18th November 2005 dawned as yet another day for most of the Indians.But it never dawned to any of us that there was going to be a party in the near future with youngsters and that too educated youngsters. The ideal world scenario which we could experience in movies and leave the hall with a deep sigh might just be a decade away( or even earlier than that) !
"From the time of its inception on the 18th of Nov. 2005, Lok Paritran has stood
for good governance and the elimination of corruption. Our policies are aimed
toward far-reaching and permanent improvement in the quality of life of every
citizen of India. "
These were the lines I went across in their site Lok Paritran.
Simple,yet significant. This is all I want from a government…I heard myself saying.
Before you read further ,here is the disclaimer:
I am neither a member of the party nor a person scheming against it. I am just an every - day office - going software engineer who lives a mundane life with a tint of hope that one day we would live in an efficient India. All I say here are my own opinion.
This site perusal about LP was long time ago when I first was blindly supporting them just because I felt good to know these people are young and honest enough to make India corrupt free. Nothing more than what they did in the TN elections was expected. I was disappointed but not totally until there was a big let down when everything began falling apart after a crisis.. But now everything needs to fall in place soon…….
I joined a few orkut communities which discuss about Lok Paritran. I found that after their loss,everyone seemed to lose faith in Lok Paritran. The crisis was further making it lose credibility. And now, there are more quarrels in the communities rather than unity. Communites like Lok Paritran Sucks started coming up. What a letdown for the enthused guys! But remember guys..crisis is the only test of endurance.Stand together in crisis, you will slowly begin to glow even in darkness. I liked the way Sudhish Kamaath had blogged about the party post-elections. I might lack a similar powerful way of putting it across.But let me try….
Without beating around the bush,let me jump onto the point straight.
Where LP impresses:
Democracy :It’s a party begun by 5 people( or 6,doenst matter really) but helped by a few thousands today. Those thousands are not people who get paid,not people who are relatives of the 5, and not at all known to the 5 until they met them,they are people like me,like you and like everyone who wants to see a better India.
Youth: The younger generation which you and I belong to belives in a performance is to power relationship.If someone is successful in performance even if he is lacking in experience should have more power but the vice versa shouldn’t hold true.The youth of India looks promising with the former ideology.
Education: Simple and hard working people without education have ruled our states popularly. Arent the same traits a touch better with education? Isnt that why Abdul Kalaam is a role model to today’s youth than any other president?
Yes I do agree LP fails to impress in more than one area.The internal party problems,lack of adequate funds and fickle members who just wont accept failures. But do not forget LP is here to change the system the way you and I want it to be. Its after all our party. So it is we who need to hold it together. The good or bad,lets put forth our views together. Let the persons concerned come forward and explain.This is one such effort to bring us all together…..
Let me start to consider that Lok Paritran is our party( People who started this I hope will surely agree that its meant for we the people of India who fervently hope for a change in our system.)Invite more people to join the communities,support each other instead of arguing blindly..Brainstorm,come to a conclusion. Those whose points are left out should understand that on the whole it’s a win – win situation. I win when people listen,people win when I listen.
If you are a member of Lok Paritran Student wing,Lok Paritran,Lok Paritran Chennai chapter,etc…just pass on the message that we want more people to volunteer to whatever levels they can to help ourselves. Convene a get-together at a common place,discuss with the party members about the different ways through which you can volunteer and keep in touch using those communities about events and happenings. Slowly get to understand the contributors and people who you think are able in the party. Vote amongst the group to select candidates who will represent the party during the elections without much of any hype.During the course of the events within the party and communities,anyone found less able with majority intervention should be replaced without fanfare.By the time the next election comes,the most able,popular and deserved candidate will represent Lok Paritran.
If you are a member of communities like Lok Paritran Sucks or Lok Comedy paritran,please understand that Lok Paritran as u know is a fledgling party now but no lesser than any of the parties as of today. But where LP promises is that it is open to change,the way you want it to be. If you are not happy with the way its performing, put forth your point and suggestions to the persons concerned offline. Discouraging the party’s ideology is going to upset many people whose spirits will be dampened.Let us join hands to form a united India. Corrupt free India is our dream. Let us help Lok Paritran to realise our dream.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Scenic Switzerland--Contd
The following Sunday morning was pretty cool which almost made it impossible for us to wake up from the bed. Miles to go after I get up.. Literally. Today we are scheduled to cover almost half the distance of our flight journey from London to Zurich. We have to first reach Interlaken and then travel to Jungfrau which is supposed to be the top most point in Europe. I do not exactly remember the height. Its some 3k odd metres.. Can check that out in one of the pics I ve uploaded if ur one of those spectacled nerds who used to sit in the first bench even during college days and raise hands for all questions from ‘What is the difference between two stroke and four stroke engines?’ to ‘Who would like to be the class monitor?’
Ok,now back in Switzerland, I managed to pull myself out of the quilt,take a quick shower and went for a quick breakfast just in time to exchange some swiss francs and board the train to Interlaken.
Interlaken, I had read on the internet, was a beautiful place where there were lot of Indians and most importantly Indian restaurants( Interlaken,here I come) and least importantly, a beautiful lake, as the very name suggests( least important now that we have already had one lake ticked against the 3-day trip ). The train journey was yet another beautiful pass through mountains and lakes. The lake at Interlaken I found was pretty significant. All the lakes I ve seen in India had been green because of the moss under water.All the lakes I had seen in Lake district were brown because of the mountain reflections and muddy base.But the lake here was blue! It was more like a sea that had flown into this city. It was supposed to be water from the glaciers of Mt.Titlis,Jungrau and a third one which I can hardly remember.I think the explanation (and the picture below)is more than enough for a city we ll just be using to connect to the next destination and which was seen from the windows of a swiss train.
The flooring was also polished ice which tempted me to skate ( like we used to do when we see a polished floor during school days) only to immediately fall with a thud (rock hard ice is painful unlike the snow) and that seemed to happen everytime I tried to get up(luckily noone was in there). After that we went to the spinx terrace trying to catch a glimpse of a good view from the top but the fog was still there. People were saying the sun had just come out for a while and the fog had disappeared for ten minutes and that was the time we were at the ice palace( now u know why everyone missed such a hard thud which kept repeating periodically with every slip of mine)
After having no luck at all for a clear view, we ultimately decided to catch the train back.It is here we broke ice ( this time figuratively) with a Punjabi couple basically settled in Malaysia who call themselves PIO( People of Indian Origin, couldn’t really make out if they were happy or sad that way).And this animated Sardharji and his wife seemed to take so much pride in having come to Switzerland and kept bloating about his high profile company Quest( ever heard of it??) and how they had sponsored their trip to Switzerland and also the world cup in germany. The company was sponsoring Brazil’s training camp and they were to have lunch with Ronaldinho. He was surprised when both of us( me and my friend) acknowledged it with a mild ‘Oh’(what else can he expect from two football duds who knew about it as much as Laloo Prasad knew databases). Not at all impressed with our reaction, he went on to explain his company and their products( the discussion on dinner with Ronaldinho was better, I hardly understood what the company actually did even after his 15 minute speech and I could see that was the same plight with my friend which was evident in his face).He rated it only next to Amazon.com in ecom business. And then both of us who were trying to put up a ‘Oh! Wow! Excellent’ expression and almost blurted out at the same time’How is the company doing now?’.Immediately the quite-witted Sardharji( Bulls eye-Its indeed an oxymoron!) said ‘We are here,aren’t we?’
‘Are kya bath hai’ was the expression this time but inside we were thinking
‘So am I, How does it mean my company is doing well????’
Thanks to the animated Sardharji and his marketing techniques( he handed over his visiting card which would only be used to note his name and then set the Junk mail filter since he took our email ids promising to send us mails about his company) which literally made us miss the remaining beauty of Switzerland on our way back.
We got down at La again for a change of train and spent the rest of the train journey discussing about the interesting sardhar we had met- all the way till Zurich
Before I go any further,the food requires special mention. All we had were burgers,burgers and burgers. If you’re a screwed up vegetarian like me, it would be worse.All Jungfrau could offer on top for vegetarians were some boiled leaf with French fries ( hows that for a combination).As a result, I ended up throwing up all the food that’s gone in all through the night and hence had to get up late the next day to visit the Rhine falls. We had to hurriedly see it,click and then immediately come back to Zurich,grab some chocolates there and then to catch our flights. We were just there at the airport at the nick of time only to see the flight was slightly delayed. And the flight journey lasted an hour for us to get back to London ending the eventful trip to Switzerland.
Switzerland is a beautiful place to be with an amazing railway connectivity with sceneries and lakes all the way wherever you go. But I still wonder how better would it be comparing with our very own paradise on earth. With half a dozen Indian movies a year having atleast a single song sequence shot in the sceneries of Interlaken or in the snow of Alps ,hardly one really captures the mind as much as a single song in Roja did. I know all I can see in Kashmir now is blood and war, but I dream to see this place before I lose the physical strength and the push within. And Why not! Not in my wildest of dreams would I have thought I would go to Switzerland for a weekend..!
Ok,now back in Switzerland, I managed to pull myself out of the quilt,take a quick shower and went for a quick breakfast just in time to exchange some swiss francs and board the train to Interlaken.
Interlaken, I had read on the internet, was a beautiful place where there were lot of Indians and most importantly Indian restaurants( Interlaken,here I come) and least importantly, a beautiful lake, as the very name suggests( least important now that we have already had one lake ticked against the 3-day trip ). The train journey was yet another beautiful pass through mountains and lakes. The lake at Interlaken I found was pretty significant. All the lakes I ve seen in India had been green because of the moss under water.All the lakes I had seen in Lake district were brown because of the mountain reflections and muddy base.But the lake here was blue! It was more like a sea that had flown into this city. It was supposed to be water from the glaciers of Mt.Titlis,Jungrau and a third one which I can hardly remember.I think the explanation (and the picture below)is more than enough for a city we ll just be using to connect to the next destination and which was seen from the windows of a swiss train.
The next stop was Lauterbrunnen(please excuse me for some of the spellings which may have gone haywire because of my sleep inducing afternoon session or because of the practical impossibility to pronounce some of the names of places.So lets call it lau from here) The same train split and one half went to lau and the other half to grinderwald. I was there in the first half and reached lau.. It was then we decided we should go for that glacier waterfalls inside a cave but had no clue how to get there.. asking some people here and there we managed to reach trummelbach falls..
The next hour was an amazing journey into caves to follow the falls right to its inception. It was adventurous all the way and all the way we were amazed at how they managed to convert this den into a tourist spot..Whatever,it was worth the decision to come here. Ah! Here is my favorite pic...
No.1
No.2
No.3
At around 12 30 afternoon we left this place and reached the lau station again to board the train to Jungfrau. We had to take a mountain train which travelled through tunnels almost all the way. Here's an exception..with an exceptional view!
We had stations on the way where we could get down and take a break and a few snaps from the mountain view windows there.
The higher we reached,the colder and foggier it was getting. But as we reached the peak,it was plain white outside. As if someone had covered the windows with a white screen. Almost nothing was visible from the mountain top and wind was also blowing pretty fiercely.
But still,having come a long distance to reach this point, we braved the wind and the snow and walked a few metres which was like walking on land defying gravity. The wind would have lifted me up had I been a few kilos less. Thanks to my 75+ kilo build, I could stay still like a rock( well almost!!) And then we came back to have lunch in one of the floors which had a few restaraunts..There was a ‘Bollywood Restaurant’ at the top. And why not.. when half of India is on Top of Europe! Blimey..No joke. Almost everyone there were Indians and we got the feeling we were in Shimla or some hillstation in India witnessing the sizeable Indian population there.
All of them belonged to the various package tours from India .I observed (not exactly..this friend of mine who accompanied me all through this trip,pointed it out to me)one small cute little girl in Mt.Titlis who fell in the snow and almost started to cry when her father came to her rescue to remove all the snow. I found this conversation pretty interesting and innocent.
Father:careful da, I told u no.
Daughter: What did u tell me?
Father: to be careful?
Daugher: when did u tell me?
Father: I told u ma.. you don’t remember
Daughter: No I remember you didn’t. When did u tell me?
Father: Ok leave it.Come ill take you to mama
Daughter: No you tell me when you told me first
Father: Ok ok. We ll go back
Daughter: Tell me first… when did u tell??
Father: ??(*omg*)
Seeing nothing at all except a white background,we decided to go and see the ice palace. And here we find all sorts of sculptures which were totally carvings out of ice and shining like glass. Here is a pick of the pics at Ice Palace:
The flooring was also polished ice which tempted me to skate ( like we used to do when we see a polished floor during school days) only to immediately fall with a thud (rock hard ice is painful unlike the snow) and that seemed to happen everytime I tried to get up(luckily noone was in there). After that we went to the spinx terrace trying to catch a glimpse of a good view from the top but the fog was still there. People were saying the sun had just come out for a while and the fog had disappeared for ten minutes and that was the time we were at the ice palace( now u know why everyone missed such a hard thud which kept repeating periodically with every slip of mine)
After having no luck at all for a clear view, we ultimately decided to catch the train back.It is here we broke ice ( this time figuratively) with a Punjabi couple basically settled in Malaysia who call themselves PIO( People of Indian Origin, couldn’t really make out if they were happy or sad that way).And this animated Sardharji and his wife seemed to take so much pride in having come to Switzerland and kept bloating about his high profile company Quest( ever heard of it??) and how they had sponsored their trip to Switzerland and also the world cup in germany. The company was sponsoring Brazil’s training camp and they were to have lunch with Ronaldinho. He was surprised when both of us( me and my friend) acknowledged it with a mild ‘Oh’(what else can he expect from two football duds who knew about it as much as Laloo Prasad knew databases). Not at all impressed with our reaction, he went on to explain his company and their products( the discussion on dinner with Ronaldinho was better, I hardly understood what the company actually did even after his 15 minute speech and I could see that was the same plight with my friend which was evident in his face).He rated it only next to Amazon.com in ecom business. And then both of us who were trying to put up a ‘Oh! Wow! Excellent’ expression and almost blurted out at the same time’How is the company doing now?’.Immediately the quite-witted Sardharji( Bulls eye-Its indeed an oxymoron!) said ‘We are here,aren’t we?’
‘Are kya bath hai’ was the expression this time but inside we were thinking
‘So am I, How does it mean my company is doing well????’
Thanks to the animated Sardharji and his marketing techniques( he handed over his visiting card which would only be used to note his name and then set the Junk mail filter since he took our email ids promising to send us mails about his company) which literally made us miss the remaining beauty of Switzerland on our way back.
We got down at La again for a change of train and spent the rest of the train journey discussing about the interesting sardhar we had met- all the way till Zurich
Before I go any further,the food requires special mention. All we had were burgers,burgers and burgers. If you’re a screwed up vegetarian like me, it would be worse.All Jungfrau could offer on top for vegetarians were some boiled leaf with French fries ( hows that for a combination).As a result, I ended up throwing up all the food that’s gone in all through the night and hence had to get up late the next day to visit the Rhine falls. We had to hurriedly see it,click and then immediately come back to Zurich,grab some chocolates there and then to catch our flights. We were just there at the airport at the nick of time only to see the flight was slightly delayed. And the flight journey lasted an hour for us to get back to London ending the eventful trip to Switzerland.
Switzerland is a beautiful place to be with an amazing railway connectivity with sceneries and lakes all the way wherever you go. But I still wonder how better would it be comparing with our very own paradise on earth. With half a dozen Indian movies a year having atleast a single song sequence shot in the sceneries of Interlaken or in the snow of Alps ,hardly one really captures the mind as much as a single song in Roja did. I know all I can see in Kashmir now is blood and war, but I dream to see this place before I lose the physical strength and the push within. And Why not! Not in my wildest of dreams would I have thought I would go to Switzerland for a weekend..!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Snow,Snow Everywhere....my first tryst with it
The last time I saw water in its solid form was in my refrigerator. Seeing water itself had been an achievement coming from a place known for water shortage in India even ahead of Thar desert.
Before I go any further,I would just like to draw lines from where I was to where I am today...
I come from a place which is known for 3 seasons during the year-Hot( August to January),Hotter(Feb to April) and Hottest(May-July).Chennai may probably be a place known only for this.People here with me ask me how I still like it.I always tell them that that's where home is,where love is,where my people are . So even if I am asked to go to Switzerland( asked to? yeah,today you can afford to go onsite even in Antartica, software's everywhere you see*thumbs up*) , I would be there for a vacation and come back to home sweet home. Thats what I exactly did.Still waiting to get back home though.Wow! what a day that is going to be when I am all set to return! Currently am just half way back till London where I write this blog from. Here I am back after a trip to the most exotic place in the world- The home of the Alps.Its been a long way for me from waiting for the metro water tanker to waiting for the underground metro- but the former wait is remembered for cherished reasons. Avaravar Vazhkayil ayiram maatrangal...che.. adhu oru azhagiya nila kaalam.. Ok.. back in track now...
That night in Hotel X-Tra had been a bit restless because of excitement. I had been lying thinking of the travel that lay ahead to the Swiss Alps only to be woken up by the mobile alarm only to realise my sleep of 6 hours was over. We had to immediately go and get the Swiss Youth Pass(If you are <=26,you still have the opportunity to use that when you get to swiss) for unlimited travel to any place in Swiss by any transport mentioned.Once we got that, we were all set to travel to Mt.Titlis. We had a healthy English breakfast in the hotel and left to catch the 8:35 train to Engelberg. The train journey was very pleasant with a great view all the way-lakes,mountains and beautiful landscapes all the way. 
There was this scene which was captured in my mind's eye.The beautiful mountain adjacent to the train route and a road between the two with a single red car that was moving parellel to our train.This is the picture that is going to remind me of Switzerland everytime i think of this place. And then slowly, we could see more and more snow cap mountains. "Pah chance ae illa!!" I remember I had exclaimed when I saw the first snow capped mountain. Beautiful it was and thats exactly what I had meant when i exclaimed. 
After getting down at Engelberg, we had to take a cable car ride to Mt.Titlis. The cable car ride was amazing. So far, I had been in cable cars which connect two mountains. So the ride has been pretty straight forward. But this one was from ground to top of the mountain. It was a really steep climb up the mountains.This snap would probably give a better picture of how steep the climb had been and how difficult it is to lay these connecting transport.
We had to get down at one of the mountains and then go for the rotating cable car which provided a 360 degree view of Mt.Titlis. Till now we were seeing mountains with a snow cap. From that moment, all that we saw was only snow and nothing else. Here's one view from inside the Rotair.
After reaching the top, it was the first time i lay my hands on snow(this time Im referring to the natural variety).And the next few hours is best described as my rendezvous with snow-playing like a kid with a new toy.
After that we went on the Ice flyer-yet another cable car with a bird's eye view of the Alps.The Ice flyer took us to a place where there was a steep mount of snow from which we could slide down on a scooter kind of a vehicle- which was more like a duck which children used to play with.I couldnt capture that picture because one person has to wait there with a camera at the bottom and both us went for that ride and so none of us have picture of that exhilarating slide down the mountain. It was worth atleast twice and thats exactly what we did-slide down twice,bouncing here and there....Wow! it was really amazing. It was around 4 o clock when we decided to drag ourselves away from this lovely place and reached Luzern. Thats a beautiful place of a different kind.It looked beautiful for its Lake. Are u thinking we should ve gone for a ride in that lake? Bulls eye!Thats what we did!
It would have been lovely to visit the place after marriage. And the lake cruise would have only made it even more romantic and that too with hardly one or two souls here and there in the whole cruise. Poor me :(. Its ok I still have a long way to go...and to come here again hopefully ;)
Hmm.. back from dreamland to switzerland. So off we went on a round trip cruse in Lake Luzern.It was like going in the Titanic,sans Rose (and sans pun). Jack ,of course, was there*brag*brag*
After all the PD solo clicks, we left to Zurich from Luzern,sleeping for the entire train journey and did the same after reaching the cozy hotel room to provide rest to our tired legs.
Now providing a break for my tired fingers.
To be continued.. and concluded.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Off to the Land of Chocolates,Watches and the Alps
Mit der Eröffnung des Zahnradbahn-Betriebs Alpnachstad – Pilatus Kulm am 6. Mai 2006 beginnt dieses Jahr zum 50. Mal die Saison für die begehrte.....
Confused?
This is how it was exactly when me and my college mate Jayachandran landed in Zurich,Switzerland. Yes. The people hardly spoke English.All they knew was either French or German..74% of them are German and they have their own slang called Swiss German.
But before I proceed,let me begin from how it all begun....
I would have preferred to have some say on the reservations, tamilnadu elections or Indian cricket but couldnt really resist from putting this swiss trip on the blog. Now my blogs are looking to be travel centric....But I really dont mind when I have to record such an amazing tour to the Alps.
We had our tickets booked through lastminute.com( well in advance,if you are getting misled by the website name...)Once that was done,our flights and hotels were taken care off.. Half the job done.. But thats not all.. The most difficult part of such a trip is to take care of all the internal travel in a country that hardly speaks English and for two guys who hardly knew to say Thank you in German.
Thanks to the minimised work during the last week in office, I was able to browse through websites and decide on the plan. I found that taking a Swiss Youth pass to travel for four days anywhere in Swiss was going to be the best option to cover all the places..Once the plan was in place, the day it had to be executed was also there quickly.Friday May 26th...
I left office at 4 o clock and reached Heathrow Airport directly. This was going to be my third flight journey and third country I would be visiting. So it was kind of exciting.The very place made it look more exciting!! The flight was at 7 45. I met this college friend of mine in the airport. We then did some minor purchases like electric pin converters(minor point to be added here but it turned out to be very important since we had to connect to the laptops and charge our camera batteries very often) at the airport and left at the scheduled time. Wow..things were going on track..
Zürich Airport,Switzerland
Confused?
This is how it was exactly when me and my college mate Jayachandran landed in Zurich,Switzerland. Yes. The people hardly spoke English.All they knew was either French or German..74% of them are German and they have their own slang called Swiss German.
But before I proceed,let me begin from how it all begun....
I would have preferred to have some say on the reservations, tamilnadu elections or Indian cricket but couldnt really resist from putting this swiss trip on the blog. Now my blogs are looking to be travel centric....But I really dont mind when I have to record such an amazing tour to the Alps.
We had our tickets booked through lastminute.com( well in advance,if you are getting misled by the website name...)Once that was done,our flights and hotels were taken care off.. Half the job done.. But thats not all.. The most difficult part of such a trip is to take care of all the internal travel in a country that hardly speaks English and for two guys who hardly knew to say Thank you in German.
Thanks to the minimised work during the last week in office, I was able to browse through websites and decide on the plan. I found that taking a Swiss Youth pass to travel for four days anywhere in Swiss was going to be the best option to cover all the places..Once the plan was in place, the day it had to be executed was also there quickly.Friday May 26th...
I left office at 4 o clock and reached Heathrow Airport directly. This was going to be my third flight journey and third country I would be visiting. So it was kind of exciting.The very place made it look more exciting!! The flight was at 7 45. I met this college friend of mine in the airport. We then did some minor purchases like electric pin converters(minor point to be added here but it turned out to be very important since we had to connect to the laptops and charge our camera batteries very often) at the airport and left at the scheduled time. Wow..things were going on track..
Zürich Airport,Switzerland
It was around 11PM when we landed in Zurich. I had thought of getting the Swiss Pass then and there but it was too late.. So got a ticket to the Zurich Haupt Bahnof( means Main Station, in German).Was there enough info given in this blog about the Swiss specific terms that you might come across? Ok.. Anyways..
The currency...Swiss Francs.. ~2.2 pounds~Rs.36
The Capital-Bern---nothing to see there though
The people-French and Germans.. with a few Italians
Thats all i could gather. For more,Click here
But then after we got into the train,we realised noone really knew English.Not even the TTR. Once we managed to get out of the train,we were in a soup again.Good that I took the map print out,we could atleast point to the place and ask from which direction we get out of the station.Somehow managed to reach the Hotel with the help of the map and by playing dumb-charades with the locals there..
The Hotel where we were supposed to stay for the next 3 nights was called The X-Tra was a very good 3 star hotel with all the facilities required. With the cozy beds in front and the tired travel, we went to sleep hoping for an exciting journey to Mt.Titlis next day and praying that language shouldnt really pose a threat....
Mt.Titlis..A pre-cursor:
Just a precursor.. Will be continued in the next blog..
Monday, May 15, 2006
Lake district Unleashed
It was 8 o clock in the morning.. Yet noone had still got up from their tired sleep... three of them had had hangover after the previous day's drink.. and the remaining two of us wouldnt just get up.. from the cozy bunk beds.. But things were different after 20 minutes.. everyone was at their feet.. and the room was abuzz with activity.We were all set and ready to leave at 9 30. After a morning tea with blackforest cake and some breads, we begun our journey down the hills of langdale into the beautiful city of Ambleside.It was a small city but a beautiful place....
After speaking to the tourist centre there, we decided to cover the best of the lakes in the district. We had already covered the Windermere Lake. The next was Keswick. After travelling for sometime, we were soon near that beautiful lake.It was truly beautiful and a treat to watch.. It was slightly cloudy and the lake below the valley was picture perfect.
The next spot we went were adventurous all the way.. parked our car below the valley and started walking up.It was a good climb and slightly steep and slippery. I had to literally sit and climb for some part of the trek. And when I couldnt go any further,just stopped there ,took this pic and came back...
All we saw after that was lakes,lakes and more lakes.They say its got around 200 lakes in there but we were just on a 2 day visit to this place.So we saw the maximum number we can. We just saw a few on the way and some of them which forced us out of the car to take a break and then a pic.It was one such location where we had our lunch.
The road back to the hostel was definitely on the list of the most wonderful routes....Clicked some pics here and there and went back to the same Langdale hostel....
DAY 3 isnt going to wait for the next blog.Here it is......
The next day morning we had to immediately vacate the hostel and leave the Lake district to end the wonderful stint in the most scenic location in UK..No, not in the world.1. Because I still have a long way to go to compare with the locations of the world.2.Even if its going to be the best place after going around the world I would still call it second only to our very own Munnar,in god's own country.
The next on our itinerary was Manchester.We went to our collegues' friend's parents' house. They turned out to be very warm hosts serving us with very good home food. After a long chat,tasty food and a short stint at this beautiful house, we bid a grateful farewell to the kind couple.
We then headed towards the Manchester United football stadium on the way going around the city and noting important locations like the Manchester University for management, Indian community shops and shopping malls.. By the time we reached the stadium, we had already completed a panaromic tour of the city of Manchester.The streets were all empty thanks to the national holiday for Easter.Since the match that was supposed to have happenned also got cancelled we were also able to go close to the stadium and click some snaps to record this moment and boast ourselves to football crazy fans though none of us were one. 
We then begun our next long but scenic journey towards the Matlock where we were slotted to stay overnight and then leave for Sherwood forest next day...Reached matlock late in the evening,went around the hostel and the town and came back to sleep.. In all,it was a quiet day with a lot of travel.
I guess this blog is still goin to go on till Day 4 much to the agony of those waiting for the end for the following reasons..
1.I have some useful( useless?)time in hand.
2. A blog well begun is half done.. A blog which never seems to begin is better if its done.
3.The tour is more than a month old now.
4.When do I start writing about the current affairs,Himesh Reshmaiyya, review da vince code.. etc.if i keep on drooling over a flash back which now almost deserves a place in my other blog which is a walk down the memory lane..
5.Day 4 is a one-sentence blog which goes something like.....
We then went to Sherwood forest to meet Robin Hood's Tree(Wat the?) which would ve been worth the say if we meet Robin Hood, or atleast Robin Singh but what can i write about a 500 year old( thats what they said.. but whats the big difference.. it was on crutches and looked like dead wood...) tree which was more like the adayar aalamaram handicapped.(easier said than done.. whew!!a one sentence explanation is much tougher than the blah blah narration)..
The End( of just the trip..the blog will still continue.....unfortunately)!!
If you are still not tired of seeing the pictures...Here is more..
After speaking to the tourist centre there, we decided to cover the best of the lakes in the district. We had already covered the Windermere Lake. The next was Keswick. After travelling for sometime, we were soon near that beautiful lake.It was truly beautiful and a treat to watch.. It was slightly cloudy and the lake below the valley was picture perfect.
The next spot we went were adventurous all the way.. parked our car below the valley and started walking up.It was a good climb and slightly steep and slippery. I had to literally sit and climb for some part of the trek. And when I couldnt go any further,just stopped there ,took this pic and came back...
All we saw after that was lakes,lakes and more lakes.They say its got around 200 lakes in there but we were just on a 2 day visit to this place.So we saw the maximum number we can. We just saw a few on the way and some of them which forced us out of the car to take a break and then a pic.It was one such location where we had our lunch.
The road back to the hostel was definitely on the list of the most wonderful routes....Clicked some pics here and there and went back to the same Langdale hostel....
DAY 3 isnt going to wait for the next blog.Here it is......
The next day morning we had to immediately vacate the hostel and leave the Lake district to end the wonderful stint in the most scenic location in UK..No, not in the world.1. Because I still have a long way to go to compare with the locations of the world.2.Even if its going to be the best place after going around the world I would still call it second only to our very own Munnar,in god's own country.
The next on our itinerary was Manchester.We went to our collegues' friend's parents' house. They turned out to be very warm hosts serving us with very good home food. After a long chat,tasty food and a short stint at this beautiful house, we bid a grateful farewell to the kind couple.
We then headed towards the Manchester United football stadium on the way going around the city and noting important locations like the Manchester University for management, Indian community shops and shopping malls.. By the time we reached the stadium, we had already completed a panaromic tour of the city of Manchester.The streets were all empty thanks to the national holiday for Easter.Since the match that was supposed to have happenned also got cancelled we were also able to go close to the stadium and click some snaps to record this moment and boast ourselves to football crazy fans though none of us were one. 
We then begun our next long but scenic journey towards the Matlock where we were slotted to stay overnight and then leave for Sherwood forest next day...Reached matlock late in the evening,went around the hostel and the town and came back to sleep.. In all,it was a quiet day with a lot of travel.
I guess this blog is still goin to go on till Day 4 much to the agony of those waiting for the end for the following reasons..
1.I have some useful( useless?)time in hand.
2. A blog well begun is half done.. A blog which never seems to begin is better if its done.
3.The tour is more than a month old now.
4.When do I start writing about the current affairs,Himesh Reshmaiyya, review da vince code.. etc.if i keep on drooling over a flash back which now almost deserves a place in my other blog which is a walk down the memory lane..
5.Day 4 is a one-sentence blog which goes something like.....
We then went to Sherwood forest to meet Robin Hood's Tree(Wat the?) which would ve been worth the say if we meet Robin Hood, or atleast Robin Singh but what can i write about a 500 year old( thats what they said.. but whats the big difference.. it was on crutches and looked like dead wood...) tree which was more like the adayar aalamaram handicapped.(easier said than done.. whew!!a one sentence explanation is much tougher than the blah blah narration)..The End( of just the trip..the blog will still continue.....unfortunately)!!
If you are still not tired of seeing the pictures...Here is more..
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Day 1- The payanam....
On your mark...
Get set..
Go....
I would not say everything went as per the plan.. In fact, it never looked it was going to..
It started raining on the morning we planned to start.. Moazzam and Vishal found the car rental shop with great difficulty and it was almost 11 when we started from Juniper Court.. Soon the weather was becoming pretty good.. This was the second time I was coming out of London and the excitement was exactly on the same lines.. The trip to Cardiff was a lonely journey enjoying the nature and the first expedition…the second one was an eager wait to reach a scenic locale called the Lake district. With a group of people around, this was a slightly different experience..But nonetheless enjoyable….
By the time we reached Lake district, it was almost 4 o clock..Truly this was a very good spot for a vacation. It turned out to be a perfect weekend getaway…We just went around it for sometime,took some snaps,did some boating and then started on our search to the Langdale youth hostel. I had seen the picture of the youth hostel and was eager to go there.. first to see it and then to rest after a tired day’s travel…
The road to the youth hostel was scenic with the sun setting behind the beautiful mountains surrounding Lake Windermere. But slowly as the sun hid itself behind them, the path was getting eerie.. and the youth hostel was nowhere in sight.It took almost an hour for us to reach the hostel. No wonder we couldn’t see it. It was nicely placed on top of one of the mountains in Ambleside. After heaving a sigh of relief on reaching the hostel, we managed to comfortably settle ourselves.. I guess I have not really given an insight into this concept of youth hostels. The main reason for choosing youth hostels are because of their exotic locations unlike the usual city- slicking hotels. Its pretty comfortable and you can cook your own food in their kitchens.You still can have ur own masala dosa with coconut chutney if you are a hard-core south Indian gourmand like me. The better thing about it is its pretty cheap… only £15 pounds per person.
So that day, we prepared our own food, played table-tennis for sometime.. ya that is another facility we got to make use of to the max… and then went to sleep in our bunk-beds all set for a heavy travel the next day…….to explore the remaining beauty of this much-hyped Lake district
Thodarum.....
Friday, April 21, 2006
After a loooong time.. after the loooong weekend...
Thittam:
This easter weekend was the longest weekend for me after coming to UK. Couldn’t really imagine sitting at home on all the 4 days.Thats when the Lake district plan took shape. It was a pretty good learning right from the word go.. One of my team mates took care of the car booking as I was not really aware of the intricacies involved in it. Instead I took on to booking youth hostels for our entire trip….After a bit of brainstorming on which place to visit,we decided on Lake district. Initially we had planned to go to Scotland but due to unavailability of the preferred youth hostels, we decided on Lake district..
Lake district is a scenic location some 300 miles from London. For more details on this place,visit http://www.lake-district.com/
It was almost too late as all the hostels were fully booked atleast the private rooms. But somehow managed to get a dorm accommodation at 2 places Langdale and Matlock.Finally this is wat the iternary read:
Friday:
9:00 am leave from home to Lake district.
2:00 pm---Reach lake district and go around for sometime
5:00 pm—find the way to the Langdale Youth hostel
Saturday:
Go around Lake district and return to Langdale for a peaceful sleep
Sunday:
10:00 am—leave Langdale and drive towards Manchester.
1:00 am – reach Manchester and go around the city for sometime
3:00 am – head towards Matlock for a night’s break
Monday:
10:00 am —Leave Matlock and travel to Sherwood Forest
1:00 pm— Reach Sherwood forest and meet Robin Hood
3:00 pm---Start the return journey back to London
I wouldn’t say the journey went exactly as planned. In fact it sometimes went so awry that we even started wondering if we ll complete the trip as scheduled and reach in time atleast for next day’s work!!
But it did go very well..some last minute changes going well….Of course we had to miss Oxford University as we were a bit late to start on Friday.Otherwise it was almost perfect….
Payanigal:
The 5 of us:
Mainak
Vishal
Moazzam
Sandeep
And urs truly..
Were all set to travel after getting all the required stuffs.. We had also planned to cook our own food in the youth hostels. So the previous day, we got all the vegetables,rice, coke,juice,munchies and some mouth-watering deserts( ya, my favourite black forest pastry and chocolate fudge was on the list)
Payanangal mudivadhillai..
It would begin in the next blog…..
This easter weekend was the longest weekend for me after coming to UK. Couldn’t really imagine sitting at home on all the 4 days.Thats when the Lake district plan took shape. It was a pretty good learning right from the word go.. One of my team mates took care of the car booking as I was not really aware of the intricacies involved in it. Instead I took on to booking youth hostels for our entire trip….After a bit of brainstorming on which place to visit,we decided on Lake district. Initially we had planned to go to Scotland but due to unavailability of the preferred youth hostels, we decided on Lake district..
Lake district is a scenic location some 300 miles from London. For more details on this place,visit http://www.lake-district.com/
It was almost too late as all the hostels were fully booked atleast the private rooms. But somehow managed to get a dorm accommodation at 2 places Langdale and Matlock.Finally this is wat the iternary read:
Friday:
9:00 am leave from home to Lake district.
2:00 pm---Reach lake district and go around for sometime
5:00 pm—find the way to the Langdale Youth hostel
Saturday:
Go around Lake district and return to Langdale for a peaceful sleep
Sunday:
10:00 am—leave Langdale and drive towards Manchester.
1:00 am – reach Manchester and go around the city for sometime
3:00 am – head towards Matlock for a night’s break
Monday:
10:00 am —Leave Matlock and travel to Sherwood Forest
1:00 pm— Reach Sherwood forest and meet Robin Hood
3:00 pm---Start the return journey back to London
I wouldn’t say the journey went exactly as planned. In fact it sometimes went so awry that we even started wondering if we ll complete the trip as scheduled and reach in time atleast for next day’s work!!
But it did go very well..some last minute changes going well….Of course we had to miss Oxford University as we were a bit late to start on Friday.Otherwise it was almost perfect….
Payanigal:
The 5 of us:
Mainak
Vishal
Moazzam
Sandeep
And urs truly..
Were all set to travel after getting all the required stuffs.. We had also planned to cook our own food in the youth hostels. So the previous day, we got all the vegetables,rice, coke,juice,munchies and some mouth-watering deserts( ya, my favourite black forest pastry and chocolate fudge was on the list)
Payanangal mudivadhillai..
It would begin in the next blog…..
Friday, April 07, 2006
Time to say goodbye to 32,Connaught Avenue
Things are happenning.. Its been an eventful week..but its not the ghooming act this time.. Its a thought process I was trying to show direction......
First of all.. I got this pretty cool mobile Nokia 6111 after 3 months of stay in UK without a mobile.. Ya.. its already 3 months I came here.. Sometimes it looks pretty long... sometimes pretty short.. overall its been good.. and experiences here kept re-instating the fact that life goes on.. come what may...Had decided not to put in any distasteful events in the previous blogs as the excitement was manifest in them... but cant keep this blog in my mind's draft folder for long.. the story is now a flashback..
But sometimes I am amazed at how things could turn around.. one day i am very happy and the next day.. it seems like the world would end.. But life has to go on.. it must... and it did for me..
As weekend would usually be,it was a game of cricket on saturday and badminton on sunday. Its becoming a bit banal..isnt it? but wont let this happen.. weekends got to be different.. even though the usual is still good and interesting.. the unusual is a touch better( atleast for the blog.. )
Mainak, a teammate came from India joined me in our room this weekend. And ya.. the interesting part is we ll now be 9 ppl in the room for the next 20 days.. difficult it would be.. but its all a part of life.. 32,connaught avenue is all set to be vacated by us.. It had become a nightmare during those heater-less days.. More so for my roomies.. after the most unfortunate event that happenned.. before i moved in......
Ever wondered how I suddenly landed in this place? With people i have not known at all..and at the right time.. here is fate's version....
I came to know of this place from a family friend's friend. He just asked me to pay a visit to his friend's place when he was there. It was a Friday evening,almost 3 months before,20th January to be exact. I somehow managed to find out that place in Hounslow. The friend of Sashi( my family friend in Cardiff),Ramesh and his friend..(hope its not confusing.. ) came to pick me up from the bus stop and accompanied me to this place.. 32,....
When i went in,lots of friendly people were around... boozing.. smoking.. but all were pretty friendly to me.. Ramesh asked me if it was ok for me to stay there.. Why would i say no.. It was a mini India .. andhra to be specific.. after i went in i never felt i was in a foriegn country.. So i immediately said yes.. and got introduced to each one of them... a truely multifarious working group..
Anil.. a technical project manager... who was my roomie till mainak came..
Malla Reddy.. a bio medical engineer..in and out of temporary jobs..
Bala.. working in a betting company...
Vamsi.. the lab assistant..in an analytics lab..
Madhav.. a night shift-er at a huge supermarket...
Shiva.. a job seeker.. now in India,all set to get married on the 14th of this month..
Ok.. good that now I have a place.. but how?
I asked shiva.. "How come there is place for me just when I land here? "
Shiva had said.. " A friend of ours left..."
"Oh,then I am here at the right time.. isnt it? " I said
Shiva and Ramesh were feeling uncomfortable at that.. Well,, what could it be??
Oh my god.. the memory bell rang.. quite hard..
Sashi had told me.. "Ramesh has come from Newport to London for this weekend. His roomie's friend had expired.. so he has come to London to send him in Cargo to India.."
Shit!!! Now i know why they felt uncomfortable.. I asked..Ramesh.. "Sashi meant THIS room friend who just expired?"
A sad nod seemed to indicate that I had come to replace this guy who died. But actually I never hesitated to move in.. Whats there.. it happens sometimes.. So thats how it would be.. I was to share the room with anil.. occupy the position of Kalyan.. the guy who passed away the day i came to London and was sent to India the day I joined the room...
I never said this to anyone till date as it would unneccesarily frighten them..
Two days later I shifted with all my belongings.. and then one day I asked Anil about this guy Kalyan. He was working in a gas station and had some ear infection which he dint pay heed to.After 4 months it had slowly affected the brain and by the time he took it serious and went to the doctor it was almost too late.. The surgery which the doctors performed was a success for a week and then one fine day.. he never woke up to see the day.. Anil was saying.. he was a very quiet guy.. and recollected.. i just remember.. he was right here sleeping a month ago.. and it was right here he slept on the night after which he never woke up. He was pointing to where I was lying listening to the story!! I immediately asked the question which would ve come to anyone s mind at that moment.. "Is that contagious? You said its an infection?" He said.. it was not contagious as that was the question they also had asked the doctor the day he came to know of it. Generally ear infections are not contagious it seems. Thank god.. Of course i value dear life..
It was a tough time for my roomies. Its easy to replace someone who shifted the place. But it was difficult for me to replace someone who was dead. I would never be a replacement for them.. for a lost life.. but still they were good to me.. teaching all the things i need to know which are different from the way of life in India.. Right from using the bathtubs and toilet papers to places to visit in London.. they were always there to help..
Its time i got this story out as its time for us to bid adieu to this mysterious yet memorable place..
32,Connaught Avenue
Hounslow
TW4 5BW
First of all.. I got this pretty cool mobile Nokia 6111 after 3 months of stay in UK without a mobile.. Ya.. its already 3 months I came here.. Sometimes it looks pretty long... sometimes pretty short.. overall its been good.. and experiences here kept re-instating the fact that life goes on.. come what may...Had decided not to put in any distasteful events in the previous blogs as the excitement was manifest in them... but cant keep this blog in my mind's draft folder for long.. the story is now a flashback..
But sometimes I am amazed at how things could turn around.. one day i am very happy and the next day.. it seems like the world would end.. But life has to go on.. it must... and it did for me..
As weekend would usually be,it was a game of cricket on saturday and badminton on sunday. Its becoming a bit banal..isnt it? but wont let this happen.. weekends got to be different.. even though the usual is still good and interesting.. the unusual is a touch better( atleast for the blog.. )
Mainak, a teammate came from India joined me in our room this weekend. And ya.. the interesting part is we ll now be 9 ppl in the room for the next 20 days.. difficult it would be.. but its all a part of life.. 32,connaught avenue is all set to be vacated by us.. It had become a nightmare during those heater-less days.. More so for my roomies.. after the most unfortunate event that happenned.. before i moved in......
Ever wondered how I suddenly landed in this place? With people i have not known at all..and at the right time.. here is fate's version....
I came to know of this place from a family friend's friend. He just asked me to pay a visit to his friend's place when he was there. It was a Friday evening,almost 3 months before,20th January to be exact. I somehow managed to find out that place in Hounslow. The friend of Sashi( my family friend in Cardiff),Ramesh and his friend..(hope its not confusing.. ) came to pick me up from the bus stop and accompanied me to this place.. 32,....
When i went in,lots of friendly people were around... boozing.. smoking.. but all were pretty friendly to me.. Ramesh asked me if it was ok for me to stay there.. Why would i say no.. It was a mini India .. andhra to be specific.. after i went in i never felt i was in a foriegn country.. So i immediately said yes.. and got introduced to each one of them... a truely multifarious working group..
Anil.. a technical project manager... who was my roomie till mainak came..
Malla Reddy.. a bio medical engineer..in and out of temporary jobs..
Bala.. working in a betting company...
Vamsi.. the lab assistant..in an analytics lab..
Madhav.. a night shift-er at a huge supermarket...
Shiva.. a job seeker.. now in India,all set to get married on the 14th of this month..
Ok.. good that now I have a place.. but how?
I asked shiva.. "How come there is place for me just when I land here? "
Shiva had said.. " A friend of ours left..."
"Oh,then I am here at the right time.. isnt it? " I said
Shiva and Ramesh were feeling uncomfortable at that.. Well,, what could it be??
Oh my god.. the memory bell rang.. quite hard..
Sashi had told me.. "Ramesh has come from Newport to London for this weekend. His roomie's friend had expired.. so he has come to London to send him in Cargo to India.."
Shit!!! Now i know why they felt uncomfortable.. I asked..Ramesh.. "Sashi meant THIS room friend who just expired?"
A sad nod seemed to indicate that I had come to replace this guy who died. But actually I never hesitated to move in.. Whats there.. it happens sometimes.. So thats how it would be.. I was to share the room with anil.. occupy the position of Kalyan.. the guy who passed away the day i came to London and was sent to India the day I joined the room...
I never said this to anyone till date as it would unneccesarily frighten them..
Two days later I shifted with all my belongings.. and then one day I asked Anil about this guy Kalyan. He was working in a gas station and had some ear infection which he dint pay heed to.After 4 months it had slowly affected the brain and by the time he took it serious and went to the doctor it was almost too late.. The surgery which the doctors performed was a success for a week and then one fine day.. he never woke up to see the day.. Anil was saying.. he was a very quiet guy.. and recollected.. i just remember.. he was right here sleeping a month ago.. and it was right here he slept on the night after which he never woke up. He was pointing to where I was lying listening to the story!! I immediately asked the question which would ve come to anyone s mind at that moment.. "Is that contagious? You said its an infection?" He said.. it was not contagious as that was the question they also had asked the doctor the day he came to know of it. Generally ear infections are not contagious it seems. Thank god.. Of course i value dear life..
It was a tough time for my roomies. Its easy to replace someone who shifted the place. But it was difficult for me to replace someone who was dead. I would never be a replacement for them.. for a lost life.. but still they were good to me.. teaching all the things i need to know which are different from the way of life in India.. Right from using the bathtubs and toilet papers to places to visit in London.. they were always there to help..
Its time i got this story out as its time for us to bid adieu to this mysterious yet memorable place..
32,Connaught Avenue
Hounslow
TW4 5BW
Monday, March 27, 2006
Night Life in London.....
It was the night on which the day light savings got restored.It was the time when the whole city was awake when a few people like me used to go to sleep on a Saturday.It was as if the whole city was in Picadilly circus.Thats where it all begun....the colourful saturday night....
The day begun with a refreshing game of cricket and as the sun set on a beautiful saturday evening, we felt it was the right time to go out of our Hounslow limits.My teammates Vishal,Moazzam,my manager Ashish and me went to explore the road most travelled..the road to central london.. rather the rail...we took a tube to picadilly circus and got to see the city during the night.. it was really fascinating to see so many people at 11 in the night...
After gaining all the general knowledge about wat is really famous..we started goin around Picadilly circus and Lecester square.. Shopping..boozing...feasting..and anything under the sun... or prolly the moon..... name it and there it is...even a teetotaller like me could enjoy every bit of the time spent..anyone who has visited london during the day would be awed by the pleasant change that happens during the night.. It was a delight to go around... It looked more like the Times Square with all the colourful advertisements and people abuzz with excitement.
After around 2 hours of vagabonding, we finally managed to grab a burger at McDees and then all of us returned home for a peaceful sleep when the daylight savings got restored..And suddenly we are all one hour closer to India.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Theru cricket in London mukku sandhu
This sunday was a new experience. It was a nostalgia-inducing dose of street cricket in the Lampton park street. Got to remember old jargons and methods of electic to bat. I remember we used to keep the bat on the ground and write beneath it with lines protruding out indicating the order of batting and showing numbers on the back of one of them. We chose the latter to see who would bat first.
Before starting, we laid certain rules..
1. Only legside runs,no back runs
2. Two overs per person.
3.No stumps-so if the ball goes above 3 small sticks upto a level then its out!
4. 2G if it hits one of the trees on the way to the boundary.
And all the usual ways of cheating were allowed
1. If you dont hit the ball, you can shout its a wide ball!
2. After bowling the second ball, you can shout fourth ball!
3. and of course, decline to go out after the ball goes above the middle stumps and hence opt for oc gaaji
I came in to bat 2nd and made 8 runs.. in my own ishtyle.. without running a single run.. Ultimately the guy who batted last broke my record!!
Then after knowing each ones strength we decided to play a team game.. We won the toss and I batted first... scored 9 runs this time..and hurtitled to give others some gaaji. And then on the verge of us winning,the ball broke :(
It was a good game of cricket played. Good to play it in the place it was born! It was cold but all the fieldings made it very pleasant.It was never tired.
Went home after a lavish dinner at the Gurudhwara...We are planning to hold the same schedule for next Sunday as well. I am planning to suggest seven stones,king queen minister or kings for the following weeks!!
Before starting, we laid certain rules..
1. Only legside runs,no back runs
2. Two overs per person.
3.No stumps-so if the ball goes above 3 small sticks upto a level then its out!
4. 2G if it hits one of the trees on the way to the boundary.
And all the usual ways of cheating were allowed
1. If you dont hit the ball, you can shout its a wide ball!
2. After bowling the second ball, you can shout fourth ball!
3. and of course, decline to go out after the ball goes above the middle stumps and hence opt for oc gaaji
I came in to bat 2nd and made 8 runs.. in my own ishtyle.. without running a single run.. Ultimately the guy who batted last broke my record!!
Then after knowing each ones strength we decided to play a team game.. We won the toss and I batted first... scored 9 runs this time..and hurtitled to give others some gaaji. And then on the verge of us winning,the ball broke :(
It was a good game of cricket played. Good to play it in the place it was born! It was cold but all the fieldings made it very pleasant.It was never tired.
Went home after a lavish dinner at the Gurudhwara...We are planning to hold the same schedule for next Sunday as well. I am planning to suggest seven stones,king queen minister or kings for the following weeks!!
Friday, March 17, 2006
Bannerghatta Thavarkare Madivala
No:89, 3rd Main,
KEB Layout
BTM 1st Stage
Bangalore-76
This is where I was staying during my last 3 months in Bangalore.
BTM- Its a software engineer's paradise!!!
Are you looking for your old friends? Connect to Orkut or shift to BTM( acronym in title). If you find someone other than a software engineer or a college student eating in Kovai Saravana Bhavan( thats where we used to reside during weekends..going home just to sleep), he would probably be the waiter or the cook.
I stayed there for the first 4 months without even knowing what the acronym is. I am sure most of them staying there now wouldnt know it still. You dont find it anywhere. Try google searching on it and you would get everything from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to Black Thing Meeting ( whatever that is...it was a copy paste) but not this one. I found it out by asking a localite who worked with me in wipro..
Now back to square one..
No:89,3rd Main...The first time i went there was to see this old school friend of mine.. thaneer...and after 3 months went on to live there for quite some time..
it was a spacious 2 bed room apartment.. a typical software engineer's habitat.. empty rooms...beds on the floor.. kitchen used for hanging clothes..lights and sounds on till 12 in the night everyday.. and atleast 7 bachelors in the room during weekends... I loved this place.. this pink building would stay in my memory.. especially the terrace where I used to spend most of the time...
about the vetti officers.. my roomies...
Thaneer.. A very old friend of mine.. right from 6th standard and still in touch.. nice to spend time with..and you never notice it.. i ve realised so many days then that i had just like that spent 3 hours with the vetti lacha... ( it means chatting.. one of the jargons i had learnt after being with these bitsians.. read on for an enumerated list)...
he is the route for all all other bitsean friends who i got in touch with... works in honeywell.. at his own timings..
Muthu.. ( komu) is one obedient looking guy... paaka very decent.. but all the seyals are indecent.. excellent vocabulary on offensive language....but very intelligent and studious.. looks fail to deceive.. works in infy.. and a co aspiring MBA grad ...lots of interesting and refreshing lachas in between preps..
Raghavendra(Refli-short for reference library aka pulimootae..) looks like a fruit.... the typical brahmin software engineer..nethila vibuthu kumkumam..iduppula cellphone with cover...and pant almost near the chest sometimes..:P but once he opens his mouth, he is just like any other bitsean.. nice to spend time with on vetti lachas as well as wieght matters..
Sathish( aka palli.. kosu...kaatupoochi..or any insect u can think of) has the physique of omakuchi but thinks himself to be arnold's cousin brother.. reminds me of his narration of how girls used to go mad seeing him on the electric train to SRM just like the shaktis who went behind alaipayudhaey madhavan.. that day i couldnt eat properly after listening to this unpardonable build up..
Not to forget other bitseans who come to our room..Sadayappan.. an aspiring IAS officer,knew him when i met him in pune...very responsible and soft spoken.. even if he scolds u, you feel he is appreciating you!!
Krishna Kumar( aka mama) ..macho man..and very funny...always animated..also used to come for mba preps.. never used to realise when time just flies..
Ram and Amar.. ex roomies of our room...
Vignesh( aka Angel..) noone knows him as vignesh..just got in touch once whn he came down from hyd to spend the weekend..
Some of the innumerable bitsean jargons that i learnt in these few months...
1.Lacha..gen chat
2.Vetti lacha..useless chat..
3.kotta pudikardhu... to study
4.thirutu kottae...night study
5.gus podu.. leave it alone
6.viri.. success
7.padukavechu viri..emphatic victory
8.soveru.. sure..
9.sacku... easy
10.omalae sacku..too easy
11.guum...too good..
12.aranjitan.. he cracked it
and many many more...
Those 3 and half months in the room were of a typical bachelor software engineer life..rao's tiifin box food during weekdays.. cafe in coffee day... buscuit dipped in tea in the nearby tea stall.. lunch in andhra mess.. nandhini restaurant.. podi dhosai and unlimited meals in Kovai Saravana Bhavan and the thaduku vizhundha treats in Pizza hut... oc oorsuthing in Forum.. and M.G.Road.. night show movies in PVR..all this and more..
Watched the best movie in theatres at that time.. gajini at pvr.. Had to miss some of the fun because of the hectic project and the jayanagar career forum mba classes...but thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it..
The stay there was hectic with clasess and project( had to manage both..remember once when i had to go to office finish off quickly by afternoon and rush to the classes without even having time for lunch..sometimes it makes me feel all that effort has gone nowhere. but i cant really complain..still have chances..)This was the time when dad had come from Bangalore as my project and classes didnt allow me to visit chennai for 4 months..It was a different weekend with me spending the two days with appa going out and spending time in the hotel room and not missing the classes as well..Planned in such a way that the hotel room was booked near my class...still remember the chats i had with him....
It was during this time that i came to know of the project that was due to come up in Chennai..and then started requesting for it. The toughest part of my career so far.. Three things kept bothering..
1.the tight project deadlines and the slotted release
2.the cat exam on the same day of the go live..
3.and the urgency to go to chennai in fear of 2 hindering with 1.
Had to put up of a lot of fight almost having my career at stake, much to my relief i got the transfer..It was an eager way back home.. as i bid a lonely farewell to my room and roomies..
Goodbye Banglaore.. for now..
Dear old Chennai.. here i come...
KEB Layout
BTM 1st Stage
Bangalore-76
This is where I was staying during my last 3 months in Bangalore.
BTM- Its a software engineer's paradise!!!
Are you looking for your old friends? Connect to Orkut or shift to BTM( acronym in title). If you find someone other than a software engineer or a college student eating in Kovai Saravana Bhavan( thats where we used to reside during weekends..going home just to sleep), he would probably be the waiter or the cook.
I stayed there for the first 4 months without even knowing what the acronym is. I am sure most of them staying there now wouldnt know it still. You dont find it anywhere. Try google searching on it and you would get everything from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to Black Thing Meeting ( whatever that is...it was a copy paste) but not this one. I found it out by asking a localite who worked with me in wipro..
Now back to square one..
No:89,3rd Main...The first time i went there was to see this old school friend of mine.. thaneer...and after 3 months went on to live there for quite some time..
it was a spacious 2 bed room apartment.. a typical software engineer's habitat.. empty rooms...beds on the floor.. kitchen used for hanging clothes..lights and sounds on till 12 in the night everyday.. and atleast 7 bachelors in the room during weekends... I loved this place.. this pink building would stay in my memory.. especially the terrace where I used to spend most of the time...
about the vetti officers.. my roomies...
Thaneer.. A very old friend of mine.. right from 6th standard and still in touch.. nice to spend time with..and you never notice it.. i ve realised so many days then that i had just like that spent 3 hours with the vetti lacha... ( it means chatting.. one of the jargons i had learnt after being with these bitsians.. read on for an enumerated list)...
he is the route for all all other bitsean friends who i got in touch with... works in honeywell.. at his own timings..
Muthu.. ( komu) is one obedient looking guy... paaka very decent.. but all the seyals are indecent.. excellent vocabulary on offensive language....but very intelligent and studious.. looks fail to deceive.. works in infy.. and a co aspiring MBA grad ...lots of interesting and refreshing lachas in between preps..
Raghavendra(Refli-short for reference library aka pulimootae..) looks like a fruit.... the typical brahmin software engineer..nethila vibuthu kumkumam..iduppula cellphone with cover...and pant almost near the chest sometimes..:P but once he opens his mouth, he is just like any other bitsean.. nice to spend time with on vetti lachas as well as wieght matters..
Sathish( aka palli.. kosu...kaatupoochi..or any insect u can think of) has the physique of omakuchi but thinks himself to be arnold's cousin brother.. reminds me of his narration of how girls used to go mad seeing him on the electric train to SRM just like the shaktis who went behind alaipayudhaey madhavan.. that day i couldnt eat properly after listening to this unpardonable build up..
Not to forget other bitseans who come to our room..Sadayappan.. an aspiring IAS officer,knew him when i met him in pune...very responsible and soft spoken.. even if he scolds u, you feel he is appreciating you!!
Krishna Kumar( aka mama) ..macho man..and very funny...always animated..also used to come for mba preps.. never used to realise when time just flies..
Ram and Amar.. ex roomies of our room...
Vignesh( aka Angel..) noone knows him as vignesh..just got in touch once whn he came down from hyd to spend the weekend..
Some of the innumerable bitsean jargons that i learnt in these few months...
1.Lacha..gen chat
2.Vetti lacha..useless chat..
3.kotta pudikardhu... to study
4.thirutu kottae...night study
5.gus podu.. leave it alone
6.viri.. success
7.padukavechu viri..emphatic victory
8.soveru.. sure..
9.sacku... easy
10.omalae sacku..too easy
11.guum...too good..
12.aranjitan.. he cracked it
and many many more...
Those 3 and half months in the room were of a typical bachelor software engineer life..rao's tiifin box food during weekdays.. cafe in coffee day... buscuit dipped in tea in the nearby tea stall.. lunch in andhra mess.. nandhini restaurant.. podi dhosai and unlimited meals in Kovai Saravana Bhavan and the thaduku vizhundha treats in Pizza hut... oc oorsuthing in Forum.. and M.G.Road.. night show movies in PVR..all this and more..
Watched the best movie in theatres at that time.. gajini at pvr.. Had to miss some of the fun because of the hectic project and the jayanagar career forum mba classes...but thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it..
The stay there was hectic with clasess and project( had to manage both..remember once when i had to go to office finish off quickly by afternoon and rush to the classes without even having time for lunch..sometimes it makes me feel all that effort has gone nowhere. but i cant really complain..still have chances..)This was the time when dad had come from Bangalore as my project and classes didnt allow me to visit chennai for 4 months..It was a different weekend with me spending the two days with appa going out and spending time in the hotel room and not missing the classes as well..Planned in such a way that the hotel room was booked near my class...still remember the chats i had with him....
It was during this time that i came to know of the project that was due to come up in Chennai..and then started requesting for it. The toughest part of my career so far.. Three things kept bothering..
1.the tight project deadlines and the slotted release
2.the cat exam on the same day of the go live..
3.and the urgency to go to chennai in fear of 2 hindering with 1.
Had to put up of a lot of fight almost having my career at stake, much to my relief i got the transfer..It was an eager way back home.. as i bid a lonely farewell to my room and roomies..
Goodbye Banglaore.. for now..
Dear old Chennai.. here i come...
Vettayadu Vilayadu-Album Review
So far, this week in London is working out exactly the way murphy's law goes. This is the coldest week in London after me coming here and this is the week when the heaters are not working.. Even Rahul Dravid's timing wouldnt have been better than this...But we have some temporary heaters as of now. So ppl crowding in the room with the heaters...
Parellelly the much hyped music album of Vettayadu Vilayadu had released.. Being an ardent fan of both Harris and Gowtham,I had been waiting for this music album to release.. It did not disappoint. Not really upto the standards of Minnale, which i will never expect to happen, the songs of the movie are still good enough.. pleasing for the ears.. a treat to melody lovers..This album is definetely goin to remind me of my cold days in London..
Karka Karka..
Prominently Sung by Devan and supported by Tippu Nakul and Adrea, this song seems like the intro song of the cop which Kamal plays,named Raghavan.Its all about depicting this fellow.. So its more of information than poetry... nevetherless a good one to listen to.. especially if you are the cool dude.. cappucino rap variety..but may not really attract repeat hearings after the hype dies down....
Song Rating: Good
Manjal Veyil,
A song for a nature lover. and sung by hariharan,this is a feel good number. a similar situation number like the pachai nirmae in alaypayudhae.. (though the latter i feel is a much better one) but it does remind you
Song Rating:Good
Nerupaae..
This one seems like an item number but its got a good rhythm and string sung with an unorthodox voice of Frankom Solar Sai...
Song Rating: Very Good
Partha Mudhal Naalae
This one is my personal best.. A really romantic number with the best from the bag of Harris Jayaraj.. Selected the best of his singers as well...Unnimenon and Bombay Jayshree... A beautifully sung romantic number..
Song Rating: Excellent
Uyirilae enadhu uyirilae...
Another melody number but pretty average when considering the standards of Harris Jeyaraj songs. Its a very good song for the standards of others.. but expecting a lot more from this guy..
Song Rating: Good.
Music Album Rating: Very Good.
-----------
All these are personal ratings and not subjected to any other review
Parellelly the much hyped music album of Vettayadu Vilayadu had released.. Being an ardent fan of both Harris and Gowtham,I had been waiting for this music album to release.. It did not disappoint. Not really upto the standards of Minnale, which i will never expect to happen, the songs of the movie are still good enough.. pleasing for the ears.. a treat to melody lovers..This album is definetely goin to remind me of my cold days in London..
Karka Karka..
Prominently Sung by Devan and supported by Tippu Nakul and Adrea, this song seems like the intro song of the cop which Kamal plays,named Raghavan.Its all about depicting this fellow.. So its more of information than poetry... nevetherless a good one to listen to.. especially if you are the cool dude.. cappucino rap variety..but may not really attract repeat hearings after the hype dies down....
Song Rating: Good
Manjal Veyil,
A song for a nature lover. and sung by hariharan,this is a feel good number. a similar situation number like the pachai nirmae in alaypayudhae.. (though the latter i feel is a much better one) but it does remind you
Song Rating:Good
Nerupaae..
This one seems like an item number but its got a good rhythm and string sung with an unorthodox voice of Frankom Solar Sai...
Song Rating: Very Good
Partha Mudhal Naalae
This one is my personal best.. A really romantic number with the best from the bag of Harris Jayaraj.. Selected the best of his singers as well...Unnimenon and Bombay Jayshree... A beautifully sung romantic number..
Song Rating: Excellent
Uyirilae enadhu uyirilae...
Another melody number but pretty average when considering the standards of Harris Jeyaraj songs. Its a very good song for the standards of others.. but expecting a lot more from this guy..
Song Rating: Good.
Music Album Rating: Very Good.
-----------
All these are personal ratings and not subjected to any other review
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Cold cold London without the warm heaters
There are two reasons why this day will be remembered..
Its Ice Age here! No, it isnt snowing outside but feels like it does inside.. This unheard equipment which is still a myth in my place of birth is a life - giver here to ppl at London and all the other cold countries. It is called the room heater. People hardly realise its so important because when something is there you dont realise it had been there until its gone one day. I never knew london would be so cold without these heaters.. Today I know.....
In another part of the world, it wasnt this cold.. Instead it was too hot to handle...Today the most remarkable match of the century took place.. The Australia vs South Africa thriller. The scores would seem like a test match but it all happenned in 100 overs... Ah.. how i wish it was India instead of SA.. Dhoni would ve done the job of Gibbs.. 434 was brilliantly chased!! I had watched the aussie innings and seeing that SA s fate was sealed, I came back to my usual work thinking it was all over.. But then i realised, it had just begun.. the fightback!!
SAfricans seem to tell me.
If we can beat the heat.. you can beat the cold..
And thats exactly what I am tryin to do....
Today I ll have to endure this....Tomorrow my collegues might have to endure me..
They have to.. dont expect me to take bath in this cold.. No ways!!
Its Ice Age here! No, it isnt snowing outside but feels like it does inside.. This unheard equipment which is still a myth in my place of birth is a life - giver here to ppl at London and all the other cold countries. It is called the room heater. People hardly realise its so important because when something is there you dont realise it had been there until its gone one day. I never knew london would be so cold without these heaters.. Today I know.....
In another part of the world, it wasnt this cold.. Instead it was too hot to handle...Today the most remarkable match of the century took place.. The Australia vs South Africa thriller. The scores would seem like a test match but it all happenned in 100 overs... Ah.. how i wish it was India instead of SA.. Dhoni would ve done the job of Gibbs.. 434 was brilliantly chased!! I had watched the aussie innings and seeing that SA s fate was sealed, I came back to my usual work thinking it was all over.. But then i realised, it had just begun.. the fightback!!
SAfricans seem to tell me.
If we can beat the heat.. you can beat the cold..
And thats exactly what I am tryin to do....
Today I ll have to endure this....Tomorrow my collegues might have to endure me..
They have to.. dont expect me to take bath in this cold.. No ways!!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Chennaiyil oru mazhaikalam
It indeed was the best time for me to be in Chennai...Anything that is worth it never comes easy(the other way round is sometimes true, not always though!) The fight is inevitable but what you get out of it is really refreshing.. The short stint at chennai was an example of such a feeling.....
Barring the few days I had to put some fight for CAT( which ended up as a damp squib),the remaining days in Chennai was a honeymoon in heaven. The best place to be after a hectic project in Bangalore is obviously the ever-eluding bench.This bench concept is an irony in itself.Those who are on it want to be out of it and those who are not on it want to get back to it. But for me the stay on bench that too at Chennai was the best I could ask for.Till cat, it had helped me put some last minute grapple with the mock papers.Once cat was back in the bag,the bench period helped me freak out.. Even one weekend spent at home was like sitting on the stove. Being out with friends after a long time was like the rains that cooled chennai.
Of course this mazhaikalam in chennai( making the pun explicit if you ve still not caught it)sometimes tried to dampen our weekend plans once or twice.. But it could only spoil the pondicherry trip and not our spirits.. So we went ahead to Mayajal and mahabalipuram. It indeed was a wonderful experience to go out with friends.The movie Kanda Naal Mudhal was indeed a movie like the morning coffee..and from there the trip to mahabalipuram was refreshing.And that weekend would remain in my memory even if this blog somehow disappears. Just for the sheer fun....it was worth it..
Every evening was memorable in its own way. Somedays I wouldnt even go to office since there was no proper place for me to sit. I would just go and swipe out and come..All these days were very good because it would never be just goin out and swiping. I would continue to hang out all evening...cherishable moments in life...
After just 10 days of freaking out on the bench, I got this wonderful offer for this project in UK.After that I completely left out dreams of MBA as this was an offer i just could miss after cat bidding me farewell...The Great Lakes was completed for the sake of it... just because i had begun it by dotting the is and crossing the ts..the interview gave a feel of how it would be to get into a management institute. I would defintely take my lessons from it and learn for the future...
SNAP and XAT was also completed after having applied with hope.There was yet another irony in this.. I kept doing everything badly when I had given it my heart. And then SNAP clicked when I had thrown it all away after this offer. And here comes the Symbi call when I am sitting in the GSK office in London. Now, was that giving me some hope of preparing for MBA? It sure has...
The following month was exciting with me buying all the extra fittings for going to London. Good old pal neela had come down from US. Again what a time to be in Chennai!!! Had I been in Bangalore,it would ve been really difficult for me to meet this ever-close-to-the-heart friend of mine...But then,bangalore was calling me again....what a time to go back to bangalore.. No.. I never would want to go there just before leavin India...not before i shared some more time with my friends and loved ones...
I had never known chennai was in my blood until i left it.I still miss chennai like anything.. call it hot..or call it dirty.. chennai is always a picture of heaven to me..I could get back to Chennai for one last time before i made this trip here...It was with a heavy heart i left chennai.. wishing all my friends and loved ones goodbye.. it was time for me to say goodbye chennai.. The last thing i remembered before leaving chennai was Badri. I never expected him to consider me this close. He just hugged and kissed me to my surprise. I could see tears in his eyes. Man.. i still have friends..i still have a lot of people here.. and it is now that I need to leave all of it behind and go somewhere which I have seen only in the atlas before.. But Chennai, Ill be back.. Just take a break...I am just waiting to explore your roads less travelled..
Barring the few days I had to put some fight for CAT( which ended up as a damp squib),the remaining days in Chennai was a honeymoon in heaven. The best place to be after a hectic project in Bangalore is obviously the ever-eluding bench.This bench concept is an irony in itself.Those who are on it want to be out of it and those who are not on it want to get back to it. But for me the stay on bench that too at Chennai was the best I could ask for.Till cat, it had helped me put some last minute grapple with the mock papers.Once cat was back in the bag,the bench period helped me freak out.. Even one weekend spent at home was like sitting on the stove. Being out with friends after a long time was like the rains that cooled chennai.
Of course this mazhaikalam in chennai( making the pun explicit if you ve still not caught it)sometimes tried to dampen our weekend plans once or twice.. But it could only spoil the pondicherry trip and not our spirits.. So we went ahead to Mayajal and mahabalipuram. It indeed was a wonderful experience to go out with friends.The movie Kanda Naal Mudhal was indeed a movie like the morning coffee..and from there the trip to mahabalipuram was refreshing.And that weekend would remain in my memory even if this blog somehow disappears. Just for the sheer fun....it was worth it..
Every evening was memorable in its own way. Somedays I wouldnt even go to office since there was no proper place for me to sit. I would just go and swipe out and come..All these days were very good because it would never be just goin out and swiping. I would continue to hang out all evening...cherishable moments in life...
After just 10 days of freaking out on the bench, I got this wonderful offer for this project in UK.After that I completely left out dreams of MBA as this was an offer i just could miss after cat bidding me farewell...The Great Lakes was completed for the sake of it... just because i had begun it by dotting the is and crossing the ts..the interview gave a feel of how it would be to get into a management institute. I would defintely take my lessons from it and learn for the future...
SNAP and XAT was also completed after having applied with hope.There was yet another irony in this.. I kept doing everything badly when I had given it my heart. And then SNAP clicked when I had thrown it all away after this offer. And here comes the Symbi call when I am sitting in the GSK office in London. Now, was that giving me some hope of preparing for MBA? It sure has...
The following month was exciting with me buying all the extra fittings for going to London. Good old pal neela had come down from US. Again what a time to be in Chennai!!! Had I been in Bangalore,it would ve been really difficult for me to meet this ever-close-to-the-heart friend of mine...But then,bangalore was calling me again....what a time to go back to bangalore.. No.. I never would want to go there just before leavin India...not before i shared some more time with my friends and loved ones...
I had never known chennai was in my blood until i left it.I still miss chennai like anything.. call it hot..or call it dirty.. chennai is always a picture of heaven to me..I could get back to Chennai for one last time before i made this trip here...It was with a heavy heart i left chennai.. wishing all my friends and loved ones goodbye.. it was time for me to say goodbye chennai.. The last thing i remembered before leaving chennai was Badri. I never expected him to consider me this close. He just hugged and kissed me to my surprise. I could see tears in his eyes. Man.. i still have friends..i still have a lot of people here.. and it is now that I need to leave all of it behind and go somewhere which I have seen only in the atlas before.. But Chennai, Ill be back.. Just take a break...I am just waiting to explore your roads less travelled..
Saturday, March 04, 2006
32,Connaught Avenue
Let me reminesce backwards...not to give u the momento movie effect. Just because long time back means i ve already forgotten most of it and will only retain the remaining.. and that remains will be there for ever because I just remember them because they are meant to be that way.
First I would start from where I am right now...a brief about my london junket... no this is not yet another harrowing narration of the london sight seeing trips.. this is about my life here...Thank god I had this experience of staying out with friends in pune and bangalore.Otherwise I wouldnt ve been mentally ready to take this trip especially when I had noone there to go to.. Its gonna be a lonely world i thought.. Everything at the beginning was lonely.. i had to take my first flight out of india alone and from bangalore.. not the place to go from when ur leaving the first time.. because you hardly have people except for your parents who are bound to be there come what may..i do not want to repeat the flight experience again. In case you have fortunately missed out reading it, you can click
here to make it unfortunate..
First few days were good..because i was still pinching myself often to see if I was really in London onsite.I used to think of my position and pat myself on my back as if to say way to go.. once in a while..The osterly hotel stay was full of those feelings.. and with the laptop in my hand i was more like the disbelieving kid next door fancying his new toy his dad had got him. I can never forget the first taxi trip to my hotel in this foriegn country..
I was lucky enough to find a place with the roomies I am staying with right now.. really felt at home after coming to this second home.But I just have this niggling feeling that these people would soon become accquaintances whom I would never get to see after they part.But thats the way life is...you can hardly live your life with everyone at the same time. some are meant to be acquaintances.. some get much closer than that to be friends who ll someway or the other keep in touch ... and some penetrate deeper to touch your heart..I believe in this stuff called destiny which makes this all happen.. which I cant really explain but can feel its existence.. just like god..
And at office I have got a very good team to work with. I am enjoying this work so far here. I never had known work could be so cool for all the projects before had been too hectic and pressurising pulling my nerves out sometimes.This one is pretty good. I have a very good lead who is more of a friend than a manager. I hardly feel the age difference when he is with me. In fact when we r together and discussing it is more like him being a bachelor at heart and married in reality and me being bachelor in reality and married at heart.. No I am not the married to my profession kinda guy.. No ways.. We get to play badminton. I lose the matches while I play but learn a lot in life on the way.. and more importantly lose some hard earned fat :)
Life so far is good.. thats as of today... the present..
It looks promising...the future..
good ol days...the nostalgic past
First I would start from where I am right now...a brief about my london junket... no this is not yet another harrowing narration of the london sight seeing trips.. this is about my life here...Thank god I had this experience of staying out with friends in pune and bangalore.Otherwise I wouldnt ve been mentally ready to take this trip especially when I had noone there to go to.. Its gonna be a lonely world i thought.. Everything at the beginning was lonely.. i had to take my first flight out of india alone and from bangalore.. not the place to go from when ur leaving the first time.. because you hardly have people except for your parents who are bound to be there come what may..i do not want to repeat the flight experience again. In case you have fortunately missed out reading it, you can click
here to make it unfortunate..
First few days were good..because i was still pinching myself often to see if I was really in London onsite.I used to think of my position and pat myself on my back as if to say way to go.. once in a while..The osterly hotel stay was full of those feelings.. and with the laptop in my hand i was more like the disbelieving kid next door fancying his new toy his dad had got him. I can never forget the first taxi trip to my hotel in this foriegn country..
I was lucky enough to find a place with the roomies I am staying with right now.. really felt at home after coming to this second home.But I just have this niggling feeling that these people would soon become accquaintances whom I would never get to see after they part.But thats the way life is...you can hardly live your life with everyone at the same time. some are meant to be acquaintances.. some get much closer than that to be friends who ll someway or the other keep in touch ... and some penetrate deeper to touch your heart..I believe in this stuff called destiny which makes this all happen.. which I cant really explain but can feel its existence.. just like god..
And at office I have got a very good team to work with. I am enjoying this work so far here. I never had known work could be so cool for all the projects before had been too hectic and pressurising pulling my nerves out sometimes.This one is pretty good. I have a very good lead who is more of a friend than a manager. I hardly feel the age difference when he is with me. In fact when we r together and discussing it is more like him being a bachelor at heart and married in reality and me being bachelor in reality and married at heart.. No I am not the married to my profession kinda guy.. No ways.. We get to play badminton. I lose the matches while I play but learn a lot in life on the way.. and more importantly lose some hard earned fat :)
Life so far is good.. thats as of today... the present..
It looks promising...the future..
good ol days...the nostalgic past
Friday, March 03, 2006
In and around the city...
I went to London..
I saw a gundan..
His name was Manikandan.
This was the first and only instance i had heard of London before coming here. of course, i
was aware of the bomb blast.but then this is all i could ve shared with you if you had
asked me about this place.
last weekend i had spent in the hotel itself.. trying to call most of the ppl back home.
this weekend a batchmate of mine had come down to london. so we both went out for sometime
on saturday.. collected passes for roaming around the city the next day and then came
home.. that day also turned out to be my first day ofcooking..i wasnt cooking all alone.. i
had this friend of mine and my roomies to help with the cooking and took care that the food
never went to the dustbin.. and it turned out pretty tasty that we ate up every bit of it..
so after that we went off to sleep after a tired day and hoping for some more of roaming
around and fun for the next day..
london i had known is a very good place for sight seeing and attractions around. but one
thing i did not know was we need to really know the history of the place to really
appreciate the marvels.since i did not know, i never bothered about it..
i did not have any expectations before going around.. not the thrilled kind of feeling to
go around the city singing,.
londona suthi paaka poraen...
bukingham palace paaka poren..
big ben il eri nikka poren..
na elizabeth raani pola varen..
but still knew it would take care of the day..so got up slightly early.. around 7 and
started ....not knowing a thing about the city, the tubes and the places to see.. just asked a
roomie about where to start and with that rough idea, me and my friend ajay left..
before i go any further, the london transport needs special mention.especially the tube
system..its slightly complicated. but once u understand it, it makes u appreciate how
systematic it is. u dont need to ask a single person to travel from one place to
another.buses are also good. its just the time taken is more in case of bus.. and both are
a reliable source of transport.
we took a travel card that costs around £6 that would let us go anywhere within london
through either bus or train or both..and it turned out to be worth the money.. made full
use of it( just like i would make the maximum out of an unlimited meal)
The first place we went to was the bukhingham palace.
i knew the queen lived there.but wheni went there there were so many buildings within the compound that i did not know which one
was the palace and where exactly the queen lived. there was a guard with a long cap who
never battered an eyelid just like the guy who stands at vgp golden beach. probably that
was the place the queen lived..but too much for a single person to stay.. just to give an
anology, seven people stay in our house and that would probably be the size of the toilet
in that palace...it was huge..
and then we had gone to St.James Park. Picturesque spot it was. but couldnt really enjoy
because it was too cold to slowly walk around..and then very near to that was the big ben...i have heard about that but when i saw it was
just like our central station. again as i said i should ve gone through the history of it..
still i do not know..so ur kind of spared of some of that story in this mail..
and then the old palace of london.. huge one..i kept gazing like i had done when i first
saw the LIC..london is probably the best place to be onsite i thought..i still havent gone
to a few places there because i thought ill go there once i get a camera..and so next we
started to our next spot.. the tower of london...
this is yet another place which i ve seenonly in wallpapers which we get in email forwards...i have heard about this.. very early in
lkg..with that rhyme.. london bridge is falling down.. my fair lady.. build it up with iron
bars.. my fair lady.. memoirs of an lkg boy.. with a bridge connecting the two sides of the thames river.something like the pamban
bridge.. not that sacred a place.but good enough to feel proud of walking over the famous
Thames River of England. it really is nice to visit places which we never would ve thought
would ve been possible. the best part is that we get a chance to visit these places with
the company's help..
from there we went to lecester square.. not sure if i ve spelt it right.. thats a shopping
area in london. very crowded place it is.. we can call it a sophesticated ranganadhan
street..
after that we were back home... to 32,connaught avenue.( thats where i live.. very short
for an address right. more like 7g rainbow colony..)
ok...now here is the wrap up..
Even in my wildest of dreams, i had never thought i would be onsite at such an early part
of my career and that too to a place like london which is supposedly the most expensive
city in the world. I have been lucky to have got this opportunity to come here and also go
around the city.. i thank god for giving me all this which i really do not know whether i
deserve or not. but i know one thing for sure that there are still so many of them who
deserve to get all this. For all those who are onsite and goin to be onsite, remember u are
lucky for ur goin to be visiting exotic places...for all those back home remember that u
are now at the most loveable place in the world coz that is where ur home is. cherish every
moment u spend in india.. in chennai.. and in your home cos that is where ur people are..
that is where love is.. all the indians abroad miss india a lot...hold india very high and
walk with pride that more than anything else they are indians..and that is the same way i
am.. all through this blog, which i just went through, i had inadvertently compared the
places i went with places in india...the analogies may not be perfect but thats the way i
see it.
sorgamae enralum adhu nam naatuku eedaguma..
ada ennadhan enralum adhu nam oora pola varuma...
i may not have been very eager to go around london.. but am eagerly waiting to
sing...madrasa suthi paaka poren.. for which i might have to wait for one more year...
Watch this space for more updates!!!
My First Flight out of the country
This was my first flight abroad.. barring that half an hour journey at an
unknown early age,this could very well be called my first flight travel. First i was a bit
nervous when i knew of the various checks that were to happen at the airport.. but later
when i slowly crossed each of the airport levels, it was gettin easier. Amma and appa were
made to wait outside but the problem was that i couldnt see them and greet them properly
before i left...but then i got some time after all the check was over and was ready to
board the flight...apo i first called amma and appa to tell them i was in the boarding zone
and they can leave..
And half an hour after that , we were called to board the flight. We had some last minute
baggage checks and then we were asked to take a bus to the flight. Got into the flight with
only two bags.. one with all the documents and the other the hand baggage.. the larger one
which u saw was checked in.. i did not take the pressure cooker with me that is y the
wieght got reduced drastically to 21.5 kgs..
Once the flight started, first konjam tensed a irundhudhu.. apparum it became thrilling..
angaye each one had a tv and a headphone attached to the seats. but none of the movies were
interesting.. spiderman 2 mattum konja neram pathaen.. and then i was observing the map and
the path the flight took.. After reaching the london airport, main checks baaki
irundhudhu.. and then i took out the check in baggage and left.. except for the initial
flight cancellation frustration, everything else was pretty good.. it was a pleasent
journey which was a totally different experience for me.. hoping i could soon bring u the
same as soon as possible..
After that took a taxi and came to the hotel. the hotel room was also pretty good. food is
going to be a major concern as i find it very difficult to find any veg items out here..
lets see how i am going to manage this.
unknown early age,this could very well be called my first flight travel. First i was a bit
nervous when i knew of the various checks that were to happen at the airport.. but later
when i slowly crossed each of the airport levels, it was gettin easier. Amma and appa were
made to wait outside but the problem was that i couldnt see them and greet them properly
before i left...but then i got some time after all the check was over and was ready to
board the flight...apo i first called amma and appa to tell them i was in the boarding zone
and they can leave..
And half an hour after that , we were called to board the flight. We had some last minute
baggage checks and then we were asked to take a bus to the flight. Got into the flight with
only two bags.. one with all the documents and the other the hand baggage.. the larger one
which u saw was checked in.. i did not take the pressure cooker with me that is y the
wieght got reduced drastically to 21.5 kgs..
Once the flight started, first konjam tensed a irundhudhu.. apparum it became thrilling..
angaye each one had a tv and a headphone attached to the seats. but none of the movies were
interesting.. spiderman 2 mattum konja neram pathaen.. and then i was observing the map and
the path the flight took.. After reaching the london airport, main checks baaki
irundhudhu.. and then i took out the check in baggage and left.. except for the initial
flight cancellation frustration, everything else was pretty good.. it was a pleasent
journey which was a totally different experience for me.. hoping i could soon bring u the
same as soon as possible..
After that took a taxi and came to the hotel. the hotel room was also pretty good. food is
going to be a major concern as i find it very difficult to find any veg items out here..
lets see how i am going to manage this.
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