Anthology of Experiences

Goa Trip Part 3

2012-01-28T19:04:00.002+05:30

Ouractivities the previous night went on late into the night and consequently we wokeup late the next morning.

Onour third day in Goa, we had little to do apart from catching a bus to Ramnagarin order to reach Dandeli. After asking around in Panaji City Bus Stand wefound out that there’re buses which leave to Ramnagar every hour.

Wedecided to go to St. Francis Xavier’s Church as we had sometime at ourdisposal. Xavier’s church is located in Old Goa and is approximately15kilometers away from Panaji city.
The ride to the church is pretty intriguingas you can observe the newer buildings of Goa slowly starts to fade away whilethe old red-tile roofed buildings of Old Goa begins to show.

St.Xavier’s church which was built in the 16^th century holds the mortalremains of St. Francis Xavier in a casket. The chapel is huge with intricatedesigns on their walls. I found a notice in this church which read somethinglike… ‘take photos of the church but not of people’. Weird! But anyway, I adheredto it and took pictures only of the relics inside the chapel.

The Casket which contains
the relics

Itwas already 3 in the afternoon by the time we were done with St. Xavier’schurch. We headed back to Baga to our guest house which was 20 kilometers fromOld Goa to pick up our luggage. After settling the guest house bill and biddingadieu to Mrs. N, we drove back to Panaji to return our Activas and boardour bus to Ramnagar.

DepartingGoa gave me a feeling of sadness as I was getting away from ‘The City of Night’!The beaches, the energetic night life, and the serene forts are some thingswhich definitely call me back to Goa!

Ourbus to Ramnagar left at 4.30 in the afternoon. Luckily for us, the three hourjourney to Ramnagar was quite engaging. The conversation between the conductorof the bus and a guy who wished to relieve his bladder kept us entertained forquite a while during our journey. The bus driver finally agreed to stop the busfor 2 minutes and the entertainment ended.

Wereached Ramnagar Bus Stand at a nippy 8 o’clock in the evening. The owner of the home-stay which we'd booked at Dandeli picked us up from the bus stand and we were 'home' after an hour's drive. There began the Dhandeli part of our 6 day trip. Little did I know then that Dandeli would surpass the fun we had at Goa!

Goa Trip Part 2

2012-01-22T00:32:00.001+05:30

I see your hair is burnin'

Hills are filled with fire

If they say I never loved you

You know they are a liar

Drivin' down your freeways

Midnight alleys roam…

Cops in cars,

The topless bars

Never saw a woman...

So alone,

So alone

Motel Money,

Murder Madness

Let's change the mood from glad to sadness…

The first thing we did next morning was toreturn the Santro which we’d gotten as a replacement for the Swift. Weexchanged it for 3 more Activas.

At Emmanuel's

We had brunch at BAGA beach in Emmanuel’s BeachCafé and the food was yummy. The vegetarian sizzler, the tomato and cheesepasta, the spaghetti bolognaise pasta were some delicacies which were appetizing.Although the food is similar to what we get in Bangalore, the Goans sell theirfood with a heavy price tag! The brunch at Emmanuel’s costed us approximately300bucks per person. But I shouldn’t be complaining because the food andservice was appreciable.

No women in this photo :-(

While I was still contemplating about enteringthe water, my friends had already entered the sea deep enough that I could onlysee their heads from the shoreline. The number of beaches I’ve been to duringthese 3.5 years of my college life has made me weary of them and therefore Idecided to sit this one out. I sat down on the sand on a shaded spot and I wasleft with no choice but to guard my friends’ footwear!

The racist Lifeguard's stool

As I sat there in my vantage point checking outsome bikini clad women, I noticed that a wide part of the beach had onlyforeigners swimming in the water. The lifeguard who sat on an elevated stoolwould shoo away anyone but foreigners, who went to enter the water. And this, he would determine only by the skin tone of the people entering thispart of the beach! Outright Racism!! The ones who were shooed away had to swimin the remote and more crowded parts of the beach. Helpless as I was, watchingthis bigotry, I was ticked off by how people sellout so easily just for alittle money! We weren’t allowed to swim at a beach in our own country!Disgusting!

An Interesting side story – Four of my friends were put upin a guest house which was let out by a lady by name Mrs. N. And the remainingthree of us (my twin, one of my friends, and I) were put up in a guest house whichwas a stone’s throw away from Mrs. N’s guest house. This guest house was also rentedout by a lady...I’m gonna call her Mrs. Uncooperative. The guest house whichMrs. N had given us was much more spacious and cleaner than the one which Mrs.Uncooperative had given us. Hence, the 3 of us wanted to move in to Mrs. N’s guesthouse to join the other four. But Mrs. Uncooperative, as her name suggests,wasn’t willing to refund our deposit so that we could move into Mrs. N’s. So wewere literally stuck at Mrs. Uncooperative’s guest house for 3 days.

On the second day, when we got back to our guest housesafter playing at the beach (luckily for us) we found a used something in ourroom (probably left by the previous occupants of that room) and I’m not sure ifwe were sickened or delighted more! :-D We used this as a reason to coax Mrs. Uto refund our money and we gladly moved into Mrs. N’s ten minutes later.

Mrs. N's guest house

It was 3.30 by the time all of us returned from the beach to our guest house and got ready.Meanwhile, our (new) landlady, Mrs. N, a very garrulous but good-hearted womanbored me for half an hour with her subtle but cutthroat business principles andhow she never wished to offend the other landladies in the area. Thisconversation sparked off only because I’d gone downstairs and knocked on herdoor requesting her to fill up the water jugs in our rooms. Clearly Mrs.N didn’t believe in the principle that a conversation must have equalcontribution from both parties. Nevertheless, it was a nice chat!

Chapora Fort

Our next place for sightseeing was the ChaporaFort. Located strategically high up on a hillock, this fort overlooks theChapora river on one side and the Sea on the other side. The Chapora fort,though mostly in ruins today, gives a spectacular view of the Vagator Beach andthe Anjuna Beach. Two of my friends discovered a pathway and trekked down fromthe fort onto Vagator Beach. The rest of us reached Vagator beach by road.Vagator beach doesn’t have as many cafés and restaurants and it’s more tranquilthan any of the other beaches.

Trying to trek down Chapora
Fort onto Vagator Beach

At 5.30 in the evening we were still joblessand didn’t want to head back to our guest house this early. Therefore we tookup a wild-goose chase to find this pub by name CURLYS (on my brother’s insistence…sigh!) located on Anjuna beach. After maneuvering our Activas through narrowalleys, a Tibetian exhibition, and someone’s private land, we made it just ontime to CURLYS, to gaze at the setting sun while we enjoyed a drink.

Curlys pub definitely gives an answer to the question why foreigners from all over the world, leaving all their luxuriesbehind, choose to put up in beach-side shacks and holiday in Goa!

After all the eating and drinking we’d beendoing throughout the day, we decided to eat something light for dinner. We ateat a budget hotel by name “Spicy Idlys” at Baga. Although we were glad to meet a Kannadaspeaking waiter, he stoically asked us “yen order thogoLLi” in a heavilyaccented Hubli-Kannada. Dinner was ok.

What we did the rest of the night shall remain untold!

City of Night! (Goa Trip Part 1)

2012-01-19T23:32:00.003+05:30

“Well, I justgot into town about an hour ago

Took a lookaround, see which way the wind blow

Where thelittle girls in their Hollywood bungalows?

Are you alucky little lady in the city of light?

Or justanother lost angel

City of night

Woo, c'mon”

-LA Woman(The Doors)

This song (being one ofmy favorites) can be precisely attributed to Goa! The night life of Goa istruly exhilarating.

I went to Goa with myfriends last week and the trip was quite eventful. Me along with six of myfriends set out by the 5.30pm bus from Bangalore and after a 15 hourbone-shaking journey (thanks to KSRTC Rajahamsa), we reached our destination,Panaji city, at 8.30 the next morning.

Fort Aguada

As we alighted at Panaji City Bus Stand, we were welcomed by a group of touts asking ifwe wanted to rent cars, bikes or get accommodation. We randomly picked one ofthose agents and rented a Maruti Swift and an Activa for ourselves through hisagency.

After looking aroundin Mapusa and Baga, we found a guest house in Baga, which was rented out by alady who lived in the ground floor of her building. The place was very spaciousand the price was reasonable.

Once we were donehaving brunch at a café in BAGA, we set out to AGUADA FORT. It is a common misconceptionthat the movie Dil Chahta Hai was shot at AGUADA FORT. I found out that themovie was actually shot at another fort by name CHAPORA FORT which lies on ahillock in northern Goa. Aguada Fort is as big as a football field and issurrounded by moats on three sides. The fourth side overlooks the Arabian Sea. Thereis nothing much to this fort except for the serene location and the scenic viewof the Arabian Sea.

Asked not to look at the camera!

The day had been goingon fine so far. But after our visit to Aguada Fort, we were duly reminded ofthe ill luck which people usually connect to Friday the Thirteenth. Yes… ourfirst day in Goa was on the Friday the Thirteenth. Our first misfortune was aexasperating encounter with the Goan Police. We were stopped by the police (just when my brother took over the wheel :-P) for “overspeeding” when we were driving only 10kmph above the 40kmph speed limit insidePanaji City. The stupid cop wouldn’t settle for a bribe amount less than Rs. 2300and kept threatening that he’d “compound” the Maruti Swift which we hadrented.

Deciding what to tell the cop

We lost an hour tryingto negotiate with the retard who was endeavoring to read out some trafficoffences and their penalties out of a book on traffic offences. Luckily forus, some guy who was passing by knew the owner of the car and he came to ourrescue. He spoke to the cop in Konkani and convinced him to not “compound” thecar and we were free to go after paying a bribe of Rs. 1000.

Sunset at Kolva Beach

Not being sure if weshould continue using this car, we half heartedly set out to Kolva Beach whichwas 50 kilometers away from Panaji. An hour’s drive later, we reached Kolvabeach just in time for sun set. Kolva beach, according to me is a replica ofJuhu Beach of Mumbai. The place is buzzing with a lot of activity. You’ll findbhel puri vendors, people who draw temporary tattoos, cool drinks sellers andanything else which you can amuse yourself with while you are at a beach!

I'm asking in my butler Hindi if
he's fixed all the buckles properly

The seven of usdecided to amuse ourselves with Parasailing. The boatmen would take us into thesea on their motorboats. We’d be harnessed to the parachute through belts andthen we’d be sailing in the air as the motorboat tows us at a high speed. I hadnever done parasailing before and had high expectations of it.

The Parasailing ridewe were offered here was a slight disappointment. The parachute took off intothe air as the motorboat gained speed, and we were in the air for hardly 30 secondswhen he started retracting the rope and slowing down the motor boat. Clever wayto rip off 500 bucks from you!

If not by parasailing, we decided to raise our spirits by drinking Fenny... a Goan spirit brewed from coconut or cashew apple! Fenny... according to me... tastes like highly acidified vodka. Atleast vodka has a palatable flavor to it. The Cashew Fenny I drank had a bitter after-taste to it. My spirits didn't go any higher! :-|

The unlucky Maruti Swift which we
pushed for more than a kilometer

At 8pm when we decidedto leave Kolva Beach, our Maruti Swift refused to start whatsoever. We spent threehours searching and picking up two mechanics one after the other to repair ourcar to no avail. After countless exchange of phone calls, our agent finallysent us a Santro as a replacement at 11pm and it was midnight when we reached Baga.Reaching Baga came as a very big relief to the seven of us as we weren’t surehow we’d come back 50 kilometers from Kolva with just one Activa and no publictransport.

The amazing part ofGoa is that even late in the night, the streets are crowded with pedestrians (I’mtalking about pretty looking women ;-)) in their best attires, holding a bottleof alcohol in one hand and walking down to pubs and discos.

We decided to hit one of the beach cafés for adrink and an hour later we went back to our guest house and crashed on ourbeds.

First Trip of the year

2012-01-10T14:36:00.001+05:30

Adding yet another pleasurable long drive to my experience, I commenced this year's travel by doing my biannualtrip to Mysore last weekend!

Mysore, being the city where my grandmotherlives, is a place I frequent more than I visit otherrelatives who stay in Bangalore!

I was driving down to Mysore this time fortwo reasons... first, my grandmother who was visiting us needed a rideback home... second, I wanted to play with my cousin's German Shephard Dog, Rocky,who is just 7 months old.

My Twin, Rocky, and I

The last time I played with Rocky was in September 2011and back then he was small enough for me to carry in my arms. Now, I was eager to see him fully grown and looked forward to spending all weekendplaying with him.

The onward journey was slow and steady owingto the fact that my grandmother dislikes speeding. Anxious as she was, to sitthrough a journey of 3 hours, she forwent her afternoon nap concentrating onthe highway traffic, while the westward sun glared intensely inside our car at3.30 in the afternoon. We reached Mysore before dusk and the rest of the eveningwas uneventful.

My grandma watches as my
cousin tries to make Rocky jump.

Waking up to MS Subbulakshmi's Suprabathablaring from the neighbor's house at 5am in the morning is one of those traits whichremind you of Mysore’s archaic lifestyle. The wide tranquil streets of theJayalakshmipuram area… the foggy weather every morning… are some peculiarities whichdefine Mysore to me! I spent the day playing with Rocky.

I set out to Bangalore next morning at 8 sothat I could beat the Sunday traffic on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway. Speaking Outof experience, the traffic from Mysore to Bangalore on Sunday evenings ismassive. The average speed on the highway drops hugely much to my frustration.

Thedrive back to Bangalore was effortless with little traffic on the highway. Iwas home by 10.30.

Adventure Sports near Kanakpura

2011-12-29T00:02:00.001+05:30

So far, I have blogged about outings which Ihave planned and organized myself. This outing, which I’m writing about, was conceivedby my cousin and it was definitely a day well spent! I didn’t have to bothermyself with driving, or the number of people who were coming, or making sure they were ontime! All I did was enjoy the drive in my cousin’s car, have lots of fun throughoutthe day, and come back home completely exhausted.

At 12.30 in the afternoon, none of us
felt like trekking all the way up!

We headed off to this privately owned adventuresports camp near Kanakpura on Sunday, 23^rd of October. This place isapproximately 3 kilometers away from the Kanakpura city. The place is somewhata flat land full of lush greenery and wilderness, and beyond this place is ahillock where guided treks are conducted.

We reached the place around 11 in themorning and immediately started with the trek. Our guide, Madhu, a lad in hislate twenties, patiently guided us through the wilds and slippery rocks.Reaching the hill top required two and a half hours of trekking and at 12.30 inthe afternoon, none of us were up to it. Hence, we decided to trek up foranother half an hour and head back to the base camp to resume other activities.

Our guide trekked down ahead of us so thathe could get the equipment ready for the next activity... Jumaring! I had neverheard of jumaring before and I had no idea how it was done. Jumaring is a techniqueto ascend a rope vertically with the help of friction-clamps. The mechanicaldevice used, is called an ascender. The word Jumar comes from the name of theSwiss factory which manufactures these ascenders hence device’s name leading tothe term Jumaring. (Thank You Wikipedia! ;-))

Jumaring!

Meanwhile, Madhu had tied the ropes to abranch of a tree and had set up the equipment in no time. Madhu also gave us a detaileddemonstration of how (“easily”) it is done. After Madhu’s effortless demonstration,my cousins and I took on this activity one by one and I was the third person togo. I realized the difficulty of this sport only when I started doing it myself.Jumaring is certainly a tiresome activity for those who are not physically fit.It revealed to me the sedentary life I’ve been living for the past few yearsnow and how I needed to exercise badly! However, I finished ascending the fullheight within 5 minutes. :-D It was time for lunch by the time all of us werefinished and we headed back to the base camp.

Rappelling!

Parceled lunch had been brought for us froma hotel in Kanakpura and the food was tasty. After having a three course meal,we proceeded towards the hillock for Rappelling. Rappelling is an activity where you descend the face of a rock with a rope. Rappelling was also asport I’d never done before. We trekked up the hillock for half an hour andpicked a huge rock from which we’d descend. Madhu gave us a detailedexplanation of how it is done and kept urging us to just trust him. Despite thedemonstration, I had several questions concerning my safety and therefore (muchto the displeasure of my cousins ;-)) I took a few more minutes to clear all mydoubts with Madhu. There’s one rope called the BELAY rope which is tied to yourwaist and our guide would release it bit by bit as I climbed down the rock. There’sanother rope which goes all the way down till the ground where the descendingends. This rope passes through a hoop attached to my belt. Anyway, further technicalitiesare not required unless you’re actually going to do this sport.

We Rappled down the triangular
shaped rock at the centre of this picture!

You may have vertigo, acrophobia or anyother phobia, but I strongly suggest that you not miss out on Rappelling.Rappelling is a very exciting sport and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I wasvery skeptical in the beginning, it turned out to be very invigorating. Youmight be told not to look down so that you don’t get scared of the height...butdo make it a point to look in all directions to feel the thrill!

My Cousin and I making
a perfectly steered U-Turn!

Unfortunately, as we were short of time, wecouldn’t go for a second round of rappelling and we had to proceed towards thepond for Kayaking. Kayaking was yet another first time experience and it was absolutefun. Row too slow and you might not be able to steer properly…row too hard andyou might topple the boat (with your feet stuck inside the boat…and if thathappens…you’re stuck underwater until you slither your feet out of the Kayak!
;-)).

It was already dark by the time we finishedkayaking and we were served with hot tea and biscuits as we got out of the pond.By 7.30 in the evening, we were completely exhausted and it was time for us toleave.

I slept peacefully thorough the two hourjourney back to Bangalore. I was home by 10pm.

More information:

You can trek up the hillock and camp thereovernight!

You can also camp out in tents which can bepitched near the base camp with a bonfire… or perhaps stay in tree houses!

If you wish to contact the owner of thisplace…feel free to send me an email.

Hogenakkal Falls

2011-09-04T01:21:00.012+05:30

Karnataka Side of the Falls

After planning with my friends for more than a month, I got a chance to go to Hogenakkal falls on the 14^th of August. This place is around 160kilometers away from Bangalore. We left Bangalore at 10 in the morning; drove down to Hosur, stopped at a highway Kamat Hotel for breakfast, then continued to Dharmapuri; and Hogenakkal was a half-hour drive from there. We were ten of us in two cars. As we had gone on a Sunday, there were a lot of visitors and consequently we had to park our cars nearly a kilometer away. Our three and a half hour journey was spent head-banging to the silliest of songs, discussing college issues, racing with the other car, munching on junk food etc...and we reached the place at 2.30 in the afternoon!

The foreigner holding the pink bag
referred to this as "Human Trafficking"

The Hogenakkal falls is also known as the Indian Niagara. These falls mark the exit of the river Kavery from Karnataka State and its entrance into Tamil Nadu State. Just like the Niagara Falls, it has a horseshoe bend and it lies on the border of these two states. And hence, we can see the falls from either side of the border.

We hired coracles for 250 bucks per person. The boatmen takes you a kilometer upstream, on road, in a pickup truck. These pickup trucks are overloaded with many people in them along with the coracles which they stack up on top of the truck. One foreigner who was coming with us in our truck correctly said…”This looks like human trafficking”. Nevertheless, you must hire these coracles in order to see the waterfalls from the Karnataka side.

The truck ride was bumpy and slow owing to the innumerable number of tourists walking on the roads in all directions. The truck dropped us off at a point very close to the river and we put our coracles into the river and hopped onto them. These coracles can accommodate 7 people at a time. The boatman we hired was very worried that we wouldn’t pay him properly and therefore wouldn’t talk about anything else apart from money throughout the boat ride.

The boat ride was fun otherwise! Our boatman spun the coracle making us all feel dizzy. We were dropped at a point and from there we had to wade across flowing water to reach the tip of the falls. This is as close as anyone can get to the falls. The sound of the flowing water is thunderous at this point. The gush of water falling down causes so much mist and foam, giving the name “Hogenakkal”.

While standing here in the water, tiny fishes gather around your feet, poking, giving a very funny sensation. Be very careful when you are standing here. If you slip and fall, you’re sure to get washed down the falls.

We spent some time here at the top of the waterfalls taking photographs and enjoying the constant spray of mist on our faces. And then we had to get back to our boatman who was waiting for us where he’d dropped us. Next, our boatman struggled rowing the coracle away from the main current of the river, and took us around the waterfalls to another point where we could see the falls from the Tamil Nadu side. You will also find a lot of vendors selling fresh-water fish cooked and garnished with some spices. I was chiefly put off by the fish bones strewn all over the place.

Tamil Nadu Side of the Falls

The Tamil Nadu side of the waterfalls is a lot less adventurous. We can see the falls at a distance, downstream. We couldn’t get into the water at this place. The width of the river Kavery forms many small channels where people can get into the water for their amusement.

Although none of us had carried with us a spare set of clothes, we all got into the water and played for a while. By 6.30 in the evening, the water current had increased and it was getting difficult for us to resist the force of the water and so we decided to get out of water and head back to our cars.

It was 7.30pm by the time we reached our cars and we started our journey back to Bangalore. We stopped at a highway McDonalds on our way for a quick bite. It was 10.45 when we reached Bangalore.

One must visit Hogenakkal falls during the monsoon season when the river Kavery flows in full force. But try to avoid going there on weekends as it will be jam packed. The road is excellent throughout the journey. Makes driving very pleasurable!

Bajjis in Jayanagar

2011-08-29T19:51:00.009+05:30

Today college got over at 3.30 and the weather was lovely! Aashray and I were joblessly waiting in the parking lot for the other members of our group to finish their lab and join us. The nippy weather added with our empty stomachs, made the wait even more edgy! A frustrating 30 minutes later everyone assembled at the parking lot one by one and we had our most important discussion which we have everyday… to decide where we should go, to eat!

We – Prasad, Aashray, Spurthi, Supriya and I – decided to go to the Bajji shop in Jayanagar 9^th block. At 4.30 in the evening, the shopkeeper would’ve just started making bajjis. Five hours of lecture in college had made me ravenous and I couldn’t wait any longer to devour those bajjis.

While waiting impatiently for the shopkeeper to deep-fry the aloo-bajjis, we started our first course with crispy jalebis which were still burning hot and dripping with oil. Then we went onto relish the baLekaayi bajjis and the meNsinkaayi bajjis. And finally, the first batch of golden colored aloo bajjis came out! Piping hot as they were, I almost burnt my tongue on the first bite. Meanwhile, Spurthi was shrewdly nibbling on the crispy outer layer while waiting for it to cool down! Quoting Prasad – “This Spurthi is very clever!” :-D

As fastidious and finicky my friends complain that I am when it comes to food, I can openly claim that the aloo bajjis sold at this shop are undoubtedly the best I’ve eaten so far! Also, the size of the capsicum bajjis sold here intrigues me. They are bigger than tennis balls! The shopkeeper skillfully cuts these bajjis into four pieces and garnishes it with carrots, onions, and spices!

Seven aloo bajjis, six baLekaayi bajjis, four mensinkaayi bajjis, one capsicum bajji and five jalebis later our battery level was back to 100%! Supriya had resumed her impish behavior and Prasad started cracking his wise acre jokes! A slight drizzle followed, and after that we decided to disperse!

Back from a long break

2011-08-23T20:37:00.001+05:30

I was jobless today and so I decided to check on my blog! I started going through all the posts I’ve written and I just realized I haven’t written a single post this year, and it's already August! With September just round the corner, it does seem like a long break!

I haven’t blogged for a whole semester! 6^th Semester went by pretty uneventfully. I did just one trip to Shiva Gange! The rest of the semester I spent, cramming extra hours in my college library, for my GRE exam which was scheduled in May! My GRE score turned out more than what I expected, so no regrets! ;-)

And now my final year of engineering has finally started this August! 7^th semester! The semester where we’re supposed to begin campus placements! I’m eagerly looking forward to tackling all the interview rounds and getting placed into the company of my choice!

Fourth week into my 7^th semester and I’m still in the holiday mood! I’m trying to imagine what’s in store for me in the following months! More Road-trips, more blockbuster movies, and anything else… I’m all set to enjoy to the fullest in my final year of engineering!

Ramnagar Hills

2010-11-28T00:28:00.026+05:30

If you're looking to get away from Bangalore for half a day, Ramnagar Hills is the best place for you. Located 45 kilometers away from Bangalore, you can reach Ramnagar within an hour’s journey on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway (State Highway 17). A sighting of bizarre shaped rocky structures all around, welcomes you into this district.

You will find an arched entrance on the highway, leading inside the suburbs of the city. This road eventually ends at the foot of the hills. Here you’ll find a petty shop selling cigarettes and junk food which I’d suggest you to stock up, to relish with the surreal atmosphere while you’re at the top. There’s lot of parking space here and the guard took down our names and vehicle registration numbers for safety reasons.

The Granite monoliths of Ramnagar, which expand beyond the horizon, have been a picturesque location for many film shoots. You might also be trespassing on Gabbar Singh’s lair! (Yes, SHOLAY was shot here!)

The hike begins with a climb of 200 odd steps which lead to the Ramadevara Temple. The rocky terrain in the midst of cacti begins after you've done your warm-up. The village of Ramnagar is scattered with huge rocks but only a few of them are hike-able.

You’re thrust upon an undulating, winding path as you’re entering the rocky wastelands! The gradient hits harder further ahead. It was a gripping experience to mount vertically up to the highest point by means of railings and steps carved into the rocks. There were a few in the group who were apprehensive to climb up this last part. But, with a little motivation and encouragement, we made sure no one fell behind.

The calmness and the cool breeze at the top urges us to lie down and relax, staring at the blue sky! Surrounded by many cactus shrubs, there is a pond formed out of the rain water which adds to the ambiance! Intermittent showers of rain from the moving clouds made the weather more pleasant and also drenched us slightly.

As we're a group of adventurers who have few or more constraints, chiefly we aim only in completing the trek than exploring and trying different routes. Hence, we trekked down the same way, ignoring the rumored alternative route. The overall trek was moderately demanding and must have taken us about an hour and a half, one way. As this was our first big trek, many of us found the downward climb quite strenuous.

A trip to Ramnagar Hills helps you relive those Kannada and Hindi film moments which were shot here! You could also try night-trekking and camping! Bears can be sighted here after dark. The serenity and beauty of Ramnagar Hills undoubtedly calls its trekkers for another visit!

Skandagiri Hills

2010-11-07T18:13:00.035+05:30

An extraordinary place for you try out moonlight trekking is at the Skandagiri Hills. My friends and I went to Skandagiri Hills on a Friday night! As this was the first Night-Trek for all of us, every one of us had brought with us, our own flashlights to play around in the wilderness!

Skandagiri Hills is located near Chik Ballapur City, 60 kilometers from Bangalore. You will have to take the same route you take, to go to the Bengaluru International Airport to go to Chik Ballapur.

We started our journey at midnight and took around 2.5 hours to reach the place for the reason that we had a sticky encounter with the Highway Traffic police. We’d stopped on the highway at a junction to affirm the correct route, and two policemen found it necessary to bother us at 2am in the night for no particular reason. All of us were asked to produce our bike’s documents and our driving licenses. And because one of my friend’s bikes didn’t have a copy of the registration certificate we were forced to part with Rs. 150 as a ‘penalty’! So, don’t stop on the highway too often as you will be giving opportunities for people (perhaps even cops) to cause you trouble!

A road which deviates to the left from NH7 takes you into Chik Ballapur. There are no significant sign boards indicating the deviation to Chik Ballapur, so I’d recommend you to keep track of your Odometer reading. This deviation comes approximately 28 kilometers after the flyover which takes you to the Bengaluru Airport. Once you’ve entered Chik Ballapur city, keep going straight on the same road till you find Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah’s statue on your left hand side, and take a left turn at that junction. The foot of the hills is approximately 6 kilometers from here. Do ask passersby for further directions. The city wore a deserted look at 2am in the night and there was absolutely no one to ask for directions. Luckily, we found two policemen at the statue who directed us correctly. (These were good cops!)

We were told by those policemen that the place opens only after 3am and therefore we waited at the Vishweshwaraiah statue munching on the condiment snacks which we'd carried with us. Going on road trips with many bikes has a high probability for at least one bike in the group to get a flat tyre! And we noticed that one of the scooters (an Activa) had its rear wheel flat! We had no other alternative but to leave this Activa in Chik Ballapur and head to the foot of the hills by riding triples on two other bikes. We attended to the problem next morning after finishing our trek.

Parking is available for cars and two-wheelers at Rs.25 to Rs. 30 per vehicle. The climb initially begins with tarred road which leads to a temple. Ahead of the temple starts the rocky terrain. The terrain is mediocre but you will have to pass through dense bushes many times during the trek. The trek comprises a fair blend of steep pathways, rock-climbing.

The place is completely dark hence carry flashlights with new batteries as you will need it continuously throughout the climb. There are guides near the temple who will take you up till the peak. Hire a guide as you will have to trek for 2hours in complete darkness. We reached the place and started trekking at 3.30am. The trek gets a little difficult at some parts, but don’t get discouraged! Keep persisting! Throughout the trek, our guide made sure we didn’t lose our enthusiasm by telling us there are shops at the hill top selling hot Maggie Noodles and Omelettes! After taking many breaks, we reached the peak at 5.45am by which time there was partial sunlight.

At the hill top, there are two shops made of tent selling hot tea (the tea wasn’t so great, but you couldn’t expect to get anything better there!) and the repeatedly mentioned noodles and omelettes! The shop guy will even set you up a camp fire for pay.

Due to mist and fog, we couldn’t see the rising sun clearly. The scenery at the top of the Skandagiri Hills is so surreal that it makes you feel the trip was worth it! You also get a distant view of Chik Ballapur and other nearby peaks like the Nandi Hills.

We started trekking down at 7.30am and we were on flat ground within 2 hours. Coming down seemed easier and took much less time than going up. The dampness on the rocks made them slippery and a few of us lost our footing and fell. The steep climb of the Skandagiri Hills which isn’t visible while trekking up could be seen picturesquely while trekking down after sunrise! We were intercepted by a herd of cows which were going up to graze on the mountain early in the morning! Jumping out of the narrow path into the bushes was the only way to avoid a head on collision with them!

At 9.30 on a Sunday morning, the city of Chik Ballapur had come alive buzzing with traffic, pedestrians and many vegetable vendors! The journey back to Bangalore took us another 2 hours.

Trekking to Skandagiri in the night is recommended more because of its scenic sunrise! A Nigh-Trek is definitely very enthralling as you will be curious all the way through to find out what lies ahead!

Antharagange Hills

2010-11-04T18:04:00.012+05:30

This is one of the trips which we’d planned in advance and hence we managed to go as a big group! We went to Antharagange on the first Wednesday of November. This place is located very near to Kolar City which is more or less 70 Kilometers from Bangalore. One can simply drive down to Kolar by taking the Old Madras Road – NH4. You'll be passing via Hoskote 20 kilometers from Bangalore. The highway is still not completely laid out and 2-way traffic is merged into a single lane at some stretches. We were fifteen members in our group and we went on 2 Dios, 1 Activa and 5 motorbikes!

Once you’ve reached

Kolar, getting to the foot of the hills isn’t very hard. Just ask for directions to the Kolar city’s main Bus Stand and take a left turn before it. After the left turn, it is one curvaceous road for 6 kilometers which takes you to the entrance Arch of Antharagange. Plenty of parking space is available at this point. Being a group of 15 biking-enthusiasts, we kept stopping enroute to exchange bikes and click pictures. Hence our speed was relatively slow and we took around 3 hours to reach the place.

The lower region of the Antharagange Hills has dense greenery. A flight of steps, giving us good exercise for about 25 minutes takes us halfway up the hill, to the ancient Kashi Viweshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The statue of a bull located beside the temple has mountain water flowing out of its mouth 365 days a year! This place has hordes of monkeys and they’re quite a menace. Therefore put away all polythene bags and food stuff inside your backpacks while going up the steps, otherwise they will definitely try to take away your edibles.

Behind the temple, lies a 2hour trek amidst the scattered boulders and thorny bushes. The mountain water can be seen flowing at only one point while trekking. The peak of the hills gives us a scenic view of the villages lying in the Kolar District. Habitual trekkers should find Antharagange Trek slightly easy. You should find the cave

s of Antharagange Hills once you’re at the peak. We saved the inside tour of the caves for our next visit as we were short of time.

We stopped for lunch at one of the road-side Dhabas on NH4 on our return journey. We were back in Bangalore by dusk.

Trekking in the night is also possible at Antharagange and one can camp out in the caves overnight! A trip to Antharagange should be definitely adventurous and thrilling, and do keep yourself plenty of time to visit all the caves!

Full Throttle!

2010-11-01T23:21:00.004+05:30

Sitting through a boring lecture in my 5th Semester Engineering class, I let my mind wander through the times when I'd bunked college and had set out on a Biking Trip without any planning. And as I started enumerating the places I'd been to in the year 2010, it seemed to me that the details of each bike-trip was slowly fading away from my mind. Before I reach the point where I can only recollect the names of the places and no further details, I thought I'd put them down in my Blog for the benefit of those Bangaloreans, who're looking to get away somewhere for a day! These places should be appropriate for you to resort to on your day off or on a weekend. Also, all these places should definitely be a treat for those who love Trekking!

Having gone on several biking trips, here are some things which I'd advice to make traveling on bikes less of an ordeal.

Traveling on the Highway on a bike involves a lot of exposure to dust and air, so I'd highly recommend you wear a jacket or at least full sleeved clothes to avoid dust particles from hitting your arms.

Protect your eyes with riding glasses or with the helmet's visor to avoid black muck from collecting around them.

Setting out early and getting back before dusk is strongly advised, as there wont be any spare tyres in case of a flat tyre.

Take a Backpack.

Carry or buy some snacks and a bottle of water.

Travel light! Take as less number of gadgets as possible! Remember, you do not have a car to stash your gadgets while you are enjoying out there!

If you're going on a night-out, then carry a Flashlight.

Going long distances on the Highway in bikes might lead to strenuous usage of your bike. Taking a break for 5 to 10 minutes after long stretches of riding (1.5 to 2 hours) will help prevent overheating of your bike.

Lastly, always wear a Helmet!

Having said all this, I'd encourage you to go on as many Biking Trips as possible!

I shall write about each place in a separate post to make reading convenient.

Crime or Laziness?

2009-05-10T00:47:00.014+05:30

Mobile Crime in Bangalore City is so rampant! Every one out of five people in this city - including myself – by and large, under mysterious circumstances, have lost a cell phone! One really wonders if all these cases come about, due to opportunistic kleptomaniacs or because of people who’re just lazy enough not to find its rightful owner even if they wanted to!

To mention one such occasion, I was going back home from college on my bike, when I almost lost my phone and by sheer dumb luck, I managed to get it back! Being an avid person at text messaging, I have the habit of texting even at the traffic signal sometimes, when the wait is too long. This was one of the times when I took out my cell phone to text and I failed to notice the signals change! Hurriedly stuffing it back into my pocket I continued my journey when at one point my phone fell off my pocket onto the busy road. Realizing this only after going a few yards ahead, I parked my bike immediately and ran back to retrieve it from where it had fallen. Just when I dolefully turned around concluding that I’ve lost yet another cell phone, a stranger who had been watching my sequence of actions came to me telling, that a truck driver picked up my cell phone and drove off feeling very smug about his catch!

Not giving up my hopes on getting back my cell phone, I decided to chase this truck and try getting back my phone! This stranger even offered to come with me and help me identify the truck which had by now, gone a few blocks ahead from where I was standing. We both just hopped onto my bike, without giving time for second thoughts and waded through the intense traffic managing to catch up with the truck after nearly a kilometer of what I call ‘rash driving’!! On signaling to the truck driver to return my cell phone while still in motion, he simply nodded and handed it over to my pillion, along with its SIM card, which he had already removed from my cell phone!

Feeling really pleased with myself about my successful mission, and exceedingly grateful to this stranger, I offered to drop him at his destination which was out of my way, and then went back home triumphantly!!
In retrospect, I still wonder if the truck driver picked up my cell phone, merely because he found it lying in his way unclaimed, or he had no intentions to return it and that’s why he sped off without making any efforts to find me! Similarly, the hundreds of people who lose their cell phones everyday in our city, makes it seem as if some of these cases can be termed LOST rather than STOLEN! And these lost cases can be prevented only if the finder just made a little extra effort to find its owner rather than being lazy! The cell phone crime in Bangalore is not just contributed by the habitual thieves but also by people who are just too lazy to be honest!

The Right-Click!

2008-11-20T22:03:00.025+05:30

Try recollecting when you clicked a photograph! You might have clicked many , but have you really thought about what actually happens inside your camera when you hit the ‘CLICK’ button? Well, it’s as simple as 'Say Cheese'!

You might have been bewildered when the top row people’s foreheads in a group photograph were cut off, despite all your efforts in centering it. Well, here’s the reason why… Your Viewfinder, obviously being located above the lens of the camera, has a different optical path than that of the lens. So, speaking in a very microscopic scale, if you are focusing from your viewfinder on 1, 2, 3, 4… written on a number line, vertically downwards, your lens actually pictures the number line only from 2, 3, 4, 5…! To minimize this difference in the optical path from the viewfinders and lenses, the viewfinders are focused slightly downwards at an angle so that the two paths meet after a considerable distance. This is okay as long as you are taking a distant shot. But a close up shot framed in the viewfinder may not be the same image formed on the lens.

We have two major types of cameras which are the SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Cameras and the Non-SLR Cameras. The SLR Cameras which record the image on an electronic imaging sensor to produce a digital image are the DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) Cameras. I've restricted myself to only DSLR Cameras.

The DSLR camera, through a series of mirror and prism reflections allows the photographer to see what exactly is being captured by the imaging system. So actually, in these cameras you’re actually seeing the objects literally through the lens and not through a hole made above the lens like in the Non-SLR cameras.

So here’s how it is built. There’s a mechanical mirror fixed behind the camera lens to intercept the light rays emerging from the lens. This mirror reflects the light rays upwards by 90 degrees and sends them into a Five-sided-Prism (Pentaprism). The light rays undergo Total Internal Reflection twice inside the prism and finally comes out as the image in the eyepiece. When an image is taken, the mirror moves upwards allowing the light rays to fall on the focal place shutter, the aperture narrows, the shutter opens, projecting the image on the image sensor, and then photograph is captured. The mirror then snaps back into its position as the shutter closes.

The period of time where the mirror is flipped up is known as the VIEWFINDER BLACKOUT. All of this happens quickly over milliseconds and cameras can do this flipping action of the mirror nearly 8 times in a second.

Just because the word Digital comes in the acronym DSLR, dont mistake it to any other digicam! In digicams, the live view can be seen through the LCD as well as through the viewfinder simultaneously. But in DSLR cameras, you cannot get a live view in the LCD and all the viewing is done only through the optical viewfinder.

But, recent technological developments have enabled the newer DSLR Cameras to use either the optical view finder or the LCD as live view when composing the picture, although using both simultaneously isn’t yet achieved. The LCD Display has a one-up in cases where holding the camera to one’s face to look through the viewfinder is not possible and also in cases of Underwater Photography where the camera is wrapped in a plastic waterproof jacket. OLYMPUS introduced the first DSLR Camera with live preview, back in the year 2000. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung and other models also started releasing models with live previewing as an option recently in the year 2008.

And yeah, DSLR Cameras are mainly popular for their provision of changing the lens for appropriate photography. It also allows you to attach specialized lenses. Usually photographers use lenses of the same brand as that of the camera. But there are some independent lens manufacturers like Vivitar, Sigma Tokina to name a few, which make a variety of lens mounts which are compatible with other brand cameras.

Agreed, DSLR cameras are any day better than the NON-DSLR cameras, but they aren’t low-priced. DSLR cameras range from Rs. 24,000 to 41,000.

Unless you aren’t into professional photography and you just want to catch that hind-stand your dog did or your class reunion’s pictures, a conventional point-and-shoot camera is good enough. A little gauging and practice while taking your snaps will definitely yield surprising results. Do keep those worthy moments CLICKED!

Feel free to post comments. All pictures were downloaded from Google.

Challenged by the Challenged!!

2007-11-24T21:40:00.008+05:30

A visit to the Spastic Society of Karnataka in Indiranagar, Bangalore makes one wonder who are the ones who are actually challenged! As you enter, what strikes you most is the happy 'family' setup that these talented kids are a part of. The scene is so surreal that you almost fail to notice that these kids are challenged in some ways.

The Spastics Society of Karnataka started off as a branch of the Spastics Society of India in 1982. The Society went on to become autonomous in 1994. This NGO is dedicated to the welfare of persons with Neuro-Muscular Disorders and Developmental Disabilities. Neuro-Muscular Disorders affect the nerves controlling one's voluntary muscles like the ones in the arm's and legs. When the neurons or nerve cells are damaged or killed, the communication with the nervous system and the muscles breaks down, leading to movement disorders and cerebral palsy. The Spastics Society of Karnataka is run under the Directorship of Mrs. Rukmini Krishnaswamy and Mrs. Priya Rao being its Principal. Circumstances prevented us from meeting these two people, who've been like a backbone to this society.

Located on a 5-acre plot donated by the Government of Karntaka, the campus houses a school building, a fully equipped multi-specialty hospital, a canteen, a bakery and a playground. The Multi-specialty Hospital has many services like the Diagnostic Research Center, Speech Therapy, Community Based Rehabilitation & Outreach Services, and Clinical Psychology & Educational Unit etc. The school also boasts of its own canteen and bakery where the mouth watering aromas of the plum cakes and the muffins emanate.

The Spastics Society of Bangalore is almost like any other school with similar routines that include the morning assembly, the recess time, etc. The Monday morning assembly held in their quadrangle offers a platform for the students to showcase their talents. The day begins with a ritual morning prayer, news reading, a nursery song, a patriotic song and concludes with the National Anthem.

A very proud Mrs. Kairaili Nair – The vice Principal of the Spastics Society – spoke to us Paulites about her school and the various courses and programs it has on offer for its students. The coursework is in accordance with the guidelines set by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board which has recently received the Government's approval. In this scheme, the students appearing for the 10th and 12th standard board examinations are allowed to write a minimum of one paper a year and complete the required five papers over five years. The NIOS scheme of education is very student friendly and especially convenient to challenged students. It permits a student to enlist the help of a volunteer-scribe during the examinations and also provides extra time for writing. The NIOS Board caters not just to physically- and mentally-challenged children, but also to economically- and financially-challenged students.

The Medical Diagnostic Research Center houses a team of dedicated doctors and skilled paramedical professionals who provide the children with excellent care and timely medical aid. The Diagnostic Research Center is the entry point to the Spastics Society of Karnataka. When a child is referred to the centre, a social worker attends to the child and builds the file of her medical history. The doctors conduct a series of examinations and evaluations on the child to help them identify the specific individual requirements of the child. The assessments would cover IQ Tests, emotional and behavioral aspects for children and adults between 7 and 21 years of age. Thus, they are able to place the child into the progr

amme best suited for her development. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a guided tour of the Research Center.Mrs. Nair explained that the students' progress is continuously monitored. Every student goes through a monthly examination conducted by the specialized team of doctors at the Medical Development Department. Inspite of all the treatment and therapies, if a student fails to show advances in his academics, he may be shifted to a non-formal method of education. Here, the student is taught simple life skills, social & emotional adjustment, and pre-vocational training for students between the ages 10-14 years.In this institution, teachers interact with their students on a One-To-One basis. The institution also throws open its doors to any person who wishes to volunteer. Volunteers may help individual students with their lessons, along with the Special Educator for that Standard. People who are complete strangers to the students, volunteer to act as their scribes during the board examinations. The Spastics Society also has a Family Support Service wherein they support the families of children with special needs. Emotional support and information is also provided to parents of challenged children.

Karthik, a brilliant 10th-standard student, is one of the gems of the Spastics Society. Although he suffers from cerebral palsy, he is a cheery soul, moving around in a wheel chair, with the help of his classmates. Karthik opted to study the more 'challenging' subjects like Physics and Mathematics all by himself. He is the first to do so! He has already cleared his Physics examination. In fact, this bright lad coolly defeated two Standard-XII Paulites in a game of Hangman!

The school is also proud to have a Standard-XII pass out -- J Krishna Kumar, an excellent painter who is also affected by cerebral palsy. Krishna Kumar has completed a course in Animations and is now awaiting a job placement.The institution has also produced a winner at the International Special Olympics conducted in Shanghai in October 2007. Raghu, who had gone to China with the Indian Contingent, bagged the Bronze medal in Power-lifting. He is also a Gold Medalist in the National Special Olympics.

The school has around 150 students. There are 21 children aged 3-9 years who are part of the Play Group, 7 students in the LKG, 11 students in the UKG, 3 students in the III Standard, 5 students in the IV Standard, 18 in X Standard. There are also 10 students currently in the XII, five of whom are studying Political Science and five, Home Science. There are also several other differently challenged students who are being trained in vocational activities like Tailoring, Baking, Cooking, Creative Arts and Secretarial Training.

The school also has a creative arts section comprising of 17 students under the guidance of Mrs. Shanmora. The creative arts section takes orders for making hand-made boxes, envelopes, earthen lamps, greeting cards and paintings for many multi-national companies like DELL, Mindtree and Sun Microsystems. The society also raises funds by selling their articles in exhibitions.

The Spastics Society of Karnataka has entered into a partnership with PACER Center and IBM India to start the Center for Assistive Technology. Assistive Technology is that which helps the differently abled to communicate and participate in their day-to-day activities more effectively. On this occasion, Mary Pawlenty - First Lady of the state of Minnesota USA, Shanker Annaswamy - Managing Director of IBM India, and Bridget Annes - Coordinator of PACER Center, had visited the school. The Center for Assistive Technology is expected to become functional from early next year.

The Spastics Society of Karnataka has come a great way in the line of helping the challenged. No child in this institution is given a chance to be reminded of their challenges, but in fact is stimulated to participate actively in their environment and help prevent further developmental delays and disabilities! It truly makes one wonder whether these students are still challenged or have they overcome it already!
- Nadig.

Elixirs of Life!

2007-04-09T20:18:00.006+05:30

It is strange... when people claim they have no attachments in their life and proudly say that they can live without almost anything. But the actual test comes when we have to stay without that "most wanted", when it goes out of our hands even before we realize what’s happening. Especially when it goes out of our hands by some authoritative force!!! Life takes an unannounced twist completely! We might try keeping our cool and try with all our efforts to keep up the false impression to others, that there is absolutely no tension caused inside us due to the significant absence of that thing. But later when we ask ourselves, we do get this deep sick feeling inside us that no matter how hard we try to distract ourself, we still look for that thing and feel the uncomfortable absence of that object. We even realize that not even a decimal amount of what we used to claim is true. Continuing in the same lines, we start looking at life as long term imprisonment, and get panicky and worried just by wondering how life can even be possible, without our beloved article! For the first few days of this imprisonment, you can’t think about anything else apart from how life was actually heaven and we took it for granted when we had the liberty to enjoy our article to our fullest! Still, as days goes by, we start feeling how trivial our “most wanted” article is. Life surely has taken a twist. Other things seem more interesting than our tiny article which was our main source of amusement once upon a time! We laugh at how silly the desperation towards our article was! We go off into our boasting mood again and then start telling, how we actually are living without our attachment and get back to our words. As days advances, we even forget that we happened to own something which we valued the most and then realize that it was a mere addiction and not sentimental attachment! Confused becomes the state of our minds when it is time to get back our 'most wanted’ possession from its custody! Everything seems so new and outside when it finally reaches our hands from its term of imprisonment! We get back to treasuring our article hoping not to get it as an addiction but you know what is likely to happen over the days ....and then we are back to strangeness…..!!

To relate it on a personal experience, this is exactly what I experienced when my cell phone got confiscated in school for a week.

Your comments are most welcome.
- Nadig