Take a Crack

Merhaba, Turkey!

2011-08-24T21:15:00.002+05:30

A mesmerizing mix of ancient and modern, Asian and European, spicy and bland. That’s Turkey for you.

Bon Voyage!
After making errors 3 times on my immigration card and finally with GM's help, managed to fill it in and boarded the Turkish Airlines flight at 445am on August 14, 2011. 6 hours to Istanbul.

Landed at 835am (half hour early!) Turkey time and it was another 4 hours of wait for our flight to Kayseri. The domestic airport is nothing much to write home about. Just had a couple of coffee places and some desi looking shops. (A coffee from a Nescafe outlet cost between 7-8 Turkish Lira).

Flight to Kayseri was an hour. Landed at about 1335 with an extremely turbulent flight – air pockets mostly. Was fascinated to see Indian style loos and no dustbins in the bathrooms! As we went along, I realized, that in a lot of ways Turkey was very close in attitude to India.

Caving it out.
From Kayseri, we were picked up by the tour company and drove in a mini-van to Cappadocia (pronounced kapadokia). An hour later, the journey ended at the Yunak Eveleri Cave Hotel. The boutique hotel was simply awesome. Reminded me somewhat of our Shimla house where one wall was the mountain itself! And also some Rajasthan forts or the Neemrana resort… The hotel staff was friendly, the manager had a great sense of humour and was warm and welcoming. The yummy iced tea on welcome helped too! ;-)

We'd been up for almost the entire night so had to call it an early night. Dinner was at 7pm on the terrace of the hotel accompanied with cool breeze and nice food. Raki was what made us a little buzzy – Raki is a saunf drink liqueur. It kinda grows on you, even if you don’t like it on the first sip. Mostly vegetarian fare (since the group was essentially vegetarian) - very tasty (I quite liked Turkish food – closer to Indian than European, it was a little bland but different and nice) - curd, vegetable stew, sticky rice, lettuce salad and fruits for dessert (let down, considering I was looking forward to having baklava every day!).

Oh What a Ballooning Experience!
The next morning started earlier than I think mine ever did before - got up at 4am to go for a hot air balloon flight. The balloon people picked us up from the hotel at 445am. With a yummy Turkish tea (Turkish people drink a lot of tea, also called Chay in Turkish. I really liked it too. It is had black. A concoction with half tea, half hot water or as you would like it – strong or light) cakes and fresh bread for breakfast in what was still not completely dawn, we saw hot air balloons getting inflated!

The whole experience was so different than anything I had done before - watching the balloon come alive, being filled in, getting loaded into it, it setting off flight, more and more balloons dotting the sky, the sky suddenly becoming colourful and the hour long flight.

It went up to a height of 500m. It wasn’t like you hadn’t seen the ground from a height – you see it from a high building, you see it from a plane, but I hadn’t touched tree tops before. And I really did.

The balloon takes from and lands in different places, depending on the wind direction. After the almost crash landing (so I thought) we celebrated a successful landing with champagne (at 7 in the morning!) and also got a flight certificate!

The terrace breakfast of bread and eggs, cereal and milk, hajjar kinds of cheeses was followed by pick up at 9am for the rest of the day tour.

A flight on the balloon costs 150 euros.

Exploring Cappadocia
The first stop was to pick up the rest of the tour people - unfortunately more Indians (so not a good idea, when half the charm is to meet people from other nationalities…) who were half hour late. Our tour guide - a khadoos - was very grumpy and scolded them too. More on that later.

The first stop was the Underground City – a world heritage site. A lot of Turkey is historical – ancient cities and well preserved ruins (if that’s not your scene, you should only do Istanbul and go to the great beach destinations). Ruins and ancient cities and stories of how people loved then always fascinates me… always makes me think how those people used to live, what their lives must have been. How their lives only revolved around survival. (hmm… but then so it is today. Only survival is a little different than it was then). The reason people chose to live ‘underground’ (and there were almost 4 floors going downwards) was primarily to keep the enemy at bay. Long, narrow and low tunnels – you needed to almost bend double to walk through them. But like all ancient cities, very intelligently built.

We stopped next at the Pigeon Valley (called so because there are centuries old pigeon houses carved from the cliffs) panaroma and then at the Goreme panorama mostly only to take pictures.

And lunch! :-) buffet lunches. Fun. Lots of different kinds of food. Like Rajma in clear soup instead of a curry. The flavours were nice, just like a clear soup is usually better than broth if made well. (or perhaps I am just favourable to different cuisines!)

Post lunch, we went to the Goreme Open Air Museum – another world heritage site. It contains the finest of the rock-cut churches, with beautiful frescoes whose colours still retain all their original freshness. It also presents unique examples of rock hewn architecture and fresco technique.

Major towns in the Cappadocia region are Nevsehir, Aksaray, Urgup, Asanos.

Drinking and Dancing
Evening we went for 'Turkish nights' – involving a lot of dancing. And lot of drinking. A mix of the traditional Dervish ceremony and lots of other kind of Turkish dance forms including belly dancing, it was good entertainment lasting about 3 hours. And also understood that Turkish men are hot! ;-)
For 50 euros, there were unlimited drinks and some nuts and fruits for snacks.

Drive, drive, drive!
Morning started bright and early - at 6 am. Everything during the trip was clockwork - our guide was a stickler for time.
6am wake up.
630 breakfast.
7 departure.

It was a looooong bus journey - 642km. Almost 12 hours with breaks at Caravansarai, Konya and lunch before we reach Pamukalle.

An hour and a half later, we stopped to see Caravanserai at Sultanhami. As the name suggests, it is an old motel - literally a sarai or dharamshala. So basically a hall and place for travellers and their animals to rest.

Next stop was Konya after 2 hours. The place is where the Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī spent most of his life and where he was eventually buried. Standing next to the tomb of such a great man was a humbling experience.

Another 2-hours drive to a roadside restaurant for a decent lunch.

Followed with another stop at Dinar for a comfort break. Dinar and this whole area is earthquake prone and known for growing opium. A specialty was curd, honey and opium (khas khas). It cost 5 tl but was nothing fancy.

Must mention here that Turkish people generally eat a lot of curd – like curd as we know it, not flavoured yogurt. It is usually thick, almost no whey and decently sweet.

Reached Tripolis Hotel at Pamukalle at about 715pm. Overall took about 11 hours but because we stopped 15 minutes every 2 hours and with great roads and a good bus and no honking it was not really tiring at all.

The first sighting of the white mountain panorama of Pamukalla (literally meaning cotton castle) was breathtaking. Pristine white. And imposing.

The Tripolis Hotel was beautiful from the outside. Huge lawns and open spaces. The rooms were average. But I guess since Pamukalle is a small town, this must be among the better hotels in the area. It was packed with tourists!

A nice poolside buffet dinner was once again a reminder of how elegant and stylish European women are. Beautiful dresses, gowns, lovely shoes, well made up. Just made us Indian women look totally frumpy!

Walking through the Cotton Castle
Wednesday started early too (come to think of it, I really slept properly on my day back to work! This vacation was so not about sleeping!) at 630 with breakfast at 7 and departure at 8. Our coach went up to the south gate of Pamukalle.

The first sighting of the hot springs was... out of the world.

Powder blue amidst completely white looked soooo like something you probably would think wasn’t real, till you really see it. Apparently it is the only one in the world.

We spent some time walking in the hot spring pools (there was a woman getting pictures of herself clicked like a mermaid! Perhaps it was for a portfolio of sorts ;-) ) and took loads of pictures.

The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis, another World Heritage Site, was built on top of this white "castle" in 2BC. We were left to explore the ancient city on our own. We took a shuttle bus for 2 tl to Necropolis the cemetery of Heirapolis people. And then walked up to the theatre. The thumb rule says that 10% of the population had to be the capacity of the theatres, this one having a capacity of 15000 people! Again it amazes you how people that time used to live. (Wonder if I used to live in those times)

The Kaand!
I had mentioned just a bit back that we had other Indians in our coach and like it is in our blood, someone or the other was perpetually late (Nitin Lall, are you listening! Haha!). So when we started from the hotel in the morning, the guide (his name is Polat) gave a huge lecture on why we must be in time, etc. because a couple of them had come as much as 15 minutes late and that he would leave us and go if we were late. But when we were to start from Pamukalle, the same thing repeated. With the same people! Friend Polat was so livid he would’ve burst a blood vessel! He left them. Needless to say, he eventually returned for them. Major jhagda happened. Tu-tu, main-main. But from then to the end of the trip, they were the first people in the coach! Just thinking about it is making me smile even now. In hindsight, it was too funny!

The World of Aphrodite
Aphrodisias, the city was named after the Greek Goddess of Love – Aphrodite. The focal point of the city being the Aphrodite Temple. It was truly beautiful had we got a chance to appreciate it properly. It was, by this time about 42 degrees Celsius. And there was no shade. The 20 minutes’ walk gave me a pounding headache! It really was insanely hot.

However, the ruins were so imposing that they still left a mark. Among other buildings the one that most held my attention was the stadium. Wow! With a capacity of 30,000 people, you just had to pause and imagine the noise, the energy that would have flown during a live event during that time… a gladiator fight… awesome!

After lunch we started for the rest of our journey towards Kusadasi (pronounced Kushadasé) an important beach town in Turkey.

Before we reached the hotel, we stopped by at the Virgin Mary House located atop the Mount Koressos. Pilgrims visit the house based on the belief that Virgin Mary was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption. It was quite an unassuming ‘house’, but of great religious value for Christians worldwide.

Our Hotel Charisma was beautiful… Overlooking the sea, great rooms, super food - a buffet as elaborate as the Marriott, Mumbai. But unfortunately, we didn't get enough time to enjoy the hotel because early next morning was check out, which meant less than 24hours there! 

Walking through the streets of Ephesus
Originally Greek and later a Roman city, Ephesus was where we headed after breakfast the next morning. Built in the 1st century BC, it had a population of 250,000 making it the world’s largest city at that time.

There were temples, a library, a theatre (Capacity? Yes, the thumb rule applies – 25,000!), a hospital, a pharmacy… the works!

A couple of interesting points here – there were a set of terrace houses, made for the rich. Not only the rich of the city, but from the world over. At a time when at a time when there were only community toilets, these houses had private toilets with central heating! Wow. What luxury! I was certainly living in this era. In these houses. :-D

And one more thing. Ahem! The Latrina. Most fascinating. As the name suggests – the community loo. They apparently used to 'meet' there - like a cafe - they had waiters serving them, stream of warm water flowing so no smell or noise of farting could be heard… hahahahaha!! Can’t get over it!

In and around Ephesus, we saw the last standing pillar of the Artemis Temple (one of the wonders of the ancient world). It is such a pity it’s been broken down. Apparently some parts are Hagia Sophia at Istanbul.

Lunch, followed by visits to a carpet weaving place and a leather factory. Both were really nice but really expensive too. A small 2x3 carpet was costing about 1lakh in INR and a decent jacket was upwards of 20,000.

We had our flight to Istanbul at 1850 and we were dropped to the airport by the travel guide.

Istanbullllllllllll!!!!!!!

The buzz of a big city is in the air!

Someone from the tour company had come to get us from the airport. He gave us all a map of the city each and also Turkish evil eye bells. Sweet.

Our hotel was about half hour from airport at driving at 120kms. So must’ve been far-ish. Hotel Konak, where we stayed 3 nights, is in Taksim Area. And Taksim Square is for Istanbul what Times Square is for NYC. The most buzzy part of the city.

It is tough to explain in words the energy running through the city. The fervour. The intensity. Truly a world city, Istanbul is the 3rd city (after London and NYC) outside of India where I think I can and will enjoy living.

Among the places to see, there are loads, but we ended up seeing the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Spice and Grand Bazaars. We did a cruise down the Bosphorous strait. And we walked down Istiklal (rhymes with Nidhi Lall, eh? :-D) Street.

The Istaklal Street… hmmm…It was totally… Alive! Full of people, full of activity, full of LIFE. Even past 10pm there were hordes of people, beautiful lights.. Just so … Cool.
Great place to shop, except that all clothes come in s, xs, xxs sizes!... Anything more than M is considered super fat, am certain!!

The Blue Mosque is...blue! On the inside. Hand printed tiles and earlier even the silk carpets used for sitting down for prayers were blue silk. There are about 24000 tiles inside. All blue.
Since it is an active mosque, you cannot wear shoes inside. You have to carry them with you in a plastic bag given at the entrance. Legs and shoulders have to be covered, again they give a cloth (blue in colour!) that you may use.

Walked outside to Hippodrome where there is nothing much to see now because all has been destroyed by the crusaders. Earlier chariot races used to happen here.

Walked across the complex to the Hagia Sophia. It is imposing. Really high. As high as 15-16 stories of modern day houses. It is 56 feet tall from floor to the tip of the dome, which is the 4th largest in the world.

The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar are an interesting experience too.

After that since we had little else to do we thought of doing city tour on hop on-hop off bus. If you do not hop off and on, it is a hour and a half tour for 20 euros. The tour was great. Well worth the effort and the money. We went to places of the city we otherwise wouldn't have.

Evenings were spent at Istaklal Caddesi (street). Once wwe went in a sweet old tram – a tram the runs only up and down the Istiklal.

Tram cost was 10tl for 3 people and it dropped us to the end of the street in less than 10 mins. Then we walked back.

The Baklava Hunt
Next morning (our last in Turkey) was relatively easy. After breakfast we left the hotel in hunt for the best baklava in town in a place called Karaköy Güllüoğlu. The hotel guy said u can walk it but we soon realised it was quite far and couldn't be walked. So we took a tram again. This was a modern - perhaps a feeder to the metro. Since we had paid 2 tl (and u could go across town in it) we decided to go across town! Many stops later decided to come back. And hunt for baklava shop. Found it amidst an area a la Nehru Place of Istanbul.

It really had the best baklava in town. It was yummmm!

Some 3kgs of baklawa later we took a taxi back to Taksim. By now it was time to say Goodbye to Turkey! :-(

The planning took 80 days. And the vacation took 8. Not fair, is it?

Notes:
The best time to visit (especially south-west - the parts with the ancient ruins) would be April or September. However, that time may be quite cold in Istanbul, so depending on what you're planning to visit.
Be careful in Turkey. The integrity levels are not very high and there is tendency to fleece tourists...in various ways.
There is enough vegetarian cuisine available, if you're experimentative. If you're looking for Indian... well... don't go! :-D

Magnificence in Marble

2010-11-01T23:54:00.002+05:30

Taj Mahal.

For those who have had the privilege to see it in person, just these 2 words will evoke a series of images of this epitome of love and beauty.
And for those who have not, no number of words, written by the best writers in the world will be able to describe the absolute marvel of this majestic monument.

Couple of weeks ago, Bhai and I were discussing Diwali plans. And part of the discussion was what we should do a weekend before. We zeroed in to a visit to renew old memories (for all of us) and creating some new ones (for Navu, my niece) of the Taj Mahal.

We (Nitin, Dimpy, Navu, Sanjeev Mamji, Arti Mami, Suku, Anshul and I) planned to leave early morning on Saturday, October 30. And would just have succeeded for certain if it only had not been that we actually slept early morning! After a pre-Diwali cards session! ;-)

By the time everybody stirred and firmed up plans, it was already past 12 noon. And then the herculean task of convincing Anil Mamaji and Geeta Mami that their weekend in Agra with us would be better than anything else they had planned.

Phew! Finally managed to do so.

Now, we were 10 of us. And barring Navu, all of us adults and some “slightly heavy” ones! So, how to go?

Thank you, Toyota for manufacturing the Innova. Anshul (my cousin) managed to convince a friend to lend us one (Thank you to Rohit too!) and all of us packed up into it like sardines.

And we set off. At 230pm!

Delhi goes a little insane during Diwali. The traffic on the roads trebles. Getting out of Delhi, on to the highway took us over 2 hours! And the highway was packed too.

But for the fact that there was just super awesome company – I was travelling with all my favourite people – it would’ve been a tough journey. We reached Agra after about 7 hours! With only about 45 minutes break for a bite at McDonalds. Strangely, I don’t remember much of what all we spoke about, but there was just too much laughter and bonhomie in the car.

Entered Agra at about 930pm. And now for a hotel hunt. (well, actually, usually we are better planned than this, but this time half the things were on impulse and part of that was the hotel bookings!) Grand Imperial – sold out. Mughal – sold out. Mansingh – sold out. Park Plaza –sold out. Seemed like the world had descended into Agra this very weekend.

Just when we had started figuring out how all 10 of us were now going to SLEEP in the Innova, lo and behold! we found this tiny hotel in one of the lanes across Park Plaza called the Grand Casa. Not much to write home about, the hotel was decent, clean and new! And. We found rooms to stay the night.

It was complete value for money, especially when you are not intending to spend time in the hotel. It cost us Rs. 2500 per room for the night. Which I really thought was cheap, considering Agra was sold out!

Checked in, settled down. Now cards session! :-)

Persuaded the hotel to actually open us yet another room for us to make a den out of – full with alcohol, snacky items, food, cards and chips. The gamblers had arrived!

Couple of hours and some winnings later, it was time to wind up for the night so we were fresh and well slept to go visit the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri.

Morning of October 31, dawned bright and sunny. (I am sure it must have, I woke up much later, though! :-)) Breakfast and some group photographs (the men in the group were itching to start using their SLRs!) later, we were on our way.

Reached the Taj Mahal in about 20 minutes. The parking is some distance away so you need to take some transport. Camel cart, horse-buggy, vikram auto type thing and one fancy battery operated golf cart kind of vehicle were the options. Tickets to the Taj can be bought from here. Each ticket costs Rs. 20.

We trooped into the vikram type vehicle, hired a guide too.

A guide is a must-hire according to me. You may know a lot about the place you are going to visit, you may have reams you read about it, you may have Wikipedia-ed it too. But someone narrating some story to you while you are roaming around is quite fun.

En route, we found these hat shops. They were so lovely, that we just had to stop and buy them. I found one that reminded me of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Oh well! Sochne mein kya jaata hai!! Hehe!

There is a slight walk and high walls before you actually reach the doorway and can see the Taj.
All along this walk and before catching the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, you sort just mentally switch off from the rest of the world. I don’t know what it is.

Anticipation?

Obeisance?

Reverence?

Or Past Life Recollection? (What says I couldn’t have been THE Mumtaz Mahal? I mean, really, who can say for certain, eh?)

But, honestly, when you are entering the front doorway, you almost shut your eyes (I actually did) so you get to see the entire magnificence in marble – all at one go and not in bits. And when you do… Awe.

You have to remind yourself to breathe.

You just hold in stunned silence to soak in the perfect beauty of the monument. You think about the person who built it. You try and imagine (and don’t succeed) his thoughts when he was building it. You try and imagine (and don’t succeed) his feelings for the person he dedicated this poetry-in-stone to.

You look at it unblinkingly. And you almost curtsy.

I promised to myself that I would return to this moment. And return to it at a time when I wouldn’t be jostling the crowds snapping me out of my reverie. When I would be able to sit here and just look.

Since this wasn’t that moment, I had to move on. And allow the zillion people, including myself, to take their zillion pictures.

Much as it is cooler these days, there under direct sun, it became quite warm. The walk to and around the Taj – seeing the glowing stones, the Yamuna with fair amount of water, learning that the Taj used to have about 500kgs of Gold which was later changed to Brass (chheee!!) intermittently hearing the guide’s (like what I learnt new in this trip that the workers for the Taj actually came from Iran!) (and Anshul’s – specifically about the fountains!) stories and much photographing later we were on our way back.

It was past 130pm and everyone was hungry. And couldn’t decide where they wanted to eat. And then came the spokes in the wheel for the Fatehpur Sikri trip. That it was too warm and AM and GM didn’t want to go. That it had got too late and if we wanted to do it and do it well, it would be an almost full day trip. That perhaps we should come back another time and so on.

But first on the agenda was…food!

At the UP tourism hotel, it wasn’t the best meal I have had, but it came at a time when I was incredibly hungry. So, it came at the right time.

Now how can you go to a touristy place and not shop! A Taj Mahal fridge magnet to add to my collection and some beautiful pieces of jewellery is what I bought.

Piled on back into the car and thought that if we hadn’t managed to visit Fatehpur Sikri, we should do the Agra Fort. When we reached the fort, we realized that it would shut down soon enough and so we shouldn’t go this trip.

Ok, let me put it like this – basically everyone was so tired that no one (but Nitin) had any energy to do any more touristy things. AM promised to him (and I am recording this here!) that he would accompany him on his subsequent trip.

Off on our return journey, we hit the highway at about 545pm. A stopover at Panchhi Petha shop is another must-do when you go to Agra. Lots of petha was bought. After all, it is Diwali days!

And then we stopped at Sikandra – Akbar’s mausoleum. Unfortunately, we were about 15 minutes late and couldn’t go inside. But hung around a bit outside. More pictures. And then finally en route back at 645pm.

The return journey was different kind of fun. Retro music. Singing along to Dev Anand’s songs was the perfect way to end a short and petha-sweet holiday.

Also, it was so much shorter. We reached back home in about 3 hours! And I had a past life experience of being Mumtaz! ;-)

Dilli Darshan

2010-10-02T19:54:00.000+05:30

"Ballimaran ke mohalle ki wo pechida dalilon ki si galiyanSamne taal ke nukkad par bateron ke kaseedeGudgudati hui pan ki peekon mein wo daad wo wah wahChand darwazon par latke boseeda se kuch taat ke pardeEk bakri ke mamiyane ki awazAur dhundhlai hui shaam ke benoor andhere …...aise deewaron se muhn jod ke chalte hain yahanChooriwalan ke katre ki Badi Bi jaise apni buhjti hui aankhon se darwaze tatole’’

The day dawned good. Maids came in late, no other door bells rang… so slept till past 10 – my favourite way to begin a Saturday morning!
Over a cup of morning tea, made a ‘to-do’ list – yes, yes, I make them for weekends too! And high on the agenda there was “de-clutter” (it is surprising how if you’re not home for a while, it seems to get more cluttered than when you’re living in it! So, having not been at home for a week… it was time to de-clutter!)
Just when I had emptied out one of my cupboards, my blackberry messenger twanged! And Somi Bhaiya saying he and Vandana going Chandni Chowk and if I wished to join in. I was still in jammies, not eaten breakfast and messed up house even more… but the temptation was too strong! Scurried around some, and in precisely 25 minutes (breakfast packed to eat en route), I was off…
The metro has made life so much simpler for Delhiites. Was to park my car at Saket (about 8km from home), but the official parking is still to come up, so drove further ahead to Qutub Station. Haven’t got a Smart Card yet, so bought a ticket for Rs. 19. The frequency of the train during mid-day is slightly less so waited for about 7 minutes. The train was quite packed – didn’t get a place to sit all along. The entire stretch after Qutub is underground, so you really cannot see anything. The journey took about half hour and I was there!
Met SB and Vandana close to the Gurudwara Shish Ganj Sahib. They told me super interesting fact – the gurudwara is next door to a masjid. About 50m away is a Baptist Church and about 50m from there is a Hindu Temple! All on one street. All in peace.
First stop was at the Gurudwara. And like all gurudwaras go, it was a very nice experience. I could go there just to go to the gurudwara and sit and enjoy a few moments of peace. Then again, you know, there is always the temptation of the Kada Prasad! Hehe! It was sooooo awesome.
Chandni Chowk was shut today – Gandhi Jayanti, so what we managed to do really was “window shopping” or “gully shopping”, as SB put it! It was like totally peaceful. We could walk on the street without jostling with the crowds and not having to walk single file!
There is Ballimaran, which offers shoes, bangles and optical things. There is Dariba Kalan offering all kinds of jewellery. There is Bhagirath Palace which has lights! And of course there is the Parathe wali gully……. Yumm!!
All the shops on Dariba Kalan were shut so we headed to Bangle shopping… and stopped for a quick Bunte wali masala drink… it was yummier than yummy!! (I can almost see the horrified expression on Dad’s and Nitin’s faces!! Hahaha!!) but.. it was yummmmmm!! Back to Bangle shopping, not so much up my alley, but Vandana had a great time.
And like a good grahini I bought fruit! Hehe! It was really tempting. Headed to more foodie joints – Natraj for his tikki and dahi bhalla. These are must visit places. This guy sits in a khobcha… and the number of people buying from him….. ufff!!!!!
Then of course, Parathe Wali Gully. Don’t know how we found the capacity to eat a morsel more. But seemingly it turned out to be a day to only eat. The shop where we stopped was established in 1875!!! We ordered a different set of parathas - hari mirchi paratha and a karela paratha. Topped by lassi. Uffff…….. toooooo much!And I have already promised myself I will go just to eat this again in the winters.
The parathe wali gully is actually quite tiny (and am I glad for that!) – just 4-5 paratha shops. But what shops!
Now to visit Bhagirath Palace for some Diwali lights shopping. And en route a quick stop over at Ghantewala for Sohan Halwa (I didn’t have, I promise!!). And THIS is an over-200 year old shop. I was thinking how interesting it would be if someone could tell stories of what happened 200 years ago - what people, what culture, how was life then… imagine if there was a CCTV capturing 200 years of coverage…hmm.. would be quite cool!
After a quick walk through Bhagirath Palace, I was exhausted and wanted to get back home and nap! (I mean what else can one do after so much eating!!) Walked to the metro station. And back home.
Finally got myself a Delhi Metro Smart Card – I think it is a smart move. 50 bucks for making card, and whatever amount you wish to top it up with. A year’s validity. And 10% discount on fare.
So this was the first in the series of my promise to myself to do Dilli Darshan and not just do “malling”. But most of the rest of the places will possibly happen in December-January. It is still quite warm to be outdoors too long.

“… it was then that I carried you.”

2010-09-12T21:57:00.001+05:30

September 11, 2010

I have a firm belief. And this is that you go to Vaishnodevi Mandir only when Mata Rani calls you. It is a belief that most people have. And it is one I share. Quite firmly.
So when, through all the turmoil in my life currently I got this random thought that I must go to Vaishnodevi, I remembered these lines from “Footprints” “…when you see only one set of footprints,it was then that I carried you.”

I thought about going last Sunday. And very conveniently, a 3-day weekend was coming up. And I had been mulling over what to do on the long weekend, especially since it was after March that the long weekend was around the corner.

By Tuesday mid-day I had made all the bookings! And was all set.

A trip to Vaishnodevi can now be a morning-evening journey irrespective of where you live. Early morning flight to Jammu. One and a half hours to Katra. 6 minutes by helicopter to Sanjhichhat. An hour for Darshan (give or take). 6 minutes back to Katra. One and a half hours to Jammu. Flight back to place of origin!!

So simple, eh?

Just for information, the return chopper flight from Katra to Sanjhichhat costs Rs. 2450 and one side is Rs. 1250. This is Deccan Air and can be booked online. However, these days with the rains, it gets quite cloudy at the peak and hence they stop chopper flights. So one has to provision for this. They say this is the only period when it happens. So people who want to do morning-evening trips shouldn’t do them in the rains.

Waise, I didn’t do this.

It was 10 years ago to the day (GM confirmed this!) when Mata Rani had last called me – I had last gone on September 11, 2000! Now that she had called me after so long, I just thought it would make more sense if I made some effort! Scared of divine wrath. J

Since I had a long weekend, I decided to make the pilgrimage a vacation of sorts. I took a leisurely 12noon Kingfisher flight to Jammu (return flight cost me about Rs. 6500). Landed in Jammu in about 55 minutes. One of the boys from our office is based in Jammu. He had come to pick me up and get the taxi to Katra organised (taxi to and from Jammu-Katra takes Rs. 2000) etc.

Quick travel information – only postpaid SIM cards work in J&K as per government rules, if you have a prepaid, be prepared to get cut off from the world. And no text messages allowed – this irrespective of whether post or prepaid. You cannot send and you cannot receive. And no blackberry services. Blackberry becomes a regular phone when you land in J&K.

For a moment this gave me quite a jolt. How to survive without messaging for THREE days! But I think the peace made up for the lack of service.

I stayed in Katra at the Country Inn (Part of the Carlson Group – same people as Radisson) for Rs. 3800 per night including breakfast. It is 8km from Banganga.
It is quite a decent hotel. Not the 5 star that we get used to in large cities, but quite nice. Clean, decent service, decent food. By the way, all hotels in and around Katra are vegetarian in respect for the Shrine.

Country Inn organises the Yatra ticket and also drops and picks you up to and from Banganga 24-hours. Actually, since the transport options in Katra are few and far between, this is something that most hotels offer.

It is certainly a better bet to stay in Katra than in Jammu. When you return and every muscle in your body is aching (some that don’t even exist!) the only thing you want is your bed. And if that bed is an hour and a half away, it makes you want to cry!

So, I started from Jammu at 2pm and was ensconced in the hotel by about 330pm. Immediately checked for the spa J. Since this was a vacay and a pilgrimage, quickly checked into the spa and had a nice long hour and a half long massage – the first time I got the Shirodhara done. Good fun.
Maiyya ji called me with such intensity that I (yes, that’s me!) decided to start early the next morning. At 6am!

Had dinner at 730 and called it and early night. Was in sleepville by 845pm.

Broke my own records (all previous ones, I think) and was up and about by 430am. Out of the hotel by 530am. Reached Banganga by 545am. And saying Jai Mata Di! started the journey.

The first thing that hit me when I started the walk was the utterly and completely nauseating stench of horse dung and horse pee! And to my disgust, it lasted the entire journey. Yep, throughout… it was just horrible.

Just like the human population, the numbers of the horses, mules, donkeys have trebled, I think, since I was last there. And therefore, it just trebled the horse poo. Added to the fact that it had been raining. So all of this had become slush and… ok, I guess I can stop here. You get the picture!

Focus, I said to myself, on the task at hand. Which is to visit Maa Vaishnodevi. Every step of the walk highlighted how unfit and sedentary my lifestyle had become. It was an uphill task (pun intended!). But since I had all day and no hurry, I just took it easy. Would stop where I felt like, eat and drink when I felt like, relax (if that was possible when you were breathing heavy and counting how many more kilometres to go!), admire the view…

During one such stop, I sat and chatted with a horseman. He had a nice looking horse and seemed better looked after the rest so I got talking to him. He told me he cared for his horse like a friend J. He also said that he does one round a day even though the horsie can do more, but he gets tired. Asked me where I was from why I was walking and not choppering it. Told him that my theory was that if She had called me once in 10 years I should do the tougher option. He laughed and said perhaps Mata Rani will start calling you every month! Now (mind, I have just returned about a couple of hours back!) am not quite sure I want Her to call me quite that frequently. I mean, sometimes She can come over too! I have been told I am a decent hostess!! Haha!

Back to the walk. I calculated and figured I was covering a kilometre in about half hour, with all my stops, etc. So it wasn’t so bad. When I reached Adhkuwari, there was a new way, one apparently that was shorter and easier.

But. Wanting to do the “right” thing, I did the regular route. Bad idea (and I will say why when I talk in favour of the new route later). I reached the Bhawan exactly five and half hours after I had started my journey. Darshan was the simplest thing. There was no wait at all. I was done by 12noon.

In fact, quite honestly, it seemed like an anticlimax, because they really don’t let you stand there and even wish Mata Rani properly. Thankfully, I had been chatting with her all the way! J
I then went a few (they seemed like many!) steps down to have a darshan of the Shiv Gufa. Hadn’t gone the last time around.

By the time I got out of the Bhawan, the weather had become awesome. Clouds had covered the entire area… it was cool and breezy and just so beautiful. Yep, I send up a Thank You to Her to make this world so gorgeous.

And amidst all the natural bliss, the hunt for the much awaited Rajma-Chawal – yum yum!!
Sat around for a while, looking at the pretty environment and then willed myself to get up and start back. On my return, I gave in to the temptation of going the shorter route. And am I glad I did. I wish I had done this on the way to the Bhawan too, the “right” thing notwithstanding. THIS is the route where no horsies can come. And hence, it remains clear of horse dung and pee. And is hence abs clean. It is also devoid of LOUD, noisy shops playing Mata ki Bhaint like She can’t hear. All you can hear is occasional Jaikar, which is quite fine… It is more even (in the original way, you first go uphill about 10km and then for about 2km, you actually go downhill), this way has eliminated the extra going up and hence is much less steep. Plus, it is shorter by about a kilometre! And rest assured when every step counts a kilometre is like a lifeline!

Took some pictures en route back… you can have a look too.

It took me a little less than four and a half hours to get back from this way. The last couple of kilometres of walk are really on auto mode. You just want the way to end and NOW! All muscles are screaming and you’re screaming too!

Back at the hotel, a nice long hot water soak in the tub. Dinner and another early night!

September 12, 2010

I write these lines as I return home from a nice end to a vacational pilgrimage as I spent the last few hours at Kirti Nagar as has become a habit on every Sunday since Kabir was born. And today was his first month birthday :-)

Back to Katra, though. Morning started bright and early for a Sunday morning – at 8. Well, naturally since I had packed up Saturday night about 9ish! A fairly luxurious breakfast and yesterday’s newspaper (Katra gets their fresh newspaper only by about 11. They believe pilgrims don’t need the paper and were rather surprised when I asked for one J) later, I was ready to just chill. With my book and every aching muscle in the body I walked at snail pace (that was the only way I could walk without looking like Long John Silver, hehe!!) to the gardens outside. Sat and read for a couple of hours. Last had done this about a year ago during my Kerala trip.

They say dipping your feet in hot salt water helps relieve aches. So I decided to dip the entire me! And sat in a tub of hot water with half a packet of salt. Sitting in the tub, much against the romance that is projected in books and films, is the most boring thing (if done solo, I guess ;-) )I think! But anyway, it was supposed to be therapeutic, so there I was looking at the walls, waiting for it to be half hour. As soon as that got over, quick shower, check out and car ride back to Jammu.

Return takes slightly less time, so was in Jammu by about 215pm. Decided to shop a little. Rajma is a must-buy and some Jammu shawls later, was dropped off at the airport.

The airport at Jammu is tiny to the point of cuteness. Well, so is the Chandigarh airport, but, wtf!, that’s my city, so Jammu seems smaller still. And security ridden. 3 friskings, 3 metal detection machines later you go to check-in. And then the entire procedure one more time. You walk to the aircraft!! And that was the cutest. Living and flying out of bigger cities makes you forget how it feels to walk the tarmac.

The flight back was uneventful and short enough. It is comical, though how everyone who has just returned from the Yatra pretends like all is well with their legs and you notice their strange walk when they’re trying to get down the stairs of the aircraft. Me included! Haha.

It truly is an arduous journey. For once, not looking forward to the Bombay trip tomorrow!

Royal Treat

2010-03-17T00:32:00.003+05:30

"It is beautiful."

"It is lovely."

"I love going there."

These were the comments I heard when I told everyone I was planning a trip to the Neemrana Fort.

Neemrana Fort Palace, one of the several properties run by the Neemrana group. Interestingly, this specific property is situated in the Neemrana Village of Distt Alwar, probably where the property got its name from.

A mere 122km from Delhi and less than 100km from Gurgaon, it is practically within Delhi. The distance was a huge attraction because it would mean a short drive and since I was going to go by myself, it seemed like a good option. Seemingly, other people also thought the same. But that I will come to later.

By the time I remembered that it is a long weekend and I would ideally like to spend Holi far away from Delhi, the Neemrana Fort Palace seemed to have been entirely booked. However, good fortune prevailed and because of a cancellation, I got the booking of the Gagan Mahal. However, it was for Sunday and Monday and not Saturday-Sunday-Monday. I guessed it’d be fine.

Excitement began starting the day I made the complete payment of Rs. 4850 (including taxes). Actual room cost being Rs. 4500.

A couple of days before the trip, I got a call from Swati... old IIMC friend... I don’t know how much of a “friend” really, more that we’d studied together and had recently done a ‘reunion’ (of precisely 3 people – Nandita, Swati and me! But what the F!, a reunion it was!). And while we were jabbering away, on a complete impulse, I asked her to join me for the Neemrana trip. AND... she agreed. Needless to say, as soon as she did I got cold feet... wondering how it would be, whether we would get along or would we both regret the impulse...

On this thought, I set to work... summer clothes had to be dug out, books to take along to read had to be chosen, the distance charted, the preparation of the journey... the looking forward to a weekend of fun!

Sunday, February 28, 2010. The morning dawned bright and sunny and full of stress. A global client plan had to be sent for an urgent meeting on Monday. And since I wasn’t going to be in town, it had to be sent right then! So, 2 hours behind schedule, I left home. Picked up Swati en route.

And off we were. With some minor breaks for fuel, chips and cold drinks we were truly on our way.

While you are in Gurgaon, you pretty much feel you are in town... and after that it is a mere 90kms. Swati got a little psyched (I think) when I told her that I hadn’t checked for the route or taken the number of the resort. Relying completely on ‘instinct’. Must say it was rather foolhardy... but that’s what learnings are J

So thanks to some intelligent phones, we got the number of the resort, asked for directions and almost by the time we hung up, we had reached! Basically, it is one straight route down the Jaipur highway. You hit a fork where the right turn goes to Rewari, but you are to go straight till you hit a toll at Shahajahanpur. After the toll there is a right turn. Clear signboards further take you to the Neemrana Fort Palace.

We reached at about 1pm. For late February-early March, it was unusually warm.

The walk up from the car park to the Resort reception area makes you wonder why people would attack forts! And of course have you pledging to start exercising as soon as you return.

Checked in. They actually hand over the room to you at 2pm. So we decided to have lunch. Some more stairs (the people in ancient times had no concept of making short steps, each step in the labyrinth of staircases was about a foot high.

Lunch was after several such steps on possibly the highest point in the resort (They possibly just make sure you’re hungry enough to enjoy a sumptuous lunch).

A Bloody Mary and lunch later, we went to find our room, which was again several literal ups and downs later.

Calling it Gagan “Mahal” was over-rating it to another order. I am sure ki woh Gangu Bai ki assistant ka room hua karta tha!

Let’s just say that the room was a “little small”. However, the highlight was the bed. I was reminded of Stratford Upon Avon and William Shakespeare’s bed. The guide there had said that Shakespeare was a short man and hence his bed was tiny. Unfortunately, we didn’t take pictures, but if we had it would be clear that I don’t exaggerate when I say that if someone had been an inch taller than Swati or me, they would’ve had their feet sticking out of the bed!

The bathroom. It was tinier than or definitely the same size as that in a Rajdhani train. Only... thankfully, this wasn’t moving!

We had stuffed ourselves at lunch. Had a long drive in the sun. So, all we wanted to do was nap. Despite the size of the bed.

When we woke up at about 6, it was much cooler. And a good time to walk around the place and take pictures. We enjoyed a cup of tea, sat around for a while. Caught up on old times. Got to know each other and the place better. Heaved a sigh of relief that it wasn’t a bad idea to come together.

Once the sun set, at about 7pm it was time for some Rajasthani folk music and dance. It happens on one of the several terraces. By this time, it was really pleasant, cool breeze blowing. And this was also the bar. A nice bottle of wine, a nice place to sit and some lovely Rajasthani music and dance show made the evening magical.

Bobby (yes, that was the name of the leader!) and his troupe did a splendid job of entertaining people. He actually went from person to person, showering rose petals and wishing everyone a Happy Holi. I think it was really endearing. And regal. I felt quite queenly having someone shower rose petals on me!

After our several drinks and stuffing ourselves with peanuts and some salady thing, we decided to skip dinner and went to our room straight. There was this terrace thing outside the room, which, if you locked the only door there was to enter it, became completely private.

Awesome weather, a full moon and starry night, a cool terrace, a few drinks down, perfect silence makes for an exquisite evening.

Slept well at night, despite the tiny bed J

Had breakfast in the morning, went shopping in The Neemrana Shop – had some really nice stuff – pricey, but nice. Checked out. And then hung around at the bar till we decided it was time to leave.

We left at about 3pm and were in Delhi by about 630pm after a 45 minutes stop at Nirula’s at Manesar.

All in all, a good trip.

Ups
A great looking resort
Close to Delhi’ good road leading up to it
Terrific evening time place

Swati's terrific company (adding at her insistence!! :-) )

Downs
Packed with people and not the type I would want to hang out with
Average food
Room left a lot to be desired much as it had a wonderful terrace and all that
Pricey

Bawling children!!!

Did I have a good time? Certainly.

Would I go again? Nopes!

Would I recommend it? Hmm... good question! If someone can ensure they get a real "mahal" to stay in, go at non peak time, then it would be nice.

Dancing Diamonds.

2009-11-24T18:49:00.003+05:30

Have you ever seen millions and gazillions of diamonds, dancing?

I have.

I was sitting by the lake side. On a swing. Reading a romance. There was soft breeze. It was cool. And it was getting dark.
When the mood changed from gentle to wild is hard to tell, it happened so quickly. The wild was not dangerous, just urgent, aggressive, just making its presence felt. And just as beautiful. A different side.
It started to pour. And that’s when there were millions and millions of raindrops on the lake surface. Splashing around. Looking like diamonds. Dancing in glee. In happiness.
Mesmerising.

It was a moment when I felt I should run to God, hug Him and say “Thank you. Thank you for making the world what it is. And thank you for giving me an opportunity to see it.”

About a month ago, we (Sanju, Sudhi, Usha, Adheesh) were making plans of going to Goa, since I was leaving Bangalore. While sitting and chatting came up the idea that I had never been to Kerala and what better chance than to go from Bangalore and go with Mallu friends?!

With everyone in agreement, the planning started. Where to go, where to stay, what all to do, the works! Lots of back and forth over ideas, plans and even who was going and who was not. Between Adheesh and Sudhi, the suspense was on till the last minute! (Finally, Adheesh managed to come. But the saddest part of the trip was that Sudhi couldn’t make it, or else it would’ve been complete. Sudhi came up with a shoot at work.)

This trip, thanks to people who knew better, I don’t exactly know what all happened in the back ground except what finally I experienced.

And this is how it went.

We will go by train. Garib Rath, if you may please!! Yeshwanthpur Kochuveli Express. 925pm at Banaswadi Railway station. My taxi ride was almost as expensive as the train ticket at 400 bucks from Koramangala!!

Get into train. Settle in. I haven’t done an overnight train journey since… I don’t really remember except that one Rajdhani trip from Delhi to Bombay and that would be at least 4 years back.
No dinner is served in train. And inexperienced people like Usha and me make do with chips and bread-jam, which more organized people like Suni had brought along!

In about 45 minutes, it was time to call it a night. I love sleeping in trains. And soon, I was all cuddled up in my cozy blanket and catching zzzs.

Woke up at 7 to get some running commentary from Adheesh on how beautiful his state was and how Bananas and such grow wild there!
Reached Cochin at 750am. Got off train, had a taxi waiting to take us to the resort.

Took about an hour and a half and Rs. 1500 by taxi to get from Cochin to Kayaloram Lake Resort in Punnamada in Alleppey (Dist) near Vembanad Lake.

The first impression of the resort was a bit of a let down. It looked rather uninhabited, unkempt. But if you are patient and go further ahead, it turns over a leaf and becomes gorgeous.
The rooms are built like traditional Kerala homes. Made largely of wood, they are spacious with high ceilings and a little sun roof, which added a nice glow to the room first thing in the morning.
The bathrooms were very interesting. Completely private (unless someone decided to climb the coconut trees around!!) but open to the sky. Very … fascinating!

But the most beautiful thing about it was the view – the expanse of the great Lake Vembanad. And the quiet. It was far away from any road, so no noise. Just chirping birds, most of which were, incidentally – crows! but what the heck, in that peace, even the cawing of a crow is not bad!!

The rooms cost us Rs. 4000 per night inclusive of all meals. While the rooms were beautiful and the resort got a thumbs up, the meals were disappointing. One, they didn’t have enough variety and two, the taste was not all that great. So that was a thumbs down.

After the showers, dosas for breakfast, taking pictures around the resort, we boarded our day long (6 hours) houseboat cruise. (The houseboat costs Rs. 4500). It was a single bed room houseboat. Largish boat, with a straw roof. It even had a small first floor! Very cool.
We took off at about 12 noon. Cruised through the lake and into canals to stop at a toddy shop. Freshly brewed toddy is… yummy! if it is chilled, I am thinking it would be yummier still.
Toddy bought, we cruised some more, took pictures. Anchored by the lake side for lunch. It was a fairly elaborate lunch – cooked and served on the boat. With rice and chicken curry, one yummy beetroot vegetable, some cabbage and a super fried fish! Nice.

Now after the toddy and delicious lunch, it was nap time. On the deck of the houseboat. Wonderful feeling. To take a nap with the cool breeze, chirping birds. (Adheesh, I think almost passed out!!, I was a swalpa better)

When we started from there, it got cloudy and we got a view of Kerala in the rains. And what a perfect place to be to see that – on a cruise.

Passing through those canals we got a glimpse of the lives of people who lived on the banks of these canals. How they could only visit neighbours, even those just across the canal in a canoe – there are no roads or bridges!, how little girls visiting her friends could only go if she rowed her own canoe to their house, how people took a bath in that canal water, how a school bus is not actually a bus but a school ‘canoe’! There are milestones on the banks of the lake indicating that the main mode of transport is only by boats. No wonder they call Allepey the Venice of the East.

We returned to the resort by about 6ish in the evening. Chilled out for a bit, lolled around in the garden of the resort, sat in the swing, had dinner and called it an early night.

Next morning was action packed with a visit to an island, traditional Kerala food and the Allepey beach.
The visit to the island started with… complete silence. When everyone figured they had to cross the vast lake in a small … canoe!! I am sure several prayers were sent up – I definitely did, especially when I realized the boat didn’t even boast of tubes leave alone life jackets.
The journey took about 5 minutes but seemed forever. The island is uninhabited and … green. Dense foliage, green, green, green. That’s all there was. It was supposed to be a bird sanctuary, but frankly, I didn’t see no birds! But it was nice all the same.

A couple of random stops later, we went to have our traditional Kerala fare. Fish curry and rice, fried fish and rice. And some other veggies and sambhar. Nice it was. Different.

Tried going shopping but there was really nothing very interesting except some swings and hammocks.

Some more toddy and a visit through Kuttnad is where our travels led us next. Kuttnad is where most of the rice of Kerala is grown. Unfortunately, most of the area was under water because the paddy had already been harvested and the fields were left to rejuvenate. Interestingly, this is one of the few places in the world where farming is done below sea level. Why it is interesting is something I have not figured out yet, but it is like one of those trivia which you pick up, but don’t know what to do with!

I love beaches. And it got reiterated when I stepped out of the car on reaching Allepey Beach. As beaches go, this one was great. Clean. Not very crowded. Calm sea. Gentle waves. Cool breeze.

We flew a kite. Ok, Sanju flew a kite! And I just held it and took pictures and Usha collected shells. I also collected some. Found the most beautiful emerald coloured ones. I have never seen those types.

Day ended with a visit to the Indian Coffee House opposite the beach.

Back at the hotel, it was time for Usha and Adheesh to leave back for Bangalore. They were taking the KSRTC bus from Allepey bus station to Bangalore. That they had a nightmare before they finally boarded the bus is a story for another time.

Sanju, Suni, Aman and I finished dinner, chatted some and called it a night.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny. And that was the day of vegetating. Full day of doing nothing but… vegetating.
And of course time to spend in the Kerala Ayurvedic Spa. It was 2 hours spent well. They put so much oil of you that if you don’t balance yourself properly on the massage table, you may just slide off!!
But it was great fun.

Sanju, Suni and Aman left by lunch. And then I was by myself. Me and my book and solitude. On the swing. Overlooking the lake.

And then. How quickly it changed from bright and sunny to dark and cloudy. But not ominously. Just beautifully.
And. It started to rain. And how!
And came the dancing diamonds.

It was the perfect climax to a perfect holiday.

6pm. It was time to check out and leave. L I was going back to Bangalore by BUS!! Yes, a 12 hour journey, by bus. Not something I was exactly looking forward to.

Our travel agent-turned-Sanju’s-friend, with Adheesh and Usha’s nightmare the previous night, decided he will take me under his wing and ensure I get on the bus back to Bangalore. He escorted me to the bus stand, waited for an hour and a half because the bus was late before I finally boarded the 1920 (by now, 2010) bus.

Needless to say, I thought I drive better than that driver, but well!, he got me back in one piece. On Monday morning at 730, I hopped out from the bus and reached home.

That I am glad I went to Kerala is an understatement.

Notes to Myself:
1. Never ever travel in a night bus again! NEVER.
2. Always take the shortest way back from a vacation. Makes me sad to return from a beautiful holiday.

Travelogues – Masinagudi

2009-06-09T17:41:00.001+05:30

I have decided to write travelogues. Ah well, that’s not exactly written in stone, that is today’s decision. Possibly because I have just returned from a trip.

But anyway, let me write… and see how it goes.

So, there we were planning a drinking session. Who, how much, what all. The where is pretty much always decided – my place. Bachelor pads (or should I call it a ‘spinster’ pad – btw, my new neighbour actually used that word!!) are perhaps more conducive to such activity.

From the drinking session emerged a ‘let’s do a day trip’, to ‘let’s go out for a night’. After much deliberation and change of venue some three times, we zeroed in to Masinagudi.

I had no clue what it was or where, till we started out at an ungodly hour of 530am. Ok, 530 was planned. By the time we actually left it was close to 630am. Which is also not the best thing on a Saturday morning, but what the heck! Sanju P was like a kotwal, on everyone’s case.

630am left Koramangala, down Mysore Road, passed Gopalan Mall (had never seen it before that day. Decided we must explore it for our on ground activities), Wonder La and Innovative Multiplex to reach Mysore in about two and half hours.

The road to Mysore is very nice. Actually, when you have travelled up and down the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, anything else looks ‘nice’ and not ‘awesome’. But how that highway has become a veritable picnic spot is amazing. 5 Coffee Days, McDonalds, Kaati Zone and such have sprouted across both sides of the highway.

But of course, the best is to wait till you reach Mysore to have your meal at Kamat. Nothing beats a good Kamat breakfast (or lunch for that matter!). This was a little before 9. Thanks to my navigator, we ended up inside the city and ate at the Kamat there, instead of the one of the highway. (by the way, the bypass is quite long and unnecessary. If you hit Mysore earlyish, you can actually go from inside the city.

A rather long and leisurely breakfast later, we went in search of an ATM. Sudhi had forgotten his wallet at home. 2 of the ATMs were not working (these are some of the reasons why I don’t think I can stay in small towns anymore!). So, breakfast and ATM finding took about an hour and half, post which we set off for the 2nd leg of our journey.

Journeys are as important as destinations, aren’t they! After a stop for a few bottles of vodka and another stop for coconut water to mix the vodka in!, we hit Gundalpet and entered the forest area soon after.

The forest road was pretty. And that is an understatement. It was green. Lush. Clean. Quiet. Beautiful.

We first spotted a herd of spotted deer. Peacefully grazing around. Stopped. Got out. Took pictures.

Elephants came next. Blissfully taking a bath in a small lake. With their mahouts. Stopped. Got out. Took pictures.

Bison. Dangerous looking. Three of them. Looked ready to charge. Stopped. Didn’t get out. Took pictures.

And then langoors. And so many. Is it a herd of langoors? Or a pack? … anyway, whatever it is, there was loads of them. A couple of them posed for pictures for us!

A superbly fulfilling drive through the forest later, we reached Masinagudi. We were to stay at a resort called Bear Mountain. Tucked away in the corner, on the foothills of the mountains, it was isolated enough for us to have taken a wrong turn.

But finally, when we reached the resort, the destination became as beautiful as the journey. Green. Cloudy. Breezy. Cool. Open. And supremely quiet.

Loo searching was the first task we all did… after all the vodka and coconut water… I wasn’t even allowed a sip since I was driving, but they were all gushing over how yummy it was.

Checked out all options of cottages and very pretty looking tree houses and picked a cottage and a tree house. The tree house was completely my idea (and I chickened out at night and didn’t stay there, but more on that later!).

And. It started to pour. It was gorgeous.

And along with that came an early night fall, alcohol and dumb charades. We sat and chatted, ate and drank and played for hours… while it was raining. Awesome fun.

Later at night, we brought in Adheesh’s birthday by singing to him. No cake could be organized.

Then began the adventure of where to sleep. It was dark, rainy, eerily quiet, and just a wire fence away from wildlife. The tree house was giving Usha and me the jitters. It didn’t help at all that the tent in the tree was musty and its zip wouldn’t close! We decided to get back into the comfort of the concrete cottage. And phew! slept well.

Breakfast next morning and general hanging about, taking pictures, soaking in the quiet, bill payment later, we started on our journey back.

Rather uneventful return journey.

On the way back, we took the new toll road back to Bangalore, the Kanakpura road diversion. What a road! Still WIP in some areas, but beautiful. It hits a T-junction on Bannerghatta Road. Turn left and you enter the city. And start to wonder when you will do a trip like this again.

I want to help.

2008-12-07T03:23:00.002+05:30

Has enough been said about the terror attacks in Bombay? Have people already begun to get "bored"? Have the discussions over dinner already changed from how terrible it was to where you went shopping? Lots of people seem to think so. I don't. Or at least I hope not. And this time I am being optimistic.

I get very caught up with these "make a difference" campaigns. The last couple of vivid memories are when I was instrumental in bring my college to a grinding halt by striking studies!! Because of a now-seems-extremely-inane-reason. The college remained shut for 5 days. And I got offers to join the NSUI and-or ABVP, which of course, I politely declined.

And the other one was when Mandal Commission agitations were peaking. I remember we had got together and blocked the Chandigarh-Shimla highway - the only highway connecting a large chunk of Himachal Pradesh from Chandigarh.

The Bombay attacks, however, are something of another level of importance. I want to do something. I want to make a difference. I want to contribute. But I am not sure how. And I am quite certain there are several people like me, out there.

The enormity of the task is so huge, it is not like things will change overnight. Hell, we can't get our brand track moving in a quarter, how can we expect things to turn around over night. All these things have a due gestation period. Point is not to forget about the cause. The idea is to keep chipping like a woodpecker.

Media is doing a lot this time, to keep the movement alive. To keep it always in people's minds.

So if there are people who have suggestions or ideas on how I can make a difference, do write in and tell me how. Till then, I am doing my bit, by sending out communiques to like minded people, hoping, someone, somewhere will contribute somehow.

Of survival rates and emergency exits... addendum

2007-06-11T13:37:00.000+05:30

So!
I went to Garuda on Friday. And true to my nature, I checked the emergency exit. And confirming my expectation - it was securely bolted.
While it was just as I expected, I had had a tiny hope, somewhere in my heart that perhaps it wouldn't be.

But anyway, again began the hunt for the person who controlled this. Found one rather incompetent fellow who tried to justify the reason why it was shut. By the time he finished his rambling, I was at the end of my patience.
He called his manager and was again rambling on - in Kannada, which i didnt understand. Thankfully, Tan was with me and interjected and insisted he get his manager. He finally did.

The Manager, a gentleman called Rakesh, looked duly apologetic. Said he was looking at changing all signs to be better visible. He said that that specific exit was not meant to be an emergency exit and he would get the sign removed before we returned from our shopping spree.

About an hour later, when we return, I was delighted to see the sign removed.

I am glad someone took it seriously! Keep your eyes open for these and if you find any securely bolted exits, do something about it, perhaps :-)

“Chasing the Good Life – on Being Single”

2007-06-06T16:10:00.001+05:30

The title of a book I read recently. More like a collection of essays, actually, written by various people with one thing in common – they’re all single.

By choice or by chance.

The book is interesting – it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s breezy, it’s thought provoking. But largely it celebrates being single.

After I finished reading, I sat mulling (which I do very often!).

Mulling about what ‘being single’ means to me.

They say if you haven’t seen darkness, you can’t appreciate light. Which means I really have no first hand yardstick of comparison of what it means to be “double”. And I mean the works (two toothbrushes, ‘his’ and ‘hers’ towels, sharing wardrobes and life long plans too!) not just being in a relationship.

I just know what it means to be single. And that so far has been… fabulous. That’s the only word I can say, which covers it.

My parents brought me up to be an independent person, instilling in me a confidence to go out and look the world in the eye. That, and having a decently paying job, worked in my favour. Or at least in the favour of my enjoying being single.

Why, though, does being single evoke strange reactions?

Think about this.

Someone asks a married person: “So, are you married?”

Married person: “Yes.”

Someone: “Ok. What does husband do?”

Married person: “Blah blah…”

Someone: “Blah blah… Seen any movies lately?”

Now imagine this.

He/ she/ uncle/ aunty/ old married acquaintance/ new introduction: “So, are you married?”

Single person: “Nope. Single.”

He (she is probably available for… you know…!): “Hmmm…. What are you doing this weekend?”

She (Is she insane? Hasn’t she read any Mills & Boon? All dreamy eyed): “Really? Why?”

Uncle (I must talk to her father): “I am sure the lucky guy will be around…”

Aunty (There must be something wrong with her!): “Awww, don’t worry, beta, your young man will come along soon!”

Old married acquaintance (after years of being married): “Wow! How lucky, yaar!”

New introduction (Gosh! I should’ve kept my mouth shut!): “Oh ok.”

Why wasn’t the single person asked what films they had seen, what music they listen to, what books they’d read. Why did THEY become the topic of conversation evoking reactions ranging from pity and sympathy to lust and envy!

Sure, I look for companionship, for a friend, for that someone around to help you change light bulbs!, but most of all, for romance. Those getting to know each other days, those first dates, those butterflies in the tummy in anticipation, the thinking all day of what I’m going to wear because he wants to go out eat golgappas with me today, the waiting for his call, good morning sms, the looking for an excuse to IM him without seeming like I’m making the first move (I don’t want him thinking I’m more interested than him, right!) the first time he holds my hand, the first kiss, the first time…

I haven’t yet been able to figure out.

Figure out if I want “50 first dates” or someday soon I want my last “first date”.

And till I figure that one out, I am going to make the most of my much cherished Singledom!

“India sucks” …

2007-05-30T19:49:00.000+05:30

… a comment that no matter who says it and when, manages to rile me up like nothing else. (actually, there are other similar ones – ‘I don’t know how you live in this country’, ‘why cant you guys get anything right?’ and such like).

And most of these holier-than-thou people are those whose only exposure to a foreign land was through the Bold and the Beautiful, have left the country in question about three and a half days ago and acquired an American accent (even though they’re headed to Botswana) the minute they sat in the aircraft transporting them out of this suddenly-Godforsaken-country.

Suddenly everything in India becomes ‘so negative’ – so dirty, so dusty, so corrupt, ‘kitni garrrmi hai yahan’ (garrrmi with an accent), ‘my God, you have power problems’ (remember, three and a half days!), ‘infrastructure is so bad, you know’, 'ooooo, there are still cows on the road'…

I am a self-proclaimed Indo-phile. And this behaviour irks me no end.

It actually baffles me. Baffles me and stupefies me how people behave like this. What they think. How the loyalties suddenly change. How you become so alien.

What makes these people tick. These people who forget their motherland. (Ok, I know that sounds like a dialogue out of a low budget patriotic film, but I couldn’t find another word that defined what I was feeling like.

How can you forget what all this oh-so-diverse nation is about.

I was in the US about a month or so ago. (And needless to say, had a great time – it’s always great to visit new places, meet new people, interact with different ideologies, but… how do you forget your identity!) And visited a few cities and each place (barring New York) was so similar – similar kind of houses, similar streets, similar food, similar language, similar attire… just so similar.

That’s when I truly appreciated ‘unity in diversity’.

A friend of mine narrates this little anecdote about his friend who when asked why he wouldn’t go overseas said something to the effect of, “agar meri maa garib hai toh iska yeh matlab toh nahin ki main kisi ki maa ke ghar chala jaaoon” (vinay, if this is copyright protected, let me know, will remove :-), for the people who dont know hindi the literal translation of this would be ;-) - if my mother is poor, it doesnt mean I will end up going to someone else's rich mother!!)

(Not intended to be preachy. Just a few ramblings on a subject I feel strongly about.)

Of survival rates and emergency exits

2007-05-30T16:15:00.000+05:30

Call me paranoid. Or realistic. Even pessimistic would do (frankly, tho, i usually look at the brighter side of life). But I just don't like playing around with my survival rate. As it is there is precious little we can do about it - we don't come with an 'expiration' date to our lives anyway. Why give someone else a chance to mess with it? Voluntarily.

Thats why I always grope under my seat the minute the hostess in the aircraft says "aapki kursi ke neech ek lifejacket rakha hai. yadi hawaijahaz ko paani mein..." and sure enough it wasnt there once. I informed the hostess and she then got me one. But just imagine that point-whatever percent chance that that flight would've needed to make an emergency landing on water?

And just the other day I happened to go for 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' (nice film, by the way) at Garuda (a shopping mall, for the non-Bangaloreans). After the film, the escalators and elevators are usually so packed, I prefer to take the stairs. Garuda is very strangely designed that way - there is no constant flight of stairs that will take you from level to level. They keep changing...
Anyway, so, the security guard directed me to the nearest "emergency exit". And lo and behold! emergency exit is securely bolted (sounds to me like an oxymoron).

I was like .......... hello! (so just like the life jacket, i pursue the task) I ask the security guard the reason. He is clueless. I ask for the supervisor. He is fairly clueless too. So, I ask for security manager. He, to begin with, looks at me like i am a little twisted and says thats because we changed the emergency exit.
Wow!
"Did you change the sign, that directs people there?", I ask. (the 'are u twisted look' continues)

When I asked him if he guarantees there will never ever be a fire or any kind of emergency in which people will need to run out, he was contrite. And asked one of his flunks to open the door.

I am going to make it a point to check it the next time I am there.
Like-minded people can check and tell me too... And if you have any similar experiences, let me know!