surprised to see me, a guy with backpack visiting Pajaka which is like the home of Madhwa Brahmins. She asked me, "Are you learning Sudha paata?" I guess Sudha paata is like an advanced version of Brahministic, Vedic learning equivalent to a PhD in our dialect. I chuckled inward and said no, I was just visiting Madhwacharya's home. Finally the bus came and I headed back to Udupi.
I then had a rendezvous with my Infy friend Divya. She had come from her home in Suratkal. Met her at the bus stand. It was blistering hot. She took me to an ice cream shop where we cooled off with Sundaes. She then took me to Manipal University in Manipal. I was quite taken aback with the advanced city of Manipal. It was as posh as any US city. We did some shopping in the mall and headed back to Udupi. It was time for farewell. She headed back home and I decided to head to Sringeri. Buses to Sringeri from Udupi are rare, so some folks told me to take some bus and get down at Basrikatte to catch another bus to Sringeri. Fair enough. It was a 3 hour ride on the last seat of the bus that climbed mountains. I guess it went via Agumbe because I remembered seeing sunset at Agumbe with my parents long long ago while we were on a trip with my dad's colleagues. Anyways. 8 pm at Basrikatte. A very very small village with hardly one or two dangling bulbs on one or two small shops. Few localites were sitting in front of these shops and looked at me as I got down the bus. They looked at me as if I was a foreigner. I too felt like a foreigner - it seemed so strange except I could talk to them in my own language. But what an adventure. I told them about my trip to Sringeri. They told that a bus will come shortly. I prayed that the bus will come because if it did not, I would be stuck in this small village for the night! Within minutes, a bus came and thankfully it was headed to Sringeri! Boarded that bus and it was a short ride to Sringeri.
Entered Sringeri, quick darshan and I was asked to have my dinner at the temple. It was expansive, with great steel plates! I was so glad to see the plates! Just looking at those beautiful plates, I was so grateful that I made up mind to donate handsomely to Sringeri's Annadhaana Scheme. Dinner done, I slept in a common hall where all devotees slept - directly on the floor. It was utterly cold since I only had one tiny blanket with me. But I slept well.
Sunday: Up at daybreak. Took river bath. Refreshingly cold at such early morning! Darshan done and I was ready to leave Sringeri at 7:30 am. I asked around and got to know that there was a bus to Hornadu shortly. Got the bus and went on a longish ride - almost 4 hours on winding and bumpy road that hardly had any asphalt on it. At 11:30 am, I was at Horanadu. Another of my favorite places. I guess the last time I was here was with my friends after an unbelievable 2-3 days of mountain trekking and life-altering experiences! Just like then, this time too I was glad for the last stop-over before heading back to Bangalore.
Horanadu is an awesome place, the temple is situated amidst the hilly backdrop and has this beautiful scenery all around that is mesmerizing. Anyways. Darshan done, lunch at the temple was just as great as Sringeri. I was all done by about 1:30 pm.
I enquired around and was told that there was no bus right then to Bangalore but there was a bus to Hassan. I got on that bus. It was a red KSRTC meaning hardly any comfort. But then it was an adventurous trip - so why not one more! Reached Hassan in the evening and just when I was getting down, there was a bus going to Bangalore. Got on that one too and this was Rajahamsa, which at that point of time was the luxurious KSRTC bus. Four more hours and I was back in Bangalore.
My first (and probably last) backpack trip. For years and years, I kept remembering this trip. A solo trip is special in its own inexplicable way. An unforgettable & unparalleled experience.
Into the sump!
Time: Mid 1980s
Place: Secunderabad, Malkheda, Srishaila
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: Fell into the sump! Bath at muddy River Krishna. Story of Srishaila.
Place: Secunderabad, Malkheda, Srishaila
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: Fell into the sump! Bath at muddy River Krishna. Story of Srishaila.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ghati
Time: September 2007
Place: Ghati Subrahmanya
Company: Parents and brother’s In-laws
Highlights: Fall out of the 4-day long weekend. A nice car ride along the Hyderabad highway. A bad road back via Yelahanka. A traffic jammed road within city. Snacks at Chalukya.
Place: Ghati Subrahmanya
Company: Parents and brother’s In-laws
Highlights: Fall out of the 4-day long weekend. A nice car ride along the Hyderabad highway. A bad road back via Yelahanka. A traffic jammed road within city. Snacks at Chalukya.
Yercaud
Time: September 2007
Place: Yercaud
Company: Ashwin, Preetham, Pavan
Album: Click here
Highlights: A 4 day trip that shrunk to a day long affair after many days of planning. Pogoda point, Lady’s seat, Montfort Convent got done in a jiffy. Trek to Falls did not seem worthy and too much crowd near the lake.
Place: Yercaud
Company: Ashwin, Preetham, Pavan
Album: Click here
Highlights: A 4 day trip that shrunk to a day long affair after many days of planning. Pogoda point, Lady’s seat, Montfort Convent got done in a jiffy. Trek to Falls did not seem worthy and too much crowd near the lake.
Mysore DC
Time: August 2007
Place: Mysore DC, Balamuri Falls, KRS
Company: 12 Infoscions
Album: Click here
Highlights: Witnessed the expansive Mysore Infosys Development Center. Much has changed since I studied there! Mithu’s guitar. Scary water even in Balamuri. KRS filled to the brim. Musical fountain.
Place: Mysore DC, Balamuri Falls, KRS
Company: 12 Infoscions
Album: Click here
Highlights: Witnessed the expansive Mysore Infosys Development Center. Much has changed since I studied there! Mithu’s guitar. Scary water even in Balamuri. KRS filled to the brim. Musical fountain.
Konkan
Time: June 2007
Place: Konkan Railways, Mangalore, Karwar
Company: Infosys colleagues
Highlights:
Had heard a lot about Konkan railways and hence planned a trip with colleagues to see the beauty of it. Had grand thoughts of the railway track running parallel to the sea coast with amazing views all around - like those US scenes depicted in movies! But alas, it was not to be. It seemed like a normal enough railway track - at least the route from Mangalore to Karwar.
Considering that we wanted to do only a part of the Konkan rail (in just one small weekend), we finalized on Mangalore to Karwar stretch which had to be done during day time. So, took a bus (I forget train or bus, but bus I think it was) from Bangalore to Mangalore, went to Mangalore Infosys office and refreshed. That was a brainwave-moment since we did not want to spend unnecessarily in Mangalore for a lodge for just refreshing. I met my batchmate Divya in Mangalore DC and then we all went to a famous Benne Dosa restaurant and gorged! Then to the station for the actual trip. As mentioned earlier, the scenery did not live up to the expectation. Anyways, we had much to do in Karwar. So it was ok.
At Karwar, got settled at the dorm, and then headed out to a nearby island-resort. The weather turned nasty and so did the waves. The small dingy boat in the wast Arabian sea scared the bejesus out of us. It was a near-death experience for most of us. We took a long while getting back to normalcy at the resort. Then explored the island-thingy as best as we could. Then realized it was not really an island! It was connected by road - albeit longish. We didn't mind - the going-back route was via road and not in that boat - whatever the cost! But there was one guy amongst us who wanted to go back in the boat - just because we had already paid for it and also to experience the near-death experience again. Took some time convincing him and off we went back to our lodge in a jeep.
Next day morning was a light day. Spent some time on the beach enjoying and relaxing. Our bus was in the afternoon at about 3:30 pm. But it never came. We waited and waited. Then when we asked, we were told that that bus was cancelled! We had not received any intimation about it - and we had 9 seats! All the officials were confused on what needs to be done. Worst part was none of them knew anything about e-tickets. They were asking where was it obtained!! How to explain "internet"?! Finally they arranged for another bus and we got seats - but not before a verbal duel with the concerned officials. From then on, it was uneventful.
Quite an adventurous and unforgettable trip indeed.
Place: Konkan Railways, Mangalore, Karwar
Company: Infosys colleagues
Highlights:
Had heard a lot about Konkan railways and hence planned a trip with colleagues to see the beauty of it. Had grand thoughts of the railway track running parallel to the sea coast with amazing views all around - like those US scenes depicted in movies! But alas, it was not to be. It seemed like a normal enough railway track - at least the route from Mangalore to Karwar.
Considering that we wanted to do only a part of the Konkan rail (in just one small weekend), we finalized on Mangalore to Karwar stretch which had to be done during day time. So, took a bus (I forget train or bus, but bus I think it was) from Bangalore to Mangalore, went to Mangalore Infosys office and refreshed. That was a brainwave-moment since we did not want to spend unnecessarily in Mangalore for a lodge for just refreshing. I met my batchmate Divya in Mangalore DC and then we all went to a famous Benne Dosa restaurant and gorged! Then to the station for the actual trip. As mentioned earlier, the scenery did not live up to the expectation. Anyways, we had much to do in Karwar. So it was ok.
At Karwar, got settled at the dorm, and then headed out to a nearby island-resort. The weather turned nasty and so did the waves. The small dingy boat in the wast Arabian sea scared the bejesus out of us. It was a near-death experience for most of us. We took a long while getting back to normalcy at the resort. Then explored the island-thingy as best as we could. Then realized it was not really an island! It was connected by road - albeit longish. We didn't mind - the going-back route was via road and not in that boat - whatever the cost! But there was one guy amongst us who wanted to go back in the boat - just because we had already paid for it and also to experience the near-death experience again. Took some time convincing him and off we went back to our lodge in a jeep.
Next day morning was a light day. Spent some time on the beach enjoying and relaxing. Our bus was in the afternoon at about 3:30 pm. But it never came. We waited and waited. Then when we asked, we were told that that bus was cancelled! We had not received any intimation about it - and we had 9 seats! All the officials were confused on what needs to be done. Worst part was none of them knew anything about e-tickets. They were asking where was it obtained!! How to explain "internet"?! Finally they arranged for another bus and we got seats - but not before a verbal duel with the concerned officials. From then on, it was uneventful. Quite an adventurous and unforgettable trip indeed.
Pondi
Time: April 2007
Place: Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram, and Satheesh’s hometown.
Company: 8 Infoscions and one’s sister
Album: Click here and here and here
Highlights: Pump set bath, pump set batch and pump set bath! Rural setting, lots of greenery, food and richness. Who wants City?! Mahabalipuram was sweltering hot, Pondi ashram was pleasant.
Place: Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram, and Satheesh’s hometown.
Company: 8 Infoscions and one’s sister
Album: Click here and here and here
Highlights: Pump set bath, pump set batch and pump set bath! Rural setting, lots of greenery, food and richness. Who wants City?! Mahabalipuram was sweltering hot, Pondi ashram was pleasant.
Nagarhole
Time: March 2007
Place: Nagarhole, Irruppu Falls, Bheemeshwari Mountain range
Company: Deb, Preetham, Satheesh, Manju
Album: Click here
Highlights: A trip that started off with Mudumalai as destination, changed on the road due to Tamil Nadu strike. 2 hours into the trip, on Mysore road, we still had not decided where to go! But a fabulous trip, because of the Wayanad safari, the bungalow resort with sumptuous food, walk in the estate, uphill trek on the Bheemeshwari mountain range and wonderful bath at the Irruppu Falls. Marred only by the sad news of grand parents’ car accident.
Place: Nagarhole, Irruppu Falls, Bheemeshwari Mountain range
Company: Deb, Preetham, Satheesh, Manju
Album: Click here
Highlights: A trip that started off with Mudumalai as destination, changed on the road due to Tamil Nadu strike. 2 hours into the trip, on Mysore road, we still had not decided where to go! But a fabulous trip, because of the Wayanad safari, the bungalow resort with sumptuous food, walk in the estate, uphill trek on the Bheemeshwari mountain range and wonderful bath at the Irruppu Falls. Marred only by the sad news of grand parents’ car accident.
Kalavarahalli
Time: March 2007
Place: Kalavarahalli
Company: Manju, Soumik, Deb
Album: Click here
Highlights: A trip that started off from a forwarded mail containing beautiful snaps! A trek uphill that led nowhere. So backtracked and went to Nandi Hills!
Place: Kalavarahalli
Company: Manju, Soumik, Deb
Album: Click here
Highlights: A trip that started off from a forwarded mail containing beautiful snaps! A trek uphill that led nowhere. So backtracked and went to Nandi Hills!
Back to Bangalore
Time: February 2007
Place: Kalhalli
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: Driving in India seems strange! But NICE road is really nice!
Place: Kalhalli
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: Driving in India seems strange! But NICE road is really nice!
Singapore
Time: December 2006 – January 2007 (New year)
Place: Singapore
Company: Roopendra
Highlights: On our way back to India. Little India, and boat ride on the river. Changi airport is an eye-opener!
Place: Singapore
Company: Roopendra
Highlights: On our way back to India. Little India, and boat ride on the river. Changi airport is an eye-opener!
Mt Greylock
Time: December 2006
Place: Mount Greylock and Lake George, MA, USA
Company: 8 Infoscions
Highlights: Arduous trek to MA’s highest peak.
Place: Mount Greylock and Lake George, MA, USA
Company: 8 Infoscions
Highlights: Arduous trek to MA’s highest peak.
CBBT
Time: December 2006
Place: Washington (DC), Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (Virginia), USA
Company: Sandeep & Family, Deb, Mayur
Highlights: Deb’s speeding ticket. CBBT in all its glory. Washington (same places) at night. A nice spectacle.
Place: Washington (DC), Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (Virginia), USA
Company: Sandeep & Family, Deb, Mayur
Highlights: Deb’s speeding ticket. CBBT in all its glory. Washington (same places) at night. A nice spectacle.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Parents in US
Time: September 2006
Place: Hopkinton (MA), Mount Washington (NH), Pittsburgh (PA), Niagara Falls (NY), Detroit (MI), USA
Company: Parents and brother
Highlights: Dropped parents to brother’s place. Beautiful Fall
Place: Hopkinton (MA), Mount Washington (NH), Pittsburgh (PA), Niagara Falls (NY), Detroit (MI), USA
Company: Parents and brother
Highlights: Dropped parents to brother’s place. Beautiful Fall
SFO
Time: September 2006
Place: San Francisco, CA, USA
Company: Mayuresh, Anupam, Deb
Highlights: A fast paced trip. Baggage lost. Delivered later to hotel. 17 mile scenic drive. Mystery spot. Highway 1. Clear water at Lake Tahoe. The Indian gal who raced Deb! Squaw valley’s longest and largest cable car. Golden Gate. Muir Woods. Some Piers. Union Station.
Place: San Francisco, CA, USA
Company: Mayuresh, Anupam, Deb
Highlights: A fast paced trip. Baggage lost. Delivered later to hotel. 17 mile scenic drive. Mystery spot. Highway 1. Clear water at Lake Tahoe. The Indian gal who raced Deb! Squaw valley’s longest and largest cable car. Golden Gate. Muir Woods. Some Piers. Union Station.
Acadia
Time: May 2006
Place: Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
Company: Abhishek, Archana, Ashwini, Murugan, Satish, Manjunathan
Highlights: Rode on a bi-plane. Great fun on a creek. Accomodation on a wooden cottage facing a beautiful lake. Scenic loop road. Cycling. Ashwini’s accident.
Place: Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
Company: Abhishek, Archana, Ashwini, Murugan, Satish, Manjunathan
Highlights: Rode on a bi-plane. Great fun on a creek. Accomodation on a wooden cottage facing a beautiful lake. Scenic loop road. Cycling. Ashwini’s accident.
Road trip
Time: Apr 2006
Place: Chicago, IL, USA
Company: Deb, Murali, Soumik
Highlights: Road trip! An 18 hour journey to go and 18 hour journey to come back, crossing many US states. Navy Pier, Sears Tower, Marine Drive being the main attractions, amidst the country beauty. Surprised to meet Deb (Miami) here too, who happened to be Soumik’s friend. Saw the whole night and felt the new year as the day broke on my 26th birthday.
Place: Chicago, IL, USA
Company: Deb, Murali, Soumik
Highlights: Road trip! An 18 hour journey to go and 18 hour journey to come back, crossing many US states. Navy Pier, Sears Tower, Marine Drive being the main attractions, amidst the country beauty. Surprised to meet Deb (Miami) here too, who happened to be Soumik’s friend. Saw the whole night and felt the new year as the day broke on my 26th birthday.
Smokies
Time: March 2006
Place: Smoky Mountains, NC & TN, USA
Company: Deb, Murali, Soumik
Highlights: Trip to SFO booked on a wrong day resulted in a trip to Smokies. Memories of Gatlinburg. Cycling on the loop road. Deb’s racy drive on Blue Ridge Mountain road, and the look on Murali’s face and Soumik’s face! Also, flew on one of the smallest airplanes.
Place: Smoky Mountains, NC & TN, USA
Company: Deb, Murali, Soumik
Highlights: Trip to SFO booked on a wrong day resulted in a trip to Smokies. Memories of Gatlinburg. Cycling on the loop road. Deb’s racy drive on Blue Ridge Mountain road, and the look on Murali’s face and Soumik’s face! Also, flew on one of the smallest airplanes.
Goks
Time: March 2006
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Harshavardhan Gokhale
Highlights: Nice time with a long-lost friend after a long time.
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Harshavardhan Gokhale
Highlights: Nice time with a long-lost friend after a long time.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
Time: January 2006
Place: Las Vegas, NV, USA & Grand Canyon, AZ, USA
Company: Murali, Deb, Anand
Highlights: LV, a city of Money and Girls. GC, a universal serenity. An amazing trip.
Place: Las Vegas, NV, USA & Grand Canyon, AZ, USA
Company: Murali, Deb, Anand
Highlights: LV, a city of Money and Girls. GC, a universal serenity. An amazing trip.
New Year 2006
Time: December 2005-January 2006 (New Year Eve)
Place: New York, NY, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun, Chaitra, Deepali, Nisha
Highlights: Witnessed Ball dropping at Times Square. A New year’s eve which can never be forgotten!
Place: New York, NY, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun, Chaitra, Deepali, Nisha
Highlights: Witnessed Ball dropping at Times Square. A New year’s eve which can never be forgotten!
Washington
Time: December 2005
Place: New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), Washington (DC), Caves (Virginia), USA
Company: 15 Infoscions
Highlights: Chinese package tour. A rest room trouble on Christmas day! Lincoln memorial, White House, Capitol Hill (nothing compared to Vidhana Soudha!), Air & Space Museum, FBI building, Virginia Caves, Macy’s at NY, American National history museum, NY.
Place: New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), Washington (DC), Caves (Virginia), USA
Company: 15 Infoscions
Highlights: Chinese package tour. A rest room trouble on Christmas day! Lincoln memorial, White House, Capitol Hill (nothing compared to Vidhana Soudha!), Air & Space Museum, FBI building, Virginia Caves, Macy’s at NY, American National history museum, NY.
Brother's
Time: December 2006
Place: Detroit (MI), USA
Company: Just me
Highlights: Visit to my brother’s
Place: Detroit (MI), USA
Company: Just me
Highlights: Visit to my brother’s
Pittsburgh
Time: November 2005
Place: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Company: Murali, Shobhan
Highlights: A suicide night drive amidst extreme snow storm! Experience of a life time!
Place: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Company: Murali, Shobhan
Highlights: A suicide night drive amidst extreme snow storm! Experience of a life time!
Atlantic City
Time: November 2005
Place: New York, Atlantic City, NY, USA
Company: Archana, Abhishek, Ceby, Murugan, Gulzar
Highlights: Vodka on a rotating bar, Intrepid, Casinos, lost 2 bus tickets
Place: New York, Atlantic City, NY, USA
Company: Archana, Abhishek, Ceby, Murugan, Gulzar
Highlights: Vodka on a rotating bar, Intrepid, Casinos, lost 2 bus tickets
In India
Time: October 2005
Place: Tirumala, Kukke Subrahmanya, Mantralaya, Sonda
Company: Parents
Highlights: One month hiatus in India led to getting rid of all sins, on every weekend, to respective places!
Place: Tirumala, Kukke Subrahmanya, Mantralaya, Sonda
Company: Parents
Highlights: One month hiatus in India led to getting rid of all sins, on every weekend, to respective places!
$465
Time: September 2005
Place: Niagara, Corning, NY, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: $465 speeding ticket. Mithun’s too! Cave of the Winds.
Place: Niagara, Corning, NY, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: $465 speeding ticket. Mithun’s too! Cave of the Winds.
Prudential
Time: September 2005
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Infoscions
Highlights: Cruise, Prudential building - Boston's tallest
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Infoscions
Highlights: Cruise, Prudential building - Boston's tallest
Tampa
Time: September 2005
Place: Tampa, Orlando , FL, USA
Company: Nikhil, Deb, Murali
Highlights: Orlando’s Universal Studio, Tampa Clearwater beach & Tampa downtown
Place: Tampa, Orlando , FL, USA
Company: Nikhil, Deb, Murali
Highlights: Orlando’s Universal Studio, Tampa Clearwater beach & Tampa downtown
Freedom Trail
Time: August 2005
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: Freedom Trail, Aquarium, IMAX, Park St, Ice skating.
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: Freedom Trail, Aquarium, IMAX, Park St, Ice skating.
Hopkinton
Time: August 2005
Place: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: A weekend retreat!
Place: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun
Highlights: A weekend retreat!
Philly
Time: July 2005
Place: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun, Ceby
Highlights: Got lost in NY. Ashwini’s friend had slept off at 2 am! Stayed over at Mithun’s and went to Philly to meet Giri. Wonderful time with him. Went to a movie (Wedding Crashers), saw Philly’s nearby sights, ate Mexican, talked till 5 am, train stopped in the middle due to a bomb scare in Penn Station, came back uneventfully.
Place: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Company: Ashwini, Mithun, Ceby
Highlights: Got lost in NY. Ashwini’s friend had slept off at 2 am! Stayed over at Mithun’s and went to Philly to meet Giri. Wonderful time with him. Went to a movie (Wedding Crashers), saw Philly’s nearby sights, ate Mexican, talked till 5 am, train stopped in the middle due to a bomb scare in Penn Station, came back uneventfully.
Cape Cod
Time: July 2005
Place: Cape Cod, MA, USA
Company: Jainendra & Family, Shabbir & Family
Highlights: 3 hour drive in my red Volvo. A nice relaxing time at the beach.
Place: Cape Cod, MA, USA
Company: Jainendra & Family, Shabbir & Family
Highlights: 3 hour drive in my red Volvo. A nice relaxing time at the beach.
New York
Time: July 2005
Place: New York, NY, USA
Company: Gulzar, Murugan
Highlights: Experienced New York first hand. Got lost many times and enjoyed the overall experience! Wow, what a city! Statue of Liberty, Times Square, UN building, Madame Tussauds, Empire State building, Ground Zzero (previously WTC), Wall St, NYSE, NASDAQ, Big Bull, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center.
Place: New York, NY, USA
Company: Gulzar, Murugan
Highlights: Experienced New York first hand. Got lost many times and enjoyed the overall experience! Wow, what a city! Statue of Liberty, Times Square, UN building, Madame Tussauds, Empire State building, Ground Zzero (previously WTC), Wall St, NYSE, NASDAQ, Big Bull, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center.
White Mountain
Time: June 2005
Place: White Mountain range, NH, USA
Company: Ashish, Manju, Mithun, Deb, Digvijay
Highlights: Rainy trip, with road to Mount Washington closed due to bad weather. However, lots of short treks and falls.
Place: White Mountain range, NH, USA
Company: Ashish, Manju, Mithun, Deb, Digvijay
Highlights: Rainy trip, with road to Mount Washington closed due to bad weather. However, lots of short treks and falls.
Miami
Time: May 2005
Place: Miami, FL, USA
Company: Gaurav
Highlights: Met Jagadish and his pals Nikhil and Debabrata. Overnight journey to Keywest, Miami Ocean Drive and beach, missed seeing Sheela by a whisker, Orlando Disneyland, eventful night journey back.
Place: Miami, FL, USA
Company: Gaurav
Highlights: Met Jagadish and his pals Nikhil and Debabrata. Overnight journey to Keywest, Miami Ocean Drive and beach, missed seeing Sheela by a whisker, Orlando Disneyland, eventful night journey back.
Niagara
Time: April 2005
Place: Niagara Falls, NY, USA
Company: Gaurav
Highlights: Chinese package tour. Maid of the Mist is an experience of a life time!
Place: Niagara Falls, NY, USA
Company: Gaurav
Highlights: Chinese package tour. Maid of the Mist is an experience of a life time!
Skiing
Time: Mar 2005
Place: Nashoba Valley, MA, USA
Company: A huge gang of Infoscions!
Highlights: Skiing. I sucked in it!
Place: Nashoba Valley, MA, USA
Company: A huge gang of Infoscions!
Highlights: Skiing. I sucked in it!
MIT and Harvard
Time: Mar 2005
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Deb, Sajith, Manju, Ravi
Highlights: MIT, Harvard, Charles River
Place: Boston, MA, USA
Company: Deb, Sajith, Manju, Ravi
Highlights: MIT, Harvard, Charles River
Char Dham
Time: May 2004
Place: Delhi, Haridwar, Yamunothri, Gangothri, Kedarnath, Badrinath
Company: Parents, but a package trip
Highlights: A beautiful 18-day trip with parents organized by Vikram travels. Amazing food everyday, great accommodations, and good travel bus.
Delhi: A repeat of places I had seen. Including Indira Gandhi’s assassination scene. Sweltering hot!
Haridwar and Rishikesh. A repeat again. Went on jhoola this time. And saw innumerous places of interest in and around. Quite fascinating really.
Yamunothri. A tiring 7 km up and 7 km down steep climb. A climb which makes you feel colder as you climb higher. Nearest place where we can see River Yamuna originating, but it actually originates much higher. Unfortunately for us, there was a strike that day which delayed us the whole morning. So, we climbed late, and had to hurry back down because it was becoming pitch dark!
Gangothri, which is the nearest place where we can see River Ganga originating, but it actually originates from Gaumukh, which is a further 7 km steep trek amidst the cold mountains. Remembered breathing heavily in Gangothri because of lack of Oxygen content.
Kedarnath. 14 km up and 14 km down. I took a horse ride up, but realized within moments, the brutality of it! Suffered, along with cold, all the way up. Idol is a mere flat faced rock which is considered as Lord Shiva. Paid the whole amount but came down 14 km walking. A girl of my age giving me company, made it all the more easier! A feverish strain in the night.
Badrinath. The sacred house of Lord Vishnu. I had at last fulfilled my vow! Then, Vyaas Guha.
Overall: Hot water geysers in all the cold places were a pleasure. Overnight stay at Uttar Kashi and Joshi Mutt. Latter because we missed the 5 pm deadline after which the stretch of 30 kms to Badri is closed as it is considered to be dangerous. Tiny winding roads all around, with deep gorges, magnificent yet fierce rivers, scenic snow-capped mountains. Easily, one of my greatest trips!
Place: Delhi, Haridwar, Yamunothri, Gangothri, Kedarnath, Badrinath
Company: Parents, but a package trip
Highlights: A beautiful 18-day trip with parents organized by Vikram travels. Amazing food everyday, great accommodations, and good travel bus.
Delhi: A repeat of places I had seen. Including Indira Gandhi’s assassination scene. Sweltering hot!
Haridwar and Rishikesh. A repeat again. Went on jhoola this time. And saw innumerous places of interest in and around. Quite fascinating really.
Yamunothri. A tiring 7 km up and 7 km down steep climb. A climb which makes you feel colder as you climb higher. Nearest place where we can see River Yamuna originating, but it actually originates much higher. Unfortunately for us, there was a strike that day which delayed us the whole morning. So, we climbed late, and had to hurry back down because it was becoming pitch dark!
Gangothri, which is the nearest place where we can see River Ganga originating, but it actually originates from Gaumukh, which is a further 7 km steep trek amidst the cold mountains. Remembered breathing heavily in Gangothri because of lack of Oxygen content.
Kedarnath. 14 km up and 14 km down. I took a horse ride up, but realized within moments, the brutality of it! Suffered, along with cold, all the way up. Idol is a mere flat faced rock which is considered as Lord Shiva. Paid the whole amount but came down 14 km walking. A girl of my age giving me company, made it all the more easier! A feverish strain in the night.
Badrinath. The sacred house of Lord Vishnu. I had at last fulfilled my vow! Then, Vyaas Guha.
Overall: Hot water geysers in all the cold places were a pleasure. Overnight stay at Uttar Kashi and Joshi Mutt. Latter because we missed the 5 pm deadline after which the stretch of 30 kms to Badri is closed as it is considered to be dangerous. Tiny winding roads all around, with deep gorges, magnificent yet fierce rivers, scenic snow-capped mountains. Easily, one of my greatest trips!
Off to USA
Time: Mar 2005 – Sep 2005; Nov 2005 – Dec 2006
Place: Marlborough, MA, USA
Company: Just me
Highlights: On office duty
Place: Marlborough, MA, USA
Company: Just me
Highlights: On office duty
Guruvayoor
Time: Mid 2004
Place: Guruvayoor, Palakkad, Palani
Company: Parents
Highlights: Rich religious traditions at Guruvayoor, beautiful setting at Malamphuza dam and the Palani hill-top from where Kodai can be seen.
Place: Guruvayoor, Palakkad, Palani
Company: Parents
Highlights: Rich religious traditions at Guruvayoor, beautiful setting at Malamphuza dam and the Palani hill-top from where Kodai can be seen.
Tirukoillur
Time: Early 2004
Place: Tirukoillur, Trichy
Company: Parents
Highlights: A fast-paced trip. Serene, beautiful setting at Tirukoillur Mutt, beside river Cauvery, where the Brindavan is in open-air. If a branch of a tree over grows and tries to provide shadow, the branch is said to automatically wither away and die. From Tirukoillur, we went to Ulundurpettai (the worst urinals I have ever seen in bus stand) and then to Vriddhachalam. Next day, went to Srimushna, and then back to Vriddhachalam, on our way to Tiruchirapalli(Trichy). Saw the massive temple at Sriranga and returned back.
Place: Tirukoillur, Trichy
Company: Parents
Highlights: A fast-paced trip. Serene, beautiful setting at Tirukoillur Mutt, beside river Cauvery, where the Brindavan is in open-air. If a branch of a tree over grows and tries to provide shadow, the branch is said to automatically wither away and die. From Tirukoillur, we went to Ulundurpettai (the worst urinals I have ever seen in bus stand) and then to Vriddhachalam. Next day, went to Srimushna, and then back to Vriddhachalam, on our way to Tiruchirapalli(Trichy). Saw the massive temple at Sriranga and returned back.
Rameshwaram
Time: December 2003
Place: Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kodaikanal
Company: Parents
Highlights: Madurai is a center point between Rameshwara and Kodaikanal.
Madurai: Enormous, enormous temple. Our good nieghbours facilitated an easy Darshan.
Rameshwaram: The sacred 21 baths from 21 wells early in the morning after the initial dip in the Bay of Bengal, where its said that Lord Rama shot an arrow to stop the waves from ever crashing onto the beaches of Rameshwaram. Also, saw the stones which were mythically used to walk the 18 km stretch over the Bay of Bengal to Lanka by Lord Rama to save Sita from Ravana.
Kodaikanal: The chill and natural beauty is awe-inspiring. But it being off-season, most of the view points were covered with clouds.
Place: Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kodaikanal
Company: Parents
Highlights: Madurai is a center point between Rameshwara and Kodaikanal.
Madurai: Enormous, enormous temple. Our good nieghbours facilitated an easy Darshan.
Rameshwaram: The sacred 21 baths from 21 wells early in the morning after the initial dip in the Bay of Bengal, where its said that Lord Rama shot an arrow to stop the waves from ever crashing onto the beaches of Rameshwaram. Also, saw the stones which were mythically used to walk the 18 km stretch over the Bay of Bengal to Lanka by Lord Rama to save Sita from Ravana.
Kodaikanal: The chill and natural beauty is awe-inspiring. But it being off-season, most of the view points were covered with clouds.
Gokarna
Time: 2003
Place: Sonda, Gokarna
Company: Parents
Highlights: Sonda to Sirsi to Kumta to Gokarna. Nice beaches, lots of foreigners and the buried Atma Linga roots. I have always loved that story and hence wanted to see this place badly. At last!
Place: Sonda, Gokarna
Company: Parents
Highlights: Sonda to Sirsi to Kumta to Gokarna. Nice beaches, lots of foreigners and the buried Atma Linga roots. I have always loved that story and hence wanted to see this place badly. At last!
First trip with Infoscions
Time: Dec 2002
Place: Chamundi Hills
Company: New Infosys batch mates
Highlights: Got inseparable with Infosys batch mates!
Place: Chamundi Hills
Company: New Infosys batch mates
Highlights: Got inseparable with Infosys batch mates!
SSB time
Time: June 2002 (for about 4-5 days)
Place: Mysore, Chamundi Hills
Company: SSB mates
Highlights: Got selected for the Services Selection Board at Mysore. All excited, went to Mysore via train. We were taken to the SSB place in buses - each having a seat of our own (this became important on the last day!)
At the SSB, we were told about our itinerary for the next few days. We were allotted our hostel beds. It was a great dormitory - and we all guys had lot of fun. There was even a gym - my first ever experience of a gym!
Over the next few days, we had multiple tests such as IQ test (this lasted for about 4 hours!), interview (10-15 minutes, I realized I did badly when I told I will go to US for Masters if I flunk in SSB!), physical test (I fell from top while trying to catch a rope from about 10 feet height!) and many such things - all these were just one a day. We had one day off when we guys went to Chamundi Hills. The food was bad on all days in the canteen. We pitied the Indian Army for such food!
On the last day, results were announced, and not surprisingly I was not selected. All the failed candidates were herded into one truck like a sheep (note the difference now from the first day!) and sent back to railway station for departure to Bangalore!
Although I did badly, it was a memorable experience.
Place: Mysore, Chamundi Hills
Company: SSB mates
Highlights: Got selected for the Services Selection Board at Mysore. All excited, went to Mysore via train. We were taken to the SSB place in buses - each having a seat of our own (this became important on the last day!)
At the SSB, we were told about our itinerary for the next few days. We were allotted our hostel beds. It was a great dormitory - and we all guys had lot of fun. There was even a gym - my first ever experience of a gym!
Over the next few days, we had multiple tests such as IQ test (this lasted for about 4 hours!), interview (10-15 minutes, I realized I did badly when I told I will go to US for Masters if I flunk in SSB!), physical test (I fell from top while trying to catch a rope from about 10 feet height!) and many such things - all these were just one a day. We had one day off when we guys went to Chamundi Hills. The food was bad on all days in the canteen. We pitied the Indian Army for such food!
On the last day, results were announced, and not surprisingly I was not selected. All the failed candidates were herded into one truck like a sheep (note the difference now from the first day!) and sent back to railway station for departure to Bangalore!
Although I did badly, it was a memorable experience.
Second engineering trip
Time: December 2001
Place: Sringeri, St. Mary’s Island, Agumbe, Kollur, Byndoor Beach, Murudeshwar, Udupi
Company: Engineering mates
Highlights: The other faction of the class wanted truce and organized this 3 day long trip for which there was a huge turn-out. Remembered guys falling for a simple yet utterly beautiful salesgirl in a shop at Kollur! I almost drowned in Byndoor Beach, but had amazing fun! Danced all the way back to Bangalore!
Place: Sringeri, St. Mary’s Island, Agumbe, Kollur, Byndoor Beach, Murudeshwar, Udupi
Company: Engineering mates
Highlights: The other faction of the class wanted truce and organized this 3 day long trip for which there was a huge turn-out. Remembered guys falling for a simple yet utterly beautiful salesgirl in a shop at Kollur! I almost drowned in Byndoor Beach, but had amazing fun! Danced all the way back to Bangalore!
First engineering trip
Time: June 2001
Place: Balamuri Falls, KRS dam
Company: Engineering mates
Highlights: Factions in engineering class group led to a turn-out of just 14 member day-long trip. But, boy, was it a trip! Full marks to the enthusiasm of my dearest friend Sandhya, who organized the whole thing!
Place: Balamuri Falls, KRS dam
Company: Engineering mates
Highlights: Factions in engineering class group led to a turn-out of just 14 member day-long trip. But, boy, was it a trip! Full marks to the enthusiasm of my dearest friend Sandhya, who organized the whole thing!
Kudremukh
Time: 1997
Place: Kudremukh
Company: Giri, Guru, Madhu, Diwakar
Highlights: River bath at Dharmasthala. Started mountain climbing trek from Navooru. Constant rain stopped us. A farmer allowed us to stay at an out-house. Started early morning again. Exhausted within couple of hours due to the steepness. By 10 am, we were over the clouds. By 1 pm, we found a dilapidated shelter house with no doors, which was at the base of last stretch of Kudremukh. By 2 pm, it started raining again But we climbed on. Amidst leeches stuck to embarrassing places in the body, amidst eating bread and jam on dripping rain, with blood all over shoes, and socks soggy wet, we climbed on. But then, the chill started and two of us started shivering uncontrollably. Two came down to shelter-house, while three continued. They went to the peak, of course no visibility, and started back. Met a tiger on their way back. It acknowledged them and went its way. Almost lost way in pitch darkness. Next day, downhill trek to Belthangadi amidst beautiful sceneries. Bus to Hornadu. Back to Bangalore. An unforgettable trip.
Place: Kudremukh
Company: Giri, Guru, Madhu, Diwakar
Highlights: River bath at Dharmasthala. Started mountain climbing trek from Navooru. Constant rain stopped us. A farmer allowed us to stay at an out-house. Started early morning again. Exhausted within couple of hours due to the steepness. By 10 am, we were over the clouds. By 1 pm, we found a dilapidated shelter house with no doors, which was at the base of last stretch of Kudremukh. By 2 pm, it started raining again But we climbed on. Amidst leeches stuck to embarrassing places in the body, amidst eating bread and jam on dripping rain, with blood all over shoes, and socks soggy wet, we climbed on. But then, the chill started and two of us started shivering uncontrollably. Two came down to shelter-house, while three continued. They went to the peak, of course no visibility, and started back. Met a tiger on their way back. It acknowledged them and went its way. Almost lost way in pitch darkness. Next day, downhill trek to Belthangadi amidst beautiful sceneries. Bus to Hornadu. Back to Bangalore. An unforgettable trip.
Pandarpur
Time: 1997
Place: Pandarpur, Kolhapur
Company: Paternal Family
Highlights: Religious places. Remembered Kykadi temple, and how the pujaris ask for money openly. The sweating inside the sanctum sanctorum of Kolhapur temple. The peaceful train journey back from Miraj.
Place: Pandarpur, Kolhapur
Company: Paternal Family
Highlights: Religious places. Remembered Kykadi temple, and how the pujaris ask for money openly. The sweating inside the sanctum sanctorum of Kolhapur temple. The peaceful train journey back from Miraj.
River side trek
Time: 1996
Place: Muthaththi, Meke Daatu
Company: Giri, Guru
Highlights: Night camp halt at Muthathathi. Day long 24 km trek beside Cauvery to Sangama, with river dips every 15 min to beat the summer heat! Refreshing sleep in the river at Sangama, where we night camped again. Quick 1 hour 4 km trek to Meke daatu in the morning and, back to Bangalore. Most memorable trip.
Place: Muthaththi, Meke Daatu
Company: Giri, Guru
Highlights: Night camp halt at Muthathathi. Day long 24 km trek beside Cauvery to Sangama, with river dips every 15 min to beat the summer heat! Refreshing sleep in the river at Sangama, where we night camped again. Quick 1 hour 4 km trek to Meke daatu in the morning and, back to Bangalore. Most memorable trip.
Kukke
Time: Mid 1990s
Place: Kukke Subrahmanya, Dharmasthala, Udupi, Sonda
Company: Family
Highlights: Religious places. Kukke is a scenic sacred place with the temple under a hill and beside a river. Sonda is about 22 kms from Sirsi, in the middle of a dense forest. Apart from the temple and a Gurukul and a couple of shops, nothing is there, but very sacred. Nearby is Tapovana (1 km trek in forest) where Tapas was done on the river banks.
Place: Kukke Subrahmanya, Dharmasthala, Udupi, Sonda
Company: Family
Highlights: Religious places. Kukke is a scenic sacred place with the temple under a hill and beside a river. Sonda is about 22 kms from Sirsi, in the middle of a dense forest. Apart from the temple and a Gurukul and a couple of shops, nothing is there, but very sacred. Nearby is Tapovana (1 km trek in forest) where Tapas was done on the river banks.
Secunderabad
Time: Mid 1990s
Place: Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkheda
Company: Family
Highlights: Golconda Fort, Char Minar, Hussein Sagar Lake were main attractions. Remember seeing Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in a jam packed magnificently air conditioned theatre. Malkheda is a beautiful religious place 3 hours away.
Place: Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkheda
Company: Family
Highlights: Golconda Fort, Char Minar, Hussein Sagar Lake were main attractions. Remember seeing Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in a jam packed magnificently air conditioned theatre. Malkheda is a beautiful religious place 3 hours away.
Bhopal
Time: April 1995
Place: Bhopal, Sangli
Company: Maternal aunt and cousins
Highlights: A beautiful place! A pensioner’s paradise! Probably the place seems so deserted because people migrated after the Bhopal Gas tragedy. Remembered running towards a moving local train to Sangli, which then stopped just for us. But after an hour, since we reached our destination, and no TTE had come, we had traveled ticketless! So had to exit from a back gate at the Sangli station! Sangli is a nice place, full of Gautam Buddha’s sculptures. It just happened to be my 15th birthday!
Place: Bhopal, Sangli
Company: Maternal aunt and cousins
Highlights: A beautiful place! A pensioner’s paradise! Probably the place seems so deserted because people migrated after the Bhopal Gas tragedy. Remembered running towards a moving local train to Sangli, which then stopped just for us. But after an hour, since we reached our destination, and no TTE had come, we had traveled ticketless! So had to exit from a back gate at the Sangli station! Sangli is a nice place, full of Gautam Buddha’s sculptures. It just happened to be my 15th birthday!
Taj Mahal
Time: 1993
Place: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikhri, Haridwar
Company: Mother and maternal uncle
Highlights: Felt awed by Delhi, with its wide roads, fly-overs, Lotus Mahal, Parliament, India Gate. Of course, Agra’s Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikhri’s fort. Remembered seeing road to Badrinath from Haridwar. Vowed to go there soon! Became a fan of the detective serial Derrick!
Place: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikhri, Haridwar
Company: Mother and maternal uncle
Highlights: Felt awed by Delhi, with its wide roads, fly-overs, Lotus Mahal, Parliament, India Gate. Of course, Agra’s Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikhri’s fort. Remembered seeing road to Badrinath from Haridwar. Vowed to go there soon! Became a fan of the detective serial Derrick!
Mehboobnagar
Time: 1992
Place: Mehboobnagar, Raichur
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: A family function
Place: Mehboobnagar, Raichur
Company: Maternal family
Highlights: A family function
Jog
Time: 1992
Place: Jog falls, Sonda
Company: Family
Highlights: Learned the word ‘mirage’ in this trip!
Place: Jog falls, Sonda
Company: Family
Highlights: Learned the word ‘mirage’ in this trip!
Bombay
Time: 1990
Place: Mumbai (the then Bombay)
Company: School mates
Highlights: A weeklong school trip, with numbers assigned to each one of us. My number was 1 because I was the youngest! Remembered being awake the whole of onward 24 hours train journey, which resulted in absolute exhausting by the time we arrived at Bombay VT. We stayed in a choultry and I remember visiting only Hanging Garden and Essel World. Most other details are forgotten. Were woken up at 5 am everyday, and fearing cold water, never took bath all 5 days. So, when my mom bathed me after coming back, I smelt of diesel!!
Place: Mumbai (the then Bombay)
Company: School mates
Highlights: A weeklong school trip, with numbers assigned to each one of us. My number was 1 because I was the youngest! Remembered being awake the whole of onward 24 hours train journey, which resulted in absolute exhausting by the time we arrived at Bombay VT. We stayed in a choultry and I remember visiting only Hanging Garden and Essel World. Most other details are forgotten. Were woken up at 5 am everyday, and fearing cold water, never took bath all 5 days. So, when my mom bathed me after coming back, I smelt of diesel!!
1987 Christmas
Time: 1987
Place: Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari
Company: Family
Highlights: One of the rare trips where only the four of us (father, mother, brother and self) went on a trip. Was very excited about staying in a 5-star hotel in Cochin! I lost a shawl in Trivandrum, which my mom even now remembers and scolds! Kanyakumari, southern most point of India, is the only place in India where both sunset and sunrise can be seen, and 3 major water bodies merge into one (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea). Flight back from Trivandrum to Bangalore was my first!
Place: Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari
Company: Family
Highlights: One of the rare trips where only the four of us (father, mother, brother and self) went on a trip. Was very excited about staying in a 5-star hotel in Cochin! I lost a shawl in Trivandrum, which my mom even now remembers and scolds! Kanyakumari, southern most point of India, is the only place in India where both sunset and sunrise can be seen, and 3 major water bodies merge into one (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea). Flight back from Trivandrum to Bangalore was my first!
Rural beauty
Time: Late 1980s and Mid 1990s
Place: Nagamangala, Srinivasapura, Chintamani
Company: Family
Highlights: Towns few hours from Bangalore. Visited a family relative there several times and enjoyed the rural beauty. The warmth with which people treat other is something that cities can never match upto. But of course, that is because, everyone knows everyone there!
Place: Nagamangala, Srinivasapura, Chintamani
Company: Family
Highlights: Towns few hours from Bangalore. Visited a family relative there several times and enjoyed the rural beauty. The warmth with which people treat other is something that cities can never match upto. But of course, that is because, everyone knows everyone there!
Various trips before I started blogging...
Time: Late 1980s and Early 1990s
Place: Talakad, Mekedaatu/Sangama, Sivanasamudram, Ghosayighatta, Balamuri Falls, KRS dam, Nandi Hills, Muthaththi, Mantralayam, Pearl valley, Bannerghatta Park, Siva Ganga, Shravana Belagola, Belur Halebid, Chikka Tirupathi, Devarayana Durga, Ranganathittu, Mahadevapura, Hogenakal, Kalhalli, Chamundi Hills, etc..
Company: Various - sometimes relatives but most times dad's colleagues
Highlights: Individual picnics organized my by father and his colleagues or relatives on occasional weekends provided a refreshing change! Some notable events…
- Picnic to Muthaththi was memorable as car broke down in the middle of a deep gorge, and a bus driver helped us in towing it back up, much to the chagrin of the passengers!
- A family duel at Hogenekal!
- Again, car break down at Kalhalli. Driving a towed car for 45 kms back is still my one of the best driving experiences!
- Kinetic bike ride to BG park with colleagues was fun!
Place: Talakad, Mekedaatu/Sangama, Sivanasamudram, Ghosayighatta, Balamuri Falls, KRS dam, Nandi Hills, Muthaththi, Mantralayam, Pearl valley, Bannerghatta Park, Siva Ganga, Shravana Belagola, Belur Halebid, Chikka Tirupathi, Devarayana Durga, Ranganathittu, Mahadevapura, Hogenakal, Kalhalli, Chamundi Hills, etc..
Company: Various - sometimes relatives but most times dad's colleagues
Highlights: Individual picnics organized my by father and his colleagues or relatives on occasional weekends provided a refreshing change! Some notable events…
- Picnic to Muthaththi was memorable as car broke down in the middle of a deep gorge, and a bus driver helped us in towing it back up, much to the chagrin of the passengers!
- A family duel at Hogenekal!
- Again, car break down at Kalhalli. Driving a towed car for 45 kms back is still my one of the best driving experiences!
- Kinetic bike ride to BG park with colleagues was fun!
Badrinath of South
Time: Late 1980s
Place: Hampi, Nava Brindavana, Hospet
Company: Maternal relatives
Highlights: Played tabla on the pillars of Hampi! Almost lost a water bottle on Tunga, for which there was sufficient scoldings! Nava Brindavana is considered as Badrinath of the South.
Place: Hampi, Nava Brindavana, Hospet
Company: Maternal relatives
Highlights: Played tabla on the pillars of Hampi! Almost lost a water bottle on Tunga, for which there was sufficient scoldings! Nava Brindavana is considered as Badrinath of the South.
Venisompur
Time: Late 1980s
Place: Venisompur
Company: Family
Highlights: A small village on the banks of Tunga Bhadra near Mantralayam. A beautiful scenic rural life! Experienced bullock cart ride, walking amidst fields & taking a nature's call in nature!
Place: Venisompur
Company: Family
Highlights: A small village on the banks of Tunga Bhadra near Mantralayam. A beautiful scenic rural life! Experienced bullock cart ride, walking amidst fields & taking a nature's call in nature!
Talakaveri
Time: Late 1980s
Place: Coorg, Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Nisargadhama, Kushal Nagar, Abbe Falls
Company: Parents and dad’s colleagues
Highlights: Talakaveri is the birthplace of river Cauvery. A droplet sprouts from underground every now and then, which is a sight to see. On our way back, an incident of our car driver picking up a quarrel with another driver, leading to a high speed race in a horrible road comes to the mind. The quarrel almost climaxed to hitting the windshields!
Place: Coorg, Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Nisargadhama, Kushal Nagar, Abbe Falls
Company: Parents and dad’s colleagues
Highlights: Talakaveri is the birthplace of river Cauvery. A droplet sprouts from underground every now and then, which is a sight to see. On our way back, an incident of our car driver picking up a quarrel with another driver, leading to a high speed race in a horrible road comes to the mind. The quarrel almost climaxed to hitting the windshields!
The Handcuff
Time: Late 1980s
Place: Many religious places like Mantralaya, Srishaila, Udupi.
Company: Family
Highlights: I was a constant companion with my mom’s mom! Cannot forget my hands handcuffed in hers! And the constant stream of toys and small idols!
Place: Many religious places like Mantralaya, Srishaila, Udupi.
Company: Family
Highlights: I was a constant companion with my mom’s mom! Cannot forget my hands handcuffed in hers! And the constant stream of toys and small idols!
Yedikumeri
Time: Mid 1980s
Place: Udupi
Company: Family
Highlights: Memorable train journey from Bangalore to Mangalore. Early morning scenic views and set dosa at Yedikumeri, which is at the top of a hill.
Place: Udupi
Company: Family
Highlights: Memorable train journey from Bangalore to Mangalore. Early morning scenic views and set dosa at Yedikumeri, which is at the top of a hill.
Tirumala
Time: Minimum yearly once, since 1980
Place: Tirumala
Company: Family
Highlights: Yearly once, at a minimum. Have climbed the hill twice. It isnt all that difficult. Just takes about 3-4 hours. Missed going in 2006, as I was not in India. Occasionally, visit to Papavinashanam, Kalahasthi, Tiruchanoor.
Place: Tirumala
Company: Family
Highlights: Yearly once, at a minimum. Have climbed the hill twice. It isnt all that difficult. Just takes about 3-4 hours. Missed going in 2006, as I was not in India. Occasionally, visit to Papavinashanam, Kalahasthi, Tiruchanoor.
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