This was my another attempt at writing and editing a club news letter. The GHAC News Letter.

Please click on this Image for your copy!

Thanks to GHAC’s organizers to have thought of me as suitable for this assignment.

I discovered through blogging on my website that I’m quite interested in writing. It is the fillip from you friends readers that is driving me to check out other writing/editing avenues.

Thanks a ton for your encouragement.

Please leave your comments/suggestions/opinions in the comments section. That would be great help!!

For your copy of Niche Notes, click on this image!

PS: Its another privilege that I’m also the Editor for Niche Notes – TCS Maitree

Toastmasters Magazine. Lucky me!

I went to an ISHA meet after really long. This one was not a Satsang but was a meet for the volunteers to discuss about the parikrama project.

Wanted to share what I could grasp from the meet.So, here’s what.

Sadguru envisioned this Praikrama project ever since the Dhyana linga was consecrated 12 yrs ago.

Parikrama is to my knowledge, all the infrastructure that would be needed around the Dhyana linga, in such a way that a visitor is prepared by just passing through the various facilities, to receive what the Dhyana linga can offer. One such a facility (or you could use a better word) is the Theertha Kund thats already around. A dip in the theertha Kund prepares our senses to calm down to be able to meditate and be receptive to whats available from Dhyana Linga.

So the Prikrama project at hand is to create one more theertha kund and several other such facilities. The project is estimated to cost around a 100 crore and is planned to be completed in the next 4yrs. This meet was to say that we could contribute in terms of money or any other form we can.

There were three excluisive videos of Sadguru that described the project and several Qs abt gathering the resources. Sadguru says, this facility at the ashram is here to stay to benefit people for thousands of years, and we’d contributors to something larger than human imagination could ever figure out.

I’ve registered to pay some amount per month via ECS direct debit. This might be meager money but its is some!

If this sounds good to you, I’d suggest you get in touch with any volunteer you know.

I joined the Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (aka GHAC) a few weeks ago and went on the Moulali Trek (see my blog post here). That experience was so very exciting that I feel like going on every one of the adventures/trips/treks GHAC organizes.

I signed up on this Night Camping and Adventure trip (RSVPd as folks at meetup call it!) and along came Vijay, Karteek, Pranshu and Puja. Shradda who co-organized the trip called us to meet at the pick-up point, Yatri Nivas near Paradise, Secunderabad. We were to meet a few more GHACians there and were to car-pool and head to the adventure destination.

All that was in store!

That’s where we met LakshmiPathi. We five hopped on to his Bolero to meet a few more GHACians in Nanal nagar which was the other pick-up point. Soon as we introduced ourselves to LakshmiPathi, he asked us to call him Pathy instead. So did we! And more interestingly we came to know, Pathi is a Scientist working with Dow Chemicals. Me being a techie, rarely do I get a chance to meet people with careers completely different from mine. Luckily for me, I meet these amazing people from both GHAC and Toastmasters.

As we reached Morine Bakers just by the Nanal Nagar junction, we saw so many more GHACians all decked up for the trip. While I expected some hi-hellos there, Sharadda was rather busy ticking out the attendees and noting which car would each of us travel in.

Bonfire, cave, wild flowers, beer bottle chimes, tents and more

So where were we headed? We were to reach a place called ‘Trails’ by the Anantagiri hills near Vikarabad, some 55Km from Nanal Nagar. Did we know the route? Nay, none in our car did! But fortunately for us, Shradda gave us the GHAC stickers to be stuck to the rears of our seven odd cars. So, we could follow any of those other cars. This was fun, trying to follow. We only had people following us lost-souls, but not one car for us to follow!

We were to stop by at this Tawakkal Family Dhaba for dinner. Less did we know that many had other plans and stopped by at a different place. While we figured out what to do, Srini joined us and more GHACians came soon. Tawakkal Dhaba had this lush lawn (of course sans the grass!) where they clubbed tables for eleven. While we ordered food and waited, we had quite some time for intros, well actually three rounds of them!

First round was sort of an ice-breaker where every one would intro their names and what they did for a living. We thought the food would come by then. It didn’t. So we thought we’d know more. To somehow match the context, each of us shared about places we’d traveled to. That was done. The food did not come yet. So there was another round of talk, and here, each of us would share some thing of their personal lives. Most talked about their life partners, would-be s. One interesting part of that chat was Puja, who assumed the head-of-the-family position at the table and the only girl in the current gang. Obviously, she was asked to talk first, each time!

Finally the food came. Let me tell you, the food was good. Even the cats at Tawakkal Dhaba knew it, for, Puja shared almost half of her rotis with cats and kittens that came greeting us visitors.

By the time we finished dinner, we came to know one IT consultant, a chemical Scientist, four TCSers of which I was one, three IBMers of which one was a Bengali another was a mallu born and bought up in north India and who thinks IT guys don’t really have a personal life, one entrepreneur who owns a Castro Bike Zone franchise, one Oracleian who hopped eight companies in his twelve year IT career, been to the Everest base-camp twice and traveled the length and breadth of India, one Satyam Ventures automobile designer, and what not.

After what I call one-hell-of-a-dinner, we were headed towards Trails. On the way there, we checked out a three meter long viper, dead, apparently killed by a few people. While we thought we’d be one of the first that would reach the venue, as irony would have it, we were the last but one!

We were shown the place where we’d erect our tents and camp for the night. It was a matter of minutes and the tents were there. A small one, an Igloo style tent, a looking-like-a-cave tent etc.

Shradda arranged for an intro for us thirty two member camping enthusiasts. And as would it obviously be, at least 25 were IT guys. Not again!

When we were trying to figure out what to do, a bonfire was lit and we joined for some talking. Okay, I cant miss telling you that we had one Mr. Neeraj, the Guitarist. Neeraj started by saying he is not much of a guitarist and not a good singer. And as a matter of fact, for some reason, not many of us knew most the songs he sang. So every time he said he was missing a line or not playing the guitar well, we all repeated in chorus ‘we wouldn’t know, so keep playing’. But to end this ordeal, Neeraj played John Denver – Leaving on a Jet Plane, and proved that he is not at all a bad singer, and that he could actually play the guitar!

An antyakshari of sorts ensued soon later as the bonfire cooled down. It was bed time. It was more than bedtime but we went on a small little trek on which Puja told us ghost stories (ha, she does that, you know!). The story inspired us to click this.

We reached the tents at around midnight and contrary to the usual expectation, most of us slept outside the tents, thanks to the summer heat! Puja thought it was unfair to tell the Ghost story to the select few on the trek. So she repeated it again to all that were already struggling to catch some sleep. Good night was that?

After a few hours of sleep-of-sorts, Jitendra who was co-organizing the trip, woke us up at a ghostly 0530hrs and said “lets get going guys”. We stood in queues at the one and only toilet and freshened up soon as we could, went out to a morning trek into the wild. I had been through such walks before as a kid but this one felt different. Well, it seemed to me as though a bunch of us got lost, and I thought it was fun to be lost in a jungle. But as fate would have it, we eventually were back at the camp. It seems the other groups (who were apparently not lost) spotted rabbit, deer, peacock and wild boar. We could only spot the most peculiar species on planet earth, the humans, us!   My camera spotted a little more.

beautiful sunrise, (clock wise) ant hills, wild plants, burnt grass and don't-know-who's shit!

We came back and talked and talked as waited for breakfast. Waiting for food has never been so much fun! There was a host of other activities lined up for the rest of the day. So, we were split into two groups headed by Shradda and Jitendra each. I thought that it would be easy on me if I put the camera and phone in Vijay’s bag and be care free. But what I miss now is the snaps for what I’d talk here on!

Okay, so people, it was rock-climbing time! This was much like the simulated rock climbing we see in Prasads cineplex. What I realized however was that it takes quite some energy and stamina. Thanks to a sleep-deprived night, a jungle walk and puri for breakfast, my batteries were at the lowest to start with. I could manage rock climbing, of course clinging on to a  harness, a helmet and someone holding you tight up with the ropes. But I could not manage Zoomering, which is  climbing up ropes using a device called zoomer. It requires quite a bit of your arm-strength.

After that, we did Earthquake. Well not actually quaking the earth, but crossing a host of wooden swings, while still wearing a harness! These activities were more than just exciting oneself with the adventure, physical and psychological challenge. It was loads and heaps of fun with the group who tease, appreciate, make fun of and encourage each other. I came to know more of each of them in my little group, we almost became friends! I’m sure if we meet again somewhere in the real world, it’d bring us back these wonderful memories.

Shortly after that, we valley crossed clinging again to a harness on ropes and pulleys. While that was not too exciting, it was sure fun to watch everyones’ expressions!

The feeling was exhaustion and what would come tomorrow would be body pains. Shradda said these would be ’sweet pains ‘.

After so much activity, which we would usually not do in our lazy lives, we were mighty hungry. We washed fast (and some even asked ‘haath dhona zaroori hai kya?’) and jumped to eat some yummy lunch. The food was good, especially the jalebi.

It was time for a group photo and then a game in the shade. My photo doesn’t capture all of them, but believe me, there were thirty two of us! Soon after, we reluctantly joined for a group game. The game was something like this – I choose a partner, and my partner responds to questions I’m asked, and that too quick. If he/she could not, he becomes the questioner. That kept us all completely alert!

Then Shradda and Jitendra did some accounting, and we tried our hand at Archery.

L to R - Me, Pranshu, Puja, Karteek, Pathi, Vijay

It was parting time and we did the bye byes quick!

The resort ‘Trails’ was a litter free and well maintained place, not too many arrangements and not any less. The staff were friendly and ready to help. Good food and great ambiance.

All in all this was one hell of a camping trip, thanks to the diligent organizing by Shradda, Jitendra and all those who assisted them. And thanks to all the thirty two who attended, and made it memorable.

I would look forward to more such trips. The spirit that you see amongst GHACians is unparalleled.

Guess I wrote too long a post. I’d so much to say, what do? The trip was worth it!

Please share your views in the comments section. I would like to know how you’d appraise my writing skill as well.

PS: On any of these trips GHACians follow one basic rule – No booze, No litter!

Wonderful fellows eh!

For those of you who are wondering where Moula Ali Dargah was… its located in Secunderabad some where in between Mirzalaguda, Tarnaka and ECIL.

The trek was organized by enthusiasts from the Great Hyderabad Adventure Club. They’re a club who come together to travel, trek, hike, camp etc. For every trip they go on, they start with an announcement on meetup.com and invite members to RSVP if they’d like to join. The club was founded in 2008 and has become so famous in these two years that there would be a waiting list of about 10 on every one of their meetup adventures.

I was lucky to have registered early, thanks to Moumita, a friend of mine from TCS. And soon as I told my roomies (read room-mates) about the idea, they jumped into registering on meetup. In all we were Bharath, Moumita, Anchal, Vijay, Arun, Naresh, Karteek and Ravi (not in this pic, ‘cos he was shooting it!).

The plan was to meet at Moula Ali at 0615 hrs on Saturday morning. And that meant we’d to get up at a ghostly 0430 hrs, get ready and drive some 20 odd Km to reach Moula Ali on time.

Somehow, things fall in place when we set out to have fun! Moumita and Karteek joined us roomies in just no time and there we were to meet twenty others. Padmaja from the organizing team greeted us, while I was contemplating if I knew this person already. Yes I did, I met here before at a Deloitte Toastmasters event. Aah Toastmasters… I must say its almost like a religion! I get to know quite a few wonderful people through it.  Now for example, there were at least four Toastmasters on this trek (Me, Moumita, Padmaja, Arun and Srivalli).

To describe the terrain that awaited us, Moula Ali dagrah was atop one huge rocky hill. In fact the hill itself looked much like one huge rock. While most of us took the steps, the looking-for-adventure lot tried to climb through the sides. Once up there, we introduced ourselves. As would be expected, there were quite a few IT folks, from TCS, Infotech, Microsoft… so on and so forth. But the interesting part was that there were folks like Mr. Subbarao who once woked for the Indian Air Force, a Kargil veteran, with his about 5yr old chirpy kid Meghna.  And there was Virginia Wang – Chinese by origin, an American by nationality. What we wont forget about her is her flawless Telugu.

Once the intros were done, Padmaja lead us through the steep downhill behind the dargah. Man it was so steep that I thought I’d fall straight down to earth. But as destiny would have it, I climbed down and up easily enough !

Once we were back from the first of the three planned adventures, we tried very hard to push some rocks down the hill, after all there were too many of them there and the hill seemed burdened.

We went to the other side of the hill and discovered that there were two other hills that looked similar and we could go there the next time around.

A little later I saw the team walking down the hill. While I was wondering if the trek was over already over, we assembled for what would be for most of us, the once in a lifetime, almost vertical climbing experience.

Click on this picture for more pics of the trek

Initially climbing the wall like rock seemed impossible and even risky. But as a few of us did it with ease, we the first timers tried it out too. It is at this moment when I learnt a few nice tricks/rules of the sport.

1. Hold on tight, take a nice little jump start, keep the momentum going.
2. The three-point-contact rule: At any instance, three of your limbs have to grip firm before you make the next move.
3. Keep calm, breathe deep and believe that you can make it to the top.
4. Encourage all those around, you’ll get the same from them!

What was beautiful to see was that people from various walks of live, who did not know much of each other teamed up, encouraged, helped eachother, and more than anything else, had loads of fun.

I must thank Moumita for having suggested me to sign up, Padmaja and co. for having organized it perfectly, and all those wonderful people that were there. Hope to meet you all soon!

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Cast: Rana Daggubati, Priya Anandh, Richa Gangopadhyay,  Kota Srinivasan Rao, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, Tanikella Bharani
Crew: Director – Shekhar Kammula, Producer – AVM Productions, Music – Mickey J Meyar, Lyricst – Veturi Sundararama Murthy

To start with, the theme used for the titles was interesting. We see a vague sketch taking shape in the background and by the time the director’s name appears, it unfolds to being the state assembly.

The movie opens with a bang, not a very exciting one though. The bang came from a bomb blast, an attempt to assassinate the CM. I would not uncover the plot here but would comment on what I liked and what could be better amidst the hype and the wait for the movie.

The lead role: Rana looked to have a mature stance and his dialogue delivery is a big plus. But he lacked the sensitivity and expression that one would expect from a ‘Leader’. He is good given that he is a debutant, but the debutants that featured in ‘happy days’ (another of Shekar Kammula’s movie) were so much better. In fact there were many scenes/situations in Leader where one would expect a dialogue or a fitting expression from the role (Arjun Prasad, son of assassinated CM). I would not say the actor was not capable, but the skill was not demanded and exploited by the director.

The actresses: I’m guessing that they are both are debutants. Priya Anand’s role (Ratna Prabha a TV reporter) was not only completely unnecessary & irrelevant, it was also irritating to see her inappropriate and untimely dialogues. Ratna Prabha disappears without a hint or a reason in the middle of the second half. Richa Gangopadhyayv (I cant recall her role’s name) also happens to be a media person (owns  a TV channel I guess..) who stays alone as she doesn’t like her politician father. While she looks pretty and carried herself well through the movie, her role has not much to contribute to the plot. All in all, the girls were only there to fill in.

The others: While Kota Srinivasan Rao is a high capability actor, his role too in the movie as a political party head was mere. Tanikella Bharini another veteran actor, did well as CM’s chief secretary but again, his capabilities were not exploited. The only role I thought was well pictured was Suhasini’s. She played Raajamma, Arjun Prasad’s mom. But then, the director killed her towards the end without a reason or a purpose.

The Plot: Arjun Prasad becomes CM with an aim of removing ‘corruption’ and ‘caste system’ in the state. He decides that solely on the request of his mother and a dying father. The plan is to play politics and gain power and then use that power to bring back money from corrupt politicians and distribute it to the people. If you thought that this was a serious affair and expected to see some genuine activity in that direction, wait, you’re in for disappointment. There is so much inappropriate sentiment, drama, insensitively put in romance. Udhaya Bhanu’s item number, the extended romance with a TV reporter, the vague and lack luster political discussions, are clear examples of attempts to drag the movie on.Towards the end however, the movie seemed to have gained some pace, but only to end abruptly. One doesn’t realize really why was Arjun Prasad a Leader? And where did the idea of removing ‘caste system’ go?

The closest comparison I could draw for this sort of a movie would be ‘Oke Okkadu’ (one-day-CM movie starring Arjun, made by Shankar). On comparison Oke Okkadu outshines Leader in every department, especially in the plot.

The Music: Micky J Mayer proves once again that he is an outstanding music composer. Add to this the beautiful lyrics by Veturi. The remake (sort of) of Maa telugu talli ki was path breaking, and the title song was equally as brilliant. My personl favorite is ‘Sreelu Pongina’, but I did not find it appropriate for where it was used in the movie (When Raajamma dies). Vandematarm makes for a great listening but was again used at inappropriate places. In fact I believe music from ‘Leader’ is great as a music album rather than film track. Perhaps the movie did not have enough scope to employ such stirring music.

Cinematography: I consider cinematography a very important factor in determining the visual quality of a movie. While most of the movie was pretty ordinary in this aspect, I found the slow-motion scenes in while Arjun Prasad walks are far too many. They fail to create the effect since the theme surrounding them did not call for a slow motion sequence. If one observes the assembly scenes, shots from the rear show not more than five seat columns while those from the front show more than a dozen. While the CM spoke, they were looking at an angle away from where the CM was looking while all of them faced the Speaker. This was probably a result of a flimsy attempt to create the scenes artificially instead of shooting for real.

A few bits ‘walk into the public’ towards the end of the movie were good. At the same time, the shot that shows a campaign meeting in Warangal was absolutely artificial and visible so; and so was the swear in ceremony where the public was completely artificial, in white clothes as it would be if it were shot in the fifties. This I would say killed the spirit of film making in the cinematography department.

What I liked in the movie was that the ’songs’ were a part of the movie rather than separate bits that are plugged in as in most Indian movies. The movie publicity campaigns on TV and Radio are innovative and encouraging.

Recommendations: If you want to see Leader, go with no expectations. Its difficult not to have expectations because its a Shekar Kammula movie and the music is wonderful. but if you expect to see something revolutionary/outstanding/intellectually pleasing, you’d be disappointed.

Conclusions:

• Mikey J Mayer is one good talent.
• Rana can do better. What is proven is that he is capable and we can look forward to his next.
• In Leader, Shekar Kammula completely misses on the elegance, the story line and the clarity in screenplay that we saw in Happy Days or Anand.
• Leader is not much of a Leader.

I had done some home work for myself while preparing to visit around Delhi-NOIDA-Gurgaon early in 2010. It took me quite some browzing time and effort to compile information. I thought this information would help travelers like me.

1. Nizamuddin railway station to NOIDA: Hire an auto rickshaw for around Rs.230. But a better way is to walk down towards the behind of the Nizamuddin station and the take one of those green colored mudrika buses operated by Delhi Transport Corporation. One could also take one of those buses operated by the UP transport dept. If you plan to take an auto rickshaw, please be informed that the Delhi autos can not go all the way into NOIDA as it is UP.

2.NOIDA to Gurgaon:

• NOIDA to Daula Kuan: DTC operated Mudrika Bus no. 392 (one of those green colored ones) would take you straight to Daula Kuan (A.R.S.D college stop) in around an hour. The bus goes via Lajpat Nagar (Rs.30, 1hour travel). A short walk to the Gurgaon side (directions are easy to find) and…
• Daula Kuan to IFFCO Chowk, Gurgaon: One has quite a number of choices here. DTC mudrika buses or those operated by the Haryana Transport dept (around Rs.25, 25min travel). These would be quite frequent. Apart from that one could take one of those number of call-center-cabs (might be risky for the ladies though!) plying between Delhi and Gurgaon.

OR

• By Delhi Metro: From any metro stations to Dwaraka sector9 (last stop between Delhi-Gurgaon as of Jan2010) and from Dwaraka hire a cab or auto rickshaw to destination in Gurgaon.

3. Hazrat nizamuddin station to Gurgaon:

• Nizamuddin to Lajpat nagar: By auto ricksaw (Rs.25 to Rs.40, 20 mins).
• Lajpat Nagar to Daula Kuan: Take one of those frequent mudrika buses to Daula Kuan (around Rs.15, 30 mins)
• Daula Kuan to Gurgaon: As suggested above.

In fact its easy to go to Gurgaon from Daula Kuan. So one could reach there from any part of Delhi NCR by some means and proceed easily to Gurgaon.

4. NOIDA to New Delhi station:

• Share auto to Anand Vihar station (or any metro station in NOIDA), (Rs.10, 30mins)
• Anand Vihar metro station to New Delhi station: One would have to switch trains at Rajiv Chowk, but its rather the easiest and fastest way to get there. (Rs.18, 30 mins).

5. Delhi Airport to NOIDA or Gurgaon:

Best means is a prepaid cab. The dark green pre-paid cabs operated under supervision of the Delhi police used to be the popular service. But over time, several taxi services have come to be. Some cab services offer airport pick up or drop at around Rs.350. The following are a few of their call center numbers for bookings and inquiry.

Cabs for around 400 rupees:
25917441 to 45
Mega Cab : 1929, 41414141
Delhi Cab : 44333222
Metro Cab : 1923
Easy Cab : 43434343
Quick Cab: 45333333 http://quickcabs.in/
ForShe Cabs: 45628200

I have also done some research about budget hotels in Gurgaon. See this document for more info: delhi NCR travel and economy gurgaon hotels

Having planned to be in Delhi by Friday, I started on a crisp Hyderabad Thursday morning to the railway station. While I made it to the station an hour early. While the train arrived right on time, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a third of the 3TierAC coach unoccupied. So to start with, I had a wide variety of seats to choose from. I was charted to sit with a noisy and bombastic hyderabadi-turned-marwari family. I’m ususlly the kind that would enjoy talking to neighbors on journeys but this was rather too intruding, the uncle ji ended up asking my salary right on the second minute of our first conversation. As a natural response, I found a better seat to keep up with my inner peace! The train had curtains for each of the sections and that made the SideBerths look like mini-rooms in their own right. I got all cuddled up on the sideberth with a clear-glass emergency window that said ‘In emergency, pull the hook’.

Train journeys during the day are usually interesting, the view form the window is a world in its own right. One could see various kinds of people, so many different styles of buildings, fields…and of-course a lot more that you wished you did not see! The journey was that usual type until the train stopped over at Nagpur for a house keeping halt. I had heard a lot about Nagpur-orange before, so I went around to see if could find some. I ended up buying quite a lot of food as you can see…from right to left -

The Nagpur Orange in an orange carrybag – Rs.30.

The ’special meete bare’ – Rs.20, I really have no idea what these are called in English but for those who have never tried them, they taste a little like the apples.

Then the famous ‘I-don’t-know-what’ snack ( if you know, please use the comments section to let us know too!). By the time I finished my shopping the train had started to move. So I did not have the privilege to find out what it was called and how it was made. For all I knew after I ate it, it was a combo of alu-bonda (snack with a filling of potato curry) and kachori (with a filling of some sort of a powder this time), topped with a some chutney (usually a spicy sauce, but this one was plain).

The Nagpur experience was exciting!

Munching on the meete-bare I immersed myself into the books (I knew I’d need them on this journey, so I’d enough of them with me). After dinner I settled into a nice sleep and did not know when Bhopal, Jhansi and Gwalior went by. But when I woke up, the train stopped at Agra. I look out of the window I see smoke, then I took a while to realize I need not panic and it was only fog and the train was not burning! I got down to discover for myself why they talk of canceled flights and delayed trains in this part of the country during winter. The fog/mist was falling through the trains top as though you’d see it when you open a deep freezer. That my experience with dense fog. The visibility was not more than a few feet, I would not dare to walk, let alone drive or fly a plane!

As can be expected, the train which was already running 2 hours late started toddling like we see in this video on the right…

I thought that the train would be delayed by 4hrs max. But to my dismay, While it had to Reach Hazrath Nizamuddin station at 0840 hrs, it arrived at 1710 hrs. Now that is what you call a delayed train!

I was cursing the weather and the railway system when I over heard from a radio that a whopping 170 domestic flights were cancelled and rescheduled and 8 international flights landed in a different city in India! Now, aren’t trains better!!?

I had planned to go to Gurgaon that evening but it already seemed like night so I re-planned to go to a friend’s place in NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), UP.

If you ever plan to go from Delhi to NOIDA, don’t to what I did. My friend from NOIDA advised me to simply take an autorikshaw instead of troubling myself up with any other mode. He asked me not to pay more than Rs.250. I thought huh, Hyderabad to Delhi in an 3TierAC for Rs.1200, and to reach home within city Rs.250? Well, that’s when reality struck. After as many as ten autowalas (that’s what we call the auto drivers in India) refused, one guy asked Rs.300. I bargained for Rs.230.The auto initially ran at 30Kmph, then it went to 60 and after that I conveniently closed my eyes as I was getting a flying sensation!

Rules that the Delhi autowalas strictly adhere to:

• Not to apply brakes what so ever.
• Never stop at signals. Never care when crossing a busy road.
• Never mind driving on the wrong side, in-fact prefer that.

But the real twist lied ahead. Autos from Delhi are not supposed to enter NOIDA as its a different state altogether. So he stops another auto that’s passing by, transfers me to that auto, collects 230 from me and pays the second autowala a mere Rs.60 and there he goes…

Well the second autowala explained me the facts as he drove for more distance to reach Shipra Township than the previous one did. Huh!

But the best way to travel to there would be to hop on to one of those Mudrika buses (the green air conditioned ones,easily available behind then Nizamuddin railway station) to NOIDA. Then take a Cycle-Rikshaw or an auto to reach your destination.

My friend received me the township gate. Man what sort of a place was that? NOIDA has at least 65 sectors of which at-least half of them are as big as 10sq Km. The sector that I saw (62) had at-least 200 apartment buildings and society housing buildings put together. I should not forget to mention that these were 20story apartment buildings that house a 100 homes each. Now…now you can imagine what sort of a place I’m talking about and the population out there. NOIDA’s website shows a planned 140 odd phases coming up in the future. Wouldn’t that be bigger than many states in India?

All this while I was wrapped in a sweater and a jacket to keep warm. It was thoroughly cold and humid. After dinner I was advised to hide under two thick quilts or I would not be able to sleep.

Sun rise happened at 0730hrs and I could barely see anything beyond 2-meters, yeah that was how bad visibility was. Add to this the 100% humidity and pollution in Delhi.

I was to travel from NOIDA to Gurgaon to meet a friend. I thought of various options like Metro, cab, bus etc. My friend advised to take one of those frequent Mudrika buses (no.392) from Shipra (sector 62 Noida) to Daula Kuan (Rs.30) and then there would be quite a few options from there to Gurgaon. The bus took an hour from NOIDA to Daula Kuan and there were plenty of those Haryana TC Volvo buses to Guraon(Rs.25). Traveling between Gurgaon and Noida isn’t as bad as I had imagined before. It cost me less than Rs.100 to and fro. If you have the wit to find out information and some patience, it could save you a lot of money for local travel in Delhi NCR.

I was back from Gurgaon late that evening and had to board the train back to Hyderabad the next evening. If one has nothing much to do in the day, Delhi’s winters are ideal for hibernation! One could sleep till around 1100 hours and still feel its not morning yet!

After a lazy breakfast and window shopping at the Shipra mall in NOIDA, it was time for me to plan traveling from NOIDA to the New Delhi railway station. If one plans to travel without a break to Delhi from NOIDA, only a taxi cab would be it. Or if you choose to save some money, there are better ways. I took a share auto (the same auto rickshaw but as the term suggests, the expenses are shared. In other words, you pay as much as you wold if you took a bus) from Shipra to Anand Vihar Metro station (Rs.10). Anand Vihar to Rajiv Chowk metro station to New Delhi Railway Station (Rs.18). The only trouble was to change trains at Rajiv Chowk.

Reaching the station was rather too fast, thanks to the speed and punctuality of the Delhi Metro service. But only after I reached the New Delhi station I realized that I was too early. AP Express was delayed by a unearthly five hours and I had no option but to wait at the station. Most of the trains were running late, delayed by four to 16hours. I settled down with a bottle of water and a magazine. I was reading while a couple came and sat beside.  They were from Bangkok and were headed towards Kolkata. It was their first time to India and their train was delayed by 16hours. We talked for over two hours, mostly about India and its people, food, clothing culture and travel. If it was not for them, my waiting would have been very boring. I was relieved to hear the announcement say my train was leaving as per the rescheduled timings and there was not further delay.

I had to grab a bite before the train started. After much looking around I decided to try the ‘Janata Khana’ (public food in true hindi to english translation) on the platform. It was not particularly tasty but 6 pooris and potato curry, for just Rs.10, it was filling enough.

Unlike the train I came to Delhi in, this one was full and I did not have much of a choice but to climb to my upper berth and sleep soon after dinner. After a good nights sleep I woke up at around 0730 hrs and the chai wala was happy to inform that the train was running at its usual speed though it was expected that it would run slow owing to the dense fog.

As I got up and planned to freshen up, some tragedy struck. Having realized that my phone was running low on battery, I put it to charge and asked a co-passenger to look after it while I went to the loo. He nodded in agreement. But I came back all freshened up and ready for some music on my SonyEricsson w810i Walkman phone, only to realize that the very co-passenger who agreed to keep watch had stolen it and alighted the train at the Bhopal station as I was brushing. None else saw him do that. Now that’s what we call bad luck. I was reduced to a dumbo who not only lost his phone but also all of those 300 odd contacts, loads of precious music and beautiful memories with it.

I told my self that these things happen and they probably happen for a reason. What ever the reason was but I had no memory of any contacts except for my dad’s number and a few others. The rest of the journey was amazingly boring an tiring. The train arrived five hours late and finally I was home before midnight.

He: Hay wassup? What thinking?

He:…Wish I could imagine what she’s thinking…

She:…Now what would I have to say?

She:…No. Why would I have to talk first? I wont!

He: Oh cummon.. listen, lets talk, or i’m gonna jump off this..
She: I don’t want to listen nothin, it must be one of your tricks.

Okay, what have you to say? ha?

Now that isn’t the way…you don’t seem to want me around anymore…

O’ Oh! I did not mean it that way… okay now come closer…

Lets say and listen later…

Now what are you fellows looking at? Go do something with yourself…

As I was busy clicking at them, the college principal came around and threw light on why my presence there did not disturb the birds. The glass I was looking through was one-way. i.e. I could see the parakeets but they couldn’t see me!

Another interesting fact the principal revealed was that the pair has been coming there ever since the library was built. Interesting choice the birds have made.

Hope you liked the narrative. I would be pleased to see your comments.

I had no idea of what the agenda of the trip was since I had been missing TM sessions for quite some time. Soon as the agenda was announced, I knew this would be fun.

The Team: Jaydas, Bharat S, Siddarth, Manasa, Neha, Antas, Ritesh, Puja, Sandeep, Moumita, Prajay, Pranshu and of course Me.

The agenda was to arrive in Nellore on Saturday the 19th of Dec, check in at a hotel and head for Audishankara college of engg & tech. Then there would be some introductions and a regular TM session and then lunch. Later in the day we would visit the Krishnapatnam port and towards the end of the day, some time at the beach and then back to the hotel, dinner and head home overnight.

This sounded simple, but less did we know that the trip would be such interesting and so much fun filled.

The fun had started already soon as we hopped on to the bus on Friday evening. The mood was set when Puja announced that there was a surprise planned. It was to be surprise, so soon every one settled down thinking they’d catch some sleep after Friday’s office. Except for Manasa, Jay, Sandeep and a few others none of us could sleep well. It was this AC 2-by-2 semi-sleeper bus. So it was obvious that we’d to only semi-sleep!

We arrived at the three-star Hotel DR Uttama. The hotel was far beyond what we’d expected, cosy rooms, hot showers, electronic keys et al. The food was especially yummy. We were to freshen up, wear the TCS-Maitree Tshirts and assemble for a buffet breakfast at 830 AM so as to reach the college at around 10AM. A few bread toasts, boiled eggs, juice glasses later, we got into two cars accompanied by the college’s ‘placement officer’ and one another gentleman.

Audishankara College of Engg. & Tech. is located some 20KM south of Nellore, right by the NH5.  The college displayed a very festive mood, a tent was erected and a red-carpet laid. I thought that they were waiting for some VIP to arrive at the event. So I got down and stood aside. But to my bewilderment, the carpet was to welcome us, Toastmasters.

Wait, that was not all… rose bouquets, Mangala Harathi, Students on either sides throwing flowers on the carpet as we walked in. I was at a total loss of words at that moment. Personally, I felt it was embarrassing, we were just a bunch of techies and not folks who won the Oscars. That kind of a welcome was too much for me to take.

After a short discussion in the Principal’s office, we arrived at the hall where the event was hosted. After the welcome speech by the principal, Jay and Siddarth opened the session with a short presentation on TM and its activities. It was announced that Audishankara would be the first college in India to have a TM club of its own.

TMOD Pranshu took over and introduced the theme of the day, ‘living in the moment’. Neha the Master evaluator, introduced her team of evaluators, Siddarth, Moumita and Manasa. While I had to be the Grammarian, Ritesh was the timer, Antas the Ah-counter. Puja gave her prepared speech to start with, then Bharat S tried to sell kittens in his ACB speech, then Sandeep shared his dream of being a millionaire.

After the evaluations, it was time for the most interesting part of TM sessions. The Table Topics. Prajay had filled several sheets of paper as a part of his preparation, and finally decided on a few very interesting topics. He set the mood saying ‘its worse not to try than to try and not succeed’ . He invited the students to join him on stage and while they hesitated, Manasa chose to show by example how to talk impromptu and how much fun it is. Then came one brave engineer-to-be and talked on ‘five things he’d take with him to another planet’ . Then came another and then another. When Siddarth gestured to windup as it was time, there was another lady who wanted to talk. This was wonderful to see. I was never so confident to talk on stage.

There was another surprise towards the end of the session. We were called on stage an felicitated with a shawl and a memento. I again thought we were just a bunch of ordinary people and why so much of…

Another surprise… this one was for the students of the college.  Srikanth Surampudi, the regional head HR@TCS, called in on phone and wished the students a very warm ‘All the very best!’. This was every bit as inspiring as the TM session itself. Later when Jay called on stage all the to-be-members of TM Audishankara, there was a crowd, believe me!

In all the TM session was rocking as always though the backdrop was new and the audience was larger than ever. After the group photo, Jay called for three cheers, and all of us huddled up for a hip hip hurray!

Sumptuous lunch was served thereafter. And we were shown around the campus. I was taken down memory lane when I saw those electronics text books in the library. Towards one corner of the library, there was something really romantic going on. You’d definitely have to see The Parakeet saga.. to know more.

We left the college and hit the road to reach the Krishnapatnam port. Its seems, the port is the biggest of its kind in south Asia. Coal and Iron ore was being loaded into huge ships. While photography was prohibited, I was told that only after I clicked these:

While we traveled away from the port and towards the beach, there were antyakshari and stories of ghosts to keep the fun on. More than half hours drive later, we reached this unexploited beach near Gudur. Water makes us all kids and so did we turn out to be. While some thought they’d better stayed dry, the others thought it was now or never. Ten minutes later all of us were wet all over anyway!

We played, we ran, we kicked and some acted as though they were swimming. What I would remember for a long time to come is the experience of returning to the hotel in wet and soiled clothes on a winter evening. What was more memorable was the amount of sand I discovered in my pants once we were back at the hotel!

We were to board the bus soon after dinner. So I and Prajay quickly browsed through the photos we shot through the day. We thought this was a trip we couldn’t afford to miss. We even shared the feeling that it would perhaps be great if we could go on more such visits in the future. Jay, are you reading?!!

We had had our dinner by the time the ladies arrived at the restaurant. You know when the ladies say fifteen minutes, its for certain that they meant fifty minutes!

Once on the bus I thought these TM folks are tired after a long day of fun, but they wanted more. It was time for Dumb-charades!

A click on the above photo will take you to more photos of the trip.

In all, I thought this TM trip to Nellore was more fun than any trip after my college.

Many thanks to Jaydas and all those who contributed to making this event such a wonderful one.

Thanks for reading. Please share your views in the comments section.

LOST – Season 1: 05/04/10: Started watching LOST. Survivors of a plane crash on an island, a thousand miles off course. No one to find them for a week already. This series is drama, action, thrill, romance, comedy, amazing photography, great background score, psychology, inspiration, leadership, survival, dread, sentiment, belief…. and what not. I already know why its rated 9.1 on IMDB. I’ll write more as I see.

Into The Wild: 12AM 27/03/10: Man this is one movie I guess I can write a book on. But currently, its beyond my humble little vocabulary to describe both the movie and what I felt about it. May be I’ll write more on it soon. But many thanks to the friend who suggested. I won’t forget this one all my life.

Karteek Calling Karteek 26/03/10: Not a bad one at that for Farhan Akthar. Not just yet another Schizophrenia concept. But not an outstanding one either. The movie sure reinforces my belief that Indian Cinema (I don’t like calling it Bollywood!) is going places. They’re getting a lot better than making formula movies. Shankar Ehsaan Loy + Javed Akthar make the music sound ‘wow’ as always. Not much to see of Deepika Padukone (got the spelling worong?). Farhan Akthar could use some voice modulation I thought, he did not sound any different than he did in ‘Rock On’ (one of my al time fav movies). Guess he should join Toastmasters!

The Hurt Locker 20/03/10 – Good one. Story of a bomb disposal squad that’s out to work on war missions – Iraq as you might have guessed. Their daily routine is to take stroll on knife’s edge (or do I call it bomb’s proximity) and check if they’d be alive. What I liked is the simplicity, realism of the plot and screenplay, and more than anything else, this dialogue when the Sergeant is back home and is talking to his little kid “yeah…you think you love playing with that… your love all your stuffed animals, you like your mommy, your daddy, your pajamas, you love everything don’t you? but you know what buddy… as you get older… so many things you love, might not seem special anymore… like your checker box…may be you realize that its just a piece of tin nothing more…and only just a few things that you really love. And when you’re of my age its only one or two things.” The next moment you see helicopters taking the Sergent on yet another die-n-be-born-each-day missions. I like the movie.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre 13/03/10 – What a movie! It teaches you how the very basics of human nature tend to change when disbelief and doubt takes over intellect, compassion and belief. Three men set out in search of gold. They almost get killed thrice, but they survive for months together to make enough gold for the rest of their lives. On their way back the worst of them (in human nature of course) gets killed in the most awkward of the remaining two, the older one gets to stay in the country side and the younger one returns to another man’s family. By the way the gold is lost to the wind.

This is a great movie that also teaches you that a little bit of humor and grit is all that one needs to lead a meaningful life, not gold not the riches can compensate the lack the them.

Blue 14/03/10 – What a waste! Despite wonderful music & background score by ARR, some great underwater visuals, some seemingly hot girls, the movie lacks hugely in terms of the plot and screenplay. Again a musical that cant find a match between whats heard and whats shown. If you did not see it, don’t see it!

Life in a metro 13/03/10 – An intense movie, though a lot emotional, this is one movie that shows how lives of the general people are seldom complete and how they’re after finding something that might bring in more meaning their otherwise lifeless lives.

Four Brothers 13/03/10 - Not a great movie but yet watchable for pastime. Revenge and some sentiment Hollywood istyle.

Rocket singh 13/03/10 – Wow! I love this one. Simple plot yet played out taut. Some great music by Salim-Sulaiman. This is a must watch for all those who believe life is a lot more beautiful if one could believe in him/her self and at the same time have courage to confront money & power and win the war within ones self first and then out there in the world.

Final destination 12/12/09

Citizen Kane 13/12/09