The monsoons had started in Mumbai. People all around us were going for treks, picnics and all I did was the week-end travel to Pune. Gopi felt the need to getaway from Mumbai too, so after a bit of googling he decided on Ganapatipule. Ganapatipule is situated along the western coast of Maharashtra 375 kms south of Mumbai, along the Konkan coast. It is significant to the Hindus for the famous Ganpati temple. The entire coastline is also breathtakingly beautiful with the beautiful beaches overhung by the cliffs.
Neways 19th August week-end was decided for the trip. We already got our train and resort bookings done. The group consisted of Nitesh, Ryan, Jo, Gopi, Nittu, myself with Pawan as a last minute entry :)
Our reservation was made in the JanmShatabdi Express from Dadar at 5:30 am in the morning. For once I did not mind waking up at 3:15 a.m. We caught the 4:28 slow train from Borivali and reached Dadar by 5:15 a.m. Dadar being the first stop the train was already at the platform. We boarded the train which left the station right-on-time. Immediate hunger pangs had us munching on veg sandwiches which we bought from the train. Last nite's sleeplessness saw me sleeping through the entire train journey missing the scenic beauty of the Western ghats. We reached Ratnagiri station at 11:00 a.m. The first thing that immediately struck all of us was the "SUN SHINE". Out came the sun glasses and the cameras. We all struck some poses at the station all the while waiting for Jo's uncle.
Jo's uncle had a Sumo arranged for our trip. He first took us to his Bank where over a cup of tea the discussions varied from horse-racing to French influence in Pondicherry, muslim community in Ratnagiri ....
He introduced us to our driver Sandesh who would then be in charge of our entire trip. We decided to go to our hotel at Ganapatipule first which is 40km from the main city.
On the way we decide to play Dumbcharades. It was lots of fun with Pawan trying to unsuccessfully act out movies which none of us could understand and Ryan proving to us that he could enact a movie just in seconds. As we reached our resort we could see the breathtaking beautiful beaches with the white sands lined with lots of coconut trees.
We reached the MTDC resort at 3 pm and asked the driver to meet us at 4 pm. While we got fresh Nittu and Ryan placed the order at the nearby MTDC restaurant. For lunch we had some really good quality food.
At 4pm we set out for some sight seeing. Our first stop was the 4000 year old land mark - the Swayambhu Ganapati temple (Swayambhu means 'self-made', this is a temple of the self-originated idol, Ganapati). After the lords' darshan we went to a place know as "Prachin Kokan". Here accompanied by our guide Geeta we got an insight into how the whole Barter system worked in the olden days. A halt at their shop saw some of us buying some paintings and the famous kokam sharbet.
Our next stop was at the birthplace of the famous Marathi Poet Keshavsoot. We took a look at the now renovated and converted house of the poet into a library, open-air theatre. From here our next stop was at the Shiv Sagar hotel which had an interior like that of a king's palace. It is said that there would be a film shooting there this Diwali. Our final destination for the day was much awaited as we went to the beach. After having some coconut water with lots of malai we all hit the beach. initially I preferred to stay out of the water but seeing everyone playing I could no longer stop myself. Ryan, Jo, Gopi, Nittu and myself played in the water with each one trying to pull the other in the water. Nitesh preferred to stay by himself in the water while Pawan opted to be out of it altogether. Finally with the night creeping and the tides getting higher we left the beach and went to our rooms. After having a bath we had dinner at the same restaurant. At dinner the Catch The Word Antakshari game started and the day ended with a game of UNO at the hotel room.
The next day we awoke at 7:00 am (average time considering all people) and checked out of the hotel at 8 am to Marleshwar. This is 60 kms from Ganapatipule, famous for it's Shiva temple and waterfalls. On the way we halted at a Shivaji temple (don't recall the name), the view from atop this hill was really spectacular. From here we went to Ratnagiri for breakfast. All of us devoured on some lip-smacking upma,wada sambhar,misal pav and finally some sheera.
We reached Marleshwar at 11:00. The temple is situated in a cave on top oh a hill. After taking this darshan we went to watch the nearby falls. There are lots of waterfalls here but looking at the wave current no one ventured to go very near. Soon it also started raining and we decided to get back to the Sumo. For lunch Sandesh took us to Hotel Shubam which he proclaimed had very good food. We ordered for fish thali, prawns biryani, fried Surmai fish and some crab curry. Though I did not njoy the fish curry a lot rest of the items were delicious and we ended the lunch by a glass full of sol kadhi. Our final stop was at Tiba Point. From here the view of the entire city was spectacular.
Finally at 4:00 we left for Ratnagiri station, after telling our goodbyes and thanks to Sandesh we went to the platform 2 where our train was scheduled to come. The train was 40 mins late and hence we decided to play a round of DONKEY at the platform. The game continued even after we got into the train and though there were a lot of contenders for the position of DONKEY it was finally Jo who managed to acheive it. We then started with UNO, in between we were served dinner(Puri bhaji & Veg Pulao). We finally reached Dadar at 11:30 pm, caught the train to Borivali and was in bed by 12:30 a.m. Thus ended our amazing trip to a another world of religion and relaxation.
Epilogue: The trains of Mumbai are crowded even on a Sunday nite at 12:00 am midnite. Wonder what peope do travelling so late ???
http://in.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pawan_0307/album?.dir=/f135scd&.src=ph&.tok=ph6XYZFBzhY.ti3V
Monday, August 21, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
A Feeling of "LOST"
Feeling of LOST
L - Low
O - Over
S - Sorrow
T - Tired
This is exactly what I felt as I sat in office one late Friday evening. I had planned for supper at Pizza Hut with my fiancee when he was urgently called for a meeting that would make him miss his buss and in turn would make both of us miss the treat.
This also meant that in normal time I would have left my office by this time but now with nothing much to look forward here I am thinkin thinkin thinkin............................ which ultimately led me to this feeling.
I realized I was not doing anything in my life... I volunteered for this program Dream India which a close friend had told me about. In short it is about teaching kids. I went there one Sunday to take a class and the joy I felt on seeing the enthusiasm on each child's face was a gift in itself. But due to my weekly travels to Pune (where my parents stay) I was unable to give proper commitment to this cause. Due to this I did not even go on every few weekends I was in Mumbai.
Secondly career-wise I was not reaching anywhere, no new technology to learn, was getting wasted here.
L - Low
O - Over
S - Sorrow
T - Tired
This is exactly what I felt as I sat in office one late Friday evening. I had planned for supper at Pizza Hut with my fiancee when he was urgently called for a meeting that would make him miss his buss and in turn would make both of us miss the treat.
This also meant that in normal time I would have left my office by this time but now with nothing much to look forward here I am thinkin thinkin thinkin............................ which ultimately led me to this feeling.
I realized I was not doing anything in my life... I volunteered for this program Dream India which a close friend had told me about. In short it is about teaching kids. I went there one Sunday to take a class and the joy I felt on seeing the enthusiasm on each child's face was a gift in itself. But due to my weekly travels to Pune (where my parents stay) I was unable to give proper commitment to this cause. Due to this I did not even go on every few weekends I was in Mumbai.
Secondly career-wise I was not reaching anywhere, no new technology to learn, was getting wasted here.
Monday, October 17, 2005
The States - Nickname
Alabama - The Yellowhammer State
Alaska - The Land of the Midnight Sun
Arizona -Grand Canyon State
Arkansas -The Natural State
California - The Golden State
Colorado - The Centennial State
Connecticut - The Constitution State
D.C.
Alaska - The Land of the Midnight Sun
Arizona -Grand Canyon State
Arkansas -The Natural State
California - The Golden State
Colorado - The Centennial State
Connecticut - The Constitution State
D.C.
Friday, September 09, 2005
A stint at the Indian AirForce
Doesn't every Indian youth deep down in his/her inner conscience has the feeling to lay down his/her life for the country. Well, I definitely had it in me and to add to it all the news I read about the Kargil war only added to my enthusiasm to do something for my country, my India (not getting too patriotic here).
With these thoughts in mind I always applied for whatever openings I found applicable in the Employment news. In September 2001 I got called for the SSC(Short Service Commission) at the Indian Air Force, Mysore. At this time I had conveniently landed myself a job in one of the emerging s/w companies in Pune.
The whole selection procedure was to be for a week, with a written test on the first day and those clearing the test would remain further on for the ongoing selection procedure. I very eagerly packed my luggage and along with my parents made the long bus journey from Pune to Mysore. That night we checked in a hotel in the city. The next day early morning we reached Mysore station from where we would be taken to the air force selection centre.
There were about 500 girls come from different states, all with their luggage and parents :) . There were 4-5 buses waiting to take us to the centre. After bidding good-bye to my parents we were taken to the air force centre. Then we were taken in a big hall where we had a written test which included General Reasoning, maths etc. After the test was completed our papers were taken for evaluation while we all tensely awaited the results, only 30 from this group of 500 would be selected, the rest would have to go back home the same day.
As each name was called there was excitement and dissapointment and finally the 30 names were called which included mine as well, so I was to spend here my next 3 days. The 30 of us were taken back to the dorms while the others were boarded in the bus to leave. We were assigned numbers and from now on this was to be our individuality/our recognition.
We went to our dorms, got friendly with the ones with us, had dinner and slept off for an early morning start. The next day we were ready by 5:00 a.m in the morning and we had an officer who divided us in 2 groups. The group that I was in would have the Interview first and then the Physical tests. We were taken to another hall where we waited for the interviewer to call us. My interview was for an hour with all sort of questions from History/Geography thrown at me of which I must say I could not answer much.
Next we were taken to the grounds for our Physical tests with lot of jumping and running around done where I did manage to do fairly well. By 3:00 pm we were asked to go back to our dorms. By this time we had our own group formed and in the evenings we wandered about in the Air-Force grounds.
The next day we again formed a line at 5:00 a.m. This time we were divided into 4 batches and each batch had an officer assigned. We were then taken to the ground. This time we had mental exercises given which we had to complete as a team. Speech was given on a topic we chose and then in conclusion some more physical tests.
By 3:00 pm we all got to know each other quite well, formed a group and took a bus tour to the Vrindavan Gardens. A lot of leg pulling etc happened which is normal if about 25-30 girls get together and as tonite would be the last nite together we tried to make the most of it.
Night time saw us frantically exchanging e-mail addresses and even though our captain asked us to go to bed by 8:30 pm, we played Antakshari and songs like "Yeh dosti, hum nahi boolenge" were sung with much emotions.
The fourth and final D day we were taken to the Assembly room where the results would be announced. Anticipation was written over all the faces as each and every one awaited the result to be declared. For me, I knew I had not done all that well to be selected and at that time I felt I was more comfortable in my software job. Anyway all said and done, as we sat in the hall, each one was asked to go and meet the entire selection panel where you could tell them your grievances or experience if any.
Finally after each one's session the captain walked int he hall with a chit with the selected number written on it. As the SELECTED one's number was called out there was hurrays and congratulations and in such a manner 7 numbers were called out. These were the Selected SEVEN who had made it to through the rigourous selection procedure while the rest of us left dejected, dissapointed.
Many of them were determined to try again a second time and make it through but as for me i was done, happy to go back to my own world. I had a beautiful experience at this place and it would be a lasting memory for me in my life-time.
With these thoughts in mind I always applied for whatever openings I found applicable in the Employment news. In September 2001 I got called for the SSC(Short Service Commission) at the Indian Air Force, Mysore. At this time I had conveniently landed myself a job in one of the emerging s/w companies in Pune.
The whole selection procedure was to be for a week, with a written test on the first day and those clearing the test would remain further on for the ongoing selection procedure. I very eagerly packed my luggage and along with my parents made the long bus journey from Pune to Mysore. That night we checked in a hotel in the city. The next day early morning we reached Mysore station from where we would be taken to the air force selection centre.
There were about 500 girls come from different states, all with their luggage and parents :) . There were 4-5 buses waiting to take us to the centre. After bidding good-bye to my parents we were taken to the air force centre. Then we were taken in a big hall where we had a written test which included General Reasoning, maths etc. After the test was completed our papers were taken for evaluation while we all tensely awaited the results, only 30 from this group of 500 would be selected, the rest would have to go back home the same day.
As each name was called there was excitement and dissapointment and finally the 30 names were called which included mine as well, so I was to spend here my next 3 days. The 30 of us were taken back to the dorms while the others were boarded in the bus to leave. We were assigned numbers and from now on this was to be our individuality/our recognition.
We went to our dorms, got friendly with the ones with us, had dinner and slept off for an early morning start. The next day we were ready by 5:00 a.m in the morning and we had an officer who divided us in 2 groups. The group that I was in would have the Interview first and then the Physical tests. We were taken to another hall where we waited for the interviewer to call us. My interview was for an hour with all sort of questions from History/Geography thrown at me of which I must say I could not answer much.
Next we were taken to the grounds for our Physical tests with lot of jumping and running around done where I did manage to do fairly well. By 3:00 pm we were asked to go back to our dorms. By this time we had our own group formed and in the evenings we wandered about in the Air-Force grounds.
The next day we again formed a line at 5:00 a.m. This time we were divided into 4 batches and each batch had an officer assigned. We were then taken to the ground. This time we had mental exercises given which we had to complete as a team. Speech was given on a topic we chose and then in conclusion some more physical tests.
By 3:00 pm we all got to know each other quite well, formed a group and took a bus tour to the Vrindavan Gardens. A lot of leg pulling etc happened which is normal if about 25-30 girls get together and as tonite would be the last nite together we tried to make the most of it.
Night time saw us frantically exchanging e-mail addresses and even though our captain asked us to go to bed by 8:30 pm, we played Antakshari and songs like "Yeh dosti, hum nahi boolenge" were sung with much emotions.
The fourth and final D day we were taken to the Assembly room where the results would be announced. Anticipation was written over all the faces as each and every one awaited the result to be declared. For me, I knew I had not done all that well to be selected and at that time I felt I was more comfortable in my software job. Anyway all said and done, as we sat in the hall, each one was asked to go and meet the entire selection panel where you could tell them your grievances or experience if any.
Finally after each one's session the captain walked int he hall with a chit with the selected number written on it. As the SELECTED one's number was called out there was hurrays and congratulations and in such a manner 7 numbers were called out. These were the Selected SEVEN who had made it to through the rigourous selection procedure while the rest of us left dejected, dissapointed.
Many of them were determined to try again a second time and make it through but as for me i was done, happy to go back to my own world. I had a beautiful experience at this place and it would be a lasting memory for me in my life-time.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Viva Las Vegas
Well, the July 4th week-end was nearing and all my friends had their plans laid down, well I was not the one to be left behind. Immediately a couple of phone calls here and there ensured that I had a place and a group to visit the place. The place chosen was Las Vegas- The Sin City, the name itself stirring a lot of excitement in me.
As soon as the trip was decided one night saw me and my roomate frantically searching on the net for the cheapest tickets available, but being the holiday season luck did not favor us and finally we got tickets which landed us at midnite in the city.
We were waiting eagerly for the D-day to arrive, had all our luggage packed, and all I had to on the morning of the flight was get our boarding passes, go to the airport and fly to 3 days of fun and excitement.
Morning saw me logging in to get the boarding pass and to my astonishment I find that the flight we were scheduled to leave was CANCELLED!!!. This was not happening, I rechecked the flightno and then made a call to the Customer Service where I was informed by a male voice that yes, the flight was indeed cancelled due to a mechanical problem and the next available flight would leave at 9:00 a.m and take me to Vegas at 11:00 a.m the NEXT MORNING. My God, half a day wasted, what abt our hotel bookings, planned trips, who was gonna pay for that but apparently the airline never bothered about that.
Now I was not going to moan the entire nite, I went to the airport and demanded they put me in any available flight and after much running around at different airports I was put on a non-stop flight and reached vegas at midnite :)) (reaching ON-TIME I would say).
First Impression :- VEGAS WAS HOT, I could feel the heat waves all over my body. The morning saw me taking a stroll along the STRIP, do a little of shopping, a Magic show, went to the Wax Studio and late nite went to a haunted Show which was a big dissapointment and haunt me for years to come. Had dinner at midnite and as we returned to the hotel our vehicle refused to start.
Oh no, was this supposed to be the trip where things would just go wrong if they had to.
Anyway we had our guys running around late nite changing vehicles while we girls decided to take rest.
The next day we drove to Hoover Dam and from there all the way to GrandCanyon, not to mention that we had to return back the same nite to watch the oh so spectacular Bellagio's musical fountain which I must say was a spectacular event.
The last day we visited to Stratosphere, a very high tower and the added attraction there are the rides on top of the tower. After a good amount of force from my friends I decided to take the rides and they were quit fun. Evening saw us hopping in and out of a few casinos and then we were off to the airport.
Well we spent a good 3 hrs at the airport before we boarded our flight and had a good sleep till we finally boarded off at la Guardia and was back at home, back to work, back to plan & prepare for the next trip.
Photo Link: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2124179445&code=17009453&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
As soon as the trip was decided one night saw me and my roomate frantically searching on the net for the cheapest tickets available, but being the holiday season luck did not favor us and finally we got tickets which landed us at midnite in the city.
We were waiting eagerly for the D-day to arrive, had all our luggage packed, and all I had to on the morning of the flight was get our boarding passes, go to the airport and fly to 3 days of fun and excitement.
Morning saw me logging in to get the boarding pass and to my astonishment I find that the flight we were scheduled to leave was CANCELLED!!!. This was not happening, I rechecked the flightno and then made a call to the Customer Service where I was informed by a male voice that yes, the flight was indeed cancelled due to a mechanical problem and the next available flight would leave at 9:00 a.m and take me to Vegas at 11:00 a.m the NEXT MORNING. My God, half a day wasted, what abt our hotel bookings, planned trips, who was gonna pay for that but apparently the airline never bothered about that.
Now I was not going to moan the entire nite, I went to the airport and demanded they put me in any available flight and after much running around at different airports I was put on a non-stop flight and reached vegas at midnite :)) (reaching ON-TIME I would say).
First Impression :- VEGAS WAS HOT, I could feel the heat waves all over my body. The morning saw me taking a stroll along the STRIP, do a little of shopping, a Magic show, went to the Wax Studio and late nite went to a haunted Show which was a big dissapointment and haunt me for years to come. Had dinner at midnite and as we returned to the hotel our vehicle refused to start.
Oh no, was this supposed to be the trip where things would just go wrong if they had to.
Anyway we had our guys running around late nite changing vehicles while we girls decided to take rest.
The next day we drove to Hoover Dam and from there all the way to GrandCanyon, not to mention that we had to return back the same nite to watch the oh so spectacular Bellagio's musical fountain which I must say was a spectacular event.
The last day we visited to Stratosphere, a very high tower and the added attraction there are the rides on top of the tower. After a good amount of force from my friends I decided to take the rides and they were quit fun. Evening saw us hopping in and out of a few casinos and then we were off to the airport.
Well we spent a good 3 hrs at the airport before we boarded our flight and had a good sleep till we finally boarded off at la Guardia and was back at home, back to work, back to plan & prepare for the next trip.
Photo Link: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2124179445&code=17009453&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
3rd visit to the United States of America
Well, here I was again, this being my 3rd visit to the US of A in just a span of 18 months. The previous 2 visits were fun and exciting, the excitement of being in a new country for the first time, of visiting new places but this time I felt like a veteran - the feeling of I knew it all............
The only solace to my burdening heart was the Summer- which is said to be the most beautiful season of the country, no more witness to the menancing cold weather that drives one crazy.
I reached here again after a long and tiring 18 hour flight journey and this site will be dedicated to all my Endeavours in this country.
The only solace to my burdening heart was the Summer- which is said to be the most beautiful season of the country, no more witness to the menancing cold weather that drives one crazy.
I reached here again after a long and tiring 18 hour flight journey and this site will be dedicated to all my Endeavours in this country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)