Yesterday we went to see the Mickey's magic show. They are traveling all over the world and were in Bangalore as part of their tour.
As usual, the Disney's display was crisp and professional. And should I say, as usual, the organizer was anything but professional.
OK I am complaining as usual. But I am confused or fail to understand or whining or whatever but I fail to understand the lack of common sense where you think it is so common sense based .
1. I bought the tickets online and got the seats assigned. I go to the venue and realize that they have been given to someone else already. Huh? It not just with me. It was with someone else too. Later on they gave us different seats. I say, you dumb folks, is it soo difficult to manage the tickets? I too have organized concerts in the past with a bunch of 20 folks in the past and we could organize these things much more professionally.
2. Next in my whining list is the Koramangala Indoor Stadium. What a shameful construction it could be. Can you imagine I could find a freaking urinal there? There was this small Gents toilet which did not have a urinal. I still fail to believe this fact and wil only be happy to realize that I missed the urinal. But did 100 other folks around me also miss it? ha ha
3. Third , the parent. Folks!! Moms!! Dads. learn how to teach your kids behave. Yes Magic show was a kids show. I have seen many animation movies and childrens' shows in the past but never had seen this kind of unruly mob. Felt like, do we have a mob in the making? Or do we have these incompetent parents who are hell bent on showcasing the fact that their kids are wonder kinds jumping all around like monkeys? Interesting things were what I was hearing from the people sitting near me. So in the magic show, the artists were calling a kid from the audience. Man!! unbelieveable it was to see that he was being mobbed by the kids trying to go the stage. I am sure its the parents who cannot make their kids sit in a disciplined fashion. In fact, the kid with his mom on the seat next to mine started crying desperately when he was not taken to the stage. I get scared at what are these parent teaching their kids? Failure to accept the facts? Failure to accept the failures? I get worried to see these kids growing up into some obsession paranoid full grown individual incapable to accepting failure and willing to do anything to get the things like. Hopefully not at the cost of harming others. I even heard a lady saying these artists should not call one or two children on to the stage. Guys!! get a life OK? You are behaving like a ridiculous loser. If it was her son/daughter, then life very fair huh?!!
Parents get your act straight!! I am not generalizing but I see this so often in Bangalore that I wonder are these parents so clueless?
OK, now that I have vented out my frustration at these frustrating clueless parents, let me tell a little about the show itself. The show was very professional. But it was not out the world. I would rate PC Sorkar at leagues ahead. :-) One funny thing that I noticed in the show was the Cinderella item. It seems that Cinderella is in a really shabby dress and the magician will get her new shoes and dress. And guess what happens when the new dress and shoes were brought in magically? A new lady comes up :-) So different from the original lady. :-) Ah come on. did the magician change her face too? :-)
Overall I would say a crisp show. I wish Riverdance will also visit Bangalore. But do we have the auditorium to hold such a show?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Marasim
Out off the blues, I suddenly remembered Marasim today. This was an album by Gulzar and Jagjit Singh and I think it came out long time back in 1999. What an awesome album it was. Beautiful lyrics by gulzar rendered craftily by Jagjit Singh. In the middle of ghazals, there are short thoughts by Gulzar. I cannot forget those ever . Here are a couple :
Subah Subah ek khwaab ki dastak par
Darwaazaa kholaa dekhaa
Sarhad ke us paar se
Kuchh mehmaan aaye huye hain
Aakhon se maanoos the saare
Chehre saare soone sunaaye
Haath dhoye paanv dhulwaaye
Aangan mein aasan lagwaaye
Aur tandoor pe mote mote rot pakaaye
Aaankh khuli to dekhaa ghar mein koyi nahi tha
Haath lagaa kar dekha to tandoor abhi tak bujhaa nahin thaa
Aur hothon pe meethe gud kaa zehtaa ab tak chipak rahaa thaa
Khwaab thaa shaayad Khwaab hi hogaa
Sarhad par kal raat sunaa hai chalee thi golee
Sarhad par kal raat sunaa hai kuchh khwaabon kaa khoon hua hai
************************************
Mujhko bhi tarqeeb sikhaa koi yaar zulaahe
Aksar tujhko dekhaa hai taanaa bunte
Jab koi taagaa toot gayaa ya khatam hua
Phir se baandh ke aur sira koi jod ke usme
Aage bunne lagte ho
Tere is taane mein lekin
Ek bhi gaanth giraah buntar ki dekh nahin saktaa hai koi
Maine bhi ek baar bunaa thaa ek hi rishta
Lekin uski saari girahein saaf nazar aati hai mere yaar zulaahe
Mujhko bhi tarqeeb sikhaa koi yaar zulaahe
Subah Subah ek khwaab ki dastak par
Darwaazaa kholaa dekhaa
Sarhad ke us paar se
Kuchh mehmaan aaye huye hain
Aakhon se maanoos the saare
Chehre saare soone sunaaye
Haath dhoye paanv dhulwaaye
Aangan mein aasan lagwaaye
Aur tandoor pe mote mote rot pakaaye
Aaankh khuli to dekhaa ghar mein koyi nahi tha
Haath lagaa kar dekha to tandoor abhi tak bujhaa nahin thaa
Aur hothon pe meethe gud kaa zehtaa ab tak chipak rahaa thaa
Khwaab thaa shaayad Khwaab hi hogaa
Sarhad par kal raat sunaa hai chalee thi golee
Sarhad par kal raat sunaa hai kuchh khwaabon kaa khoon hua hai
************************************
Mujhko bhi tarqeeb sikhaa koi yaar zulaahe
Aksar tujhko dekhaa hai taanaa bunte
Jab koi taagaa toot gayaa ya khatam hua
Phir se baandh ke aur sira koi jod ke usme
Aage bunne lagte ho
Tere is taane mein lekin
Ek bhi gaanth giraah buntar ki dekh nahin saktaa hai koi
Maine bhi ek baar bunaa thaa ek hi rishta
Lekin uski saari girahein saaf nazar aati hai mere yaar zulaahe
Mujhko bhi tarqeeb sikhaa koi yaar zulaahe
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
RF and Communications Posts will be on new blog
Just to keep things separate, I have decided that Math, DSP, RF, Communications posts will be on a different blog from now on. So if you are interested in these topics, you may visit :
http://rfandcommunications.blogspot.com
http://rfandcommunications.blogspot.com
Monday, February 11, 2008
Built To Last
I am currently reading the book "Built To Last" with an intent that at least this time I will read till the end. Everytime one or other thing would come and I would halt the reading. My colleagues have told me that I am using too many phrases and philosophies from that book.
But I think, it is up to us to take what we want and not what we dont want. I personally think this is a great book and is a must read for everyone irrespective of whether they are in sales, marketing or R&D. It is a must read to get some perspectives about dealing with life too. I agree that we are looking through the mirror of author. Well they have done lots of research. But still I agree that we are reading their perspective, their thoughts. But we can always average out and come out with lots of good points.
There are many great points about the book and quite some not so good too. Some companies mentioned by the book as visionary companies may not necessarily be great companies.
Some of the key take aways for personal development as well include :
But I think, it is up to us to take what we want and not what we dont want. I personally think this is a great book and is a must read for everyone irrespective of whether they are in sales, marketing or R&D. It is a must read to get some perspectives about dealing with life too. I agree that we are looking through the mirror of author. Well they have done lots of research. But still I agree that we are reading their perspective, their thoughts. But we can always average out and come out with lots of good points.
There are many great points about the book and quite some not so good too. Some companies mentioned by the book as visionary companies may not necessarily be great companies.
Some of the key take aways for personal development as well include :
- You do not have to be street smart.
- Be desperate
- Be determined
- Be dreamy
- Be ready to fall down and get up
- Do not be discouraged by failures
- Do not be distracted and discouraged by negative feedback
- Keep trying whatever it is.
- Learn as you keep trying
- Do not be bogged down by thinking about a big problem in whole. Think small and keep building.
- Try different things
- Try with a goal. Well this is same as try with some product in mind.
- When things are not working, it is very easy to shun it, give up. And also these are moments when many may say that it is not worth trying. But if your heart says it is worth trying, then listen to your heart. You may be right!You may be wrong. But at the end of the day you would be happy you listened to your heart.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Coffee House er Sei Adda
And life goes on....
Walking through the music aisles of Landmark, I stumbled upon a CD of Manna Dey songs titled Coffee House er see Adda ta.... A perennially favorite song of my heart, it did not take me a second to pick it up and purchase it.
Last night when I put the CD in, I did not listen to the first song, second song but the last song first and that was the "coffee house er sei adda ta aaj aar nei"
As the song progresses, as the stanzas progress, you are taken into the reminiscent days of the past. More prominently striking are the teenage days when most of the time is spent in the social shaping. Spent with friends. Spent at college. Spent before tution. Spent after tution. Spent soon after the morning starts. Spent till the evening lasts.
How fascinating were those days... How sweet was it to ride on bicycles. Soon after the school would end, we would bike ourselves towards our homes but would park under a tree on the way to spend some time chatting about everything under the sky. Would it be about the future? Would it be about the exam? Would it be about the beautiful girl passing by? Would it be about the things we want to achieve? Very difficult to predict.
Then those tutions that many of us would attend. Most of us would eagerly wait for the tution to end so that we could bike ourselves fast to the singada/chop shop nearby to enjoy nice chop, singada and chaa. Each of us would take turns every week to feed others or sometimes we would just chip in whatever coins we would have in our pockets...
And days went by... we passed our exams.... We joined colleges....We made new friends....We got jobs....We moved places....We moved countries....We lost contacts....We shed old lives....We entered into new lives....
I am sure all of us were left with memories of those sweet days....
Coffee house er sei adda ta abaar hok ?
P.S : Lot of words, phrases used in the above post are in Bengali. They mean as follows :
Singada : Samosa (in hindi)
Chaa : Tea
Coffee House er sei adda : Time pass group meeting while having a sip of coffee
Aaj aar nei : No longer exists today
Abaar hok ? : Let it happen again ?
Walking through the music aisles of Landmark, I stumbled upon a CD of Manna Dey songs titled Coffee House er see Adda ta.... A perennially favorite song of my heart, it did not take me a second to pick it up and purchase it.
Last night when I put the CD in, I did not listen to the first song, second song but the last song first and that was the "coffee house er sei adda ta aaj aar nei"
As the song progresses, as the stanzas progress, you are taken into the reminiscent days of the past. More prominently striking are the teenage days when most of the time is spent in the social shaping. Spent with friends. Spent at college. Spent before tution. Spent after tution. Spent soon after the morning starts. Spent till the evening lasts.
How fascinating were those days... How sweet was it to ride on bicycles. Soon after the school would end, we would bike ourselves towards our homes but would park under a tree on the way to spend some time chatting about everything under the sky. Would it be about the future? Would it be about the exam? Would it be about the beautiful girl passing by? Would it be about the things we want to achieve? Very difficult to predict.
Then those tutions that many of us would attend. Most of us would eagerly wait for the tution to end so that we could bike ourselves fast to the singada/chop shop nearby to enjoy nice chop, singada and chaa. Each of us would take turns every week to feed others or sometimes we would just chip in whatever coins we would have in our pockets...
And days went by... we passed our exams.... We joined colleges....We made new friends....We got jobs....We moved places....We moved countries....We lost contacts....We shed old lives....We entered into new lives....
I am sure all of us were left with memories of those sweet days....
Coffee house er sei adda ta abaar hok ?
P.S : Lot of words, phrases used in the above post are in Bengali. They mean as follows :
Singada : Samosa (in hindi)
Chaa : Tea
Coffee House er sei adda : Time pass group meeting while having a sip of coffee
Aaj aar nei : No longer exists today
Abaar hok ? : Let it happen again ?
Friday, February 01, 2008
Auto Fares in Bangalore
So finally , after a long drama involving strike by Autos demanding the hike in fares, finally it was official that auto fares have increased starting friday, february 1. The rates have been increased to Rs. 14 as minimum and Rs. 7 per km there after .
We make a lot of noise about this increase. Ofcourse this noise is within ourselves and our friends and it is not like "We all will stop getting into autos". :-) That would be funny to observe you know. Suddenly autos are running around empty and people refusing to get into them.
Well, I think we should also appreciate the fact that the rates had to increase and should increase. This is, after I had this interesting discussion with the driver of the auto in which I was going home on January 31, the night before the new fares were to come into effect. He told me how the gas rates have increased to Rs. 37 (I cannot confirm this figure). He told me how this increase has made the restaurant owners to increase the food price. And how, now he has to pay Rs. 7 for his cup of coffee. It all made sense you know.
It seems that this new rate is for some number of years or till the gas rates increase, whichever happens first.
But when I was telling to this to my colleague, he asked me, how is it possible that the rate is Rs. 5 per km in Mumbai? Well, I dont have an answer. May be, Mumbai is cheaper than Bangalore. :-)
So, next time, think about that cup of coffee....
We make a lot of noise about this increase. Ofcourse this noise is within ourselves and our friends and it is not like "We all will stop getting into autos". :-) That would be funny to observe you know. Suddenly autos are running around empty and people refusing to get into them.
Well, I think we should also appreciate the fact that the rates had to increase and should increase. This is, after I had this interesting discussion with the driver of the auto in which I was going home on January 31, the night before the new fares were to come into effect. He told me how the gas rates have increased to Rs. 37 (I cannot confirm this figure). He told me how this increase has made the restaurant owners to increase the food price. And how, now he has to pay Rs. 7 for his cup of coffee. It all made sense you know.
It seems that this new rate is for some number of years or till the gas rates increase, whichever happens first.
But when I was telling to this to my colleague, he asked me, how is it possible that the rate is Rs. 5 per km in Mumbai? Well, I dont have an answer. May be, Mumbai is cheaper than Bangalore. :-)
So, next time, think about that cup of coffee....
Sunscreen
A colleague sent me this link on Youtube. Thought its a nice one. So here it is for those visiting this blog.
Everybody Free to Wear a Sunscreen
Everybody Free to Wear a Sunscreen
Monday, January 28, 2008
NY Time Article :: Failure isnt always a bad thing
Failure isn't always a bad thing
A very fascinating article indeed. Sometimes it is so difficult to continuously maintain the thought and breeze through. Some neat equations were brought up in this article. Several more relationships come to my mind when I think about it is. They are :
1. Balance of Courage (B) ∝ 1/(Degree of Failure (D))
That means, many times we take riskless chances and when they do not work, we say, that is fine. This is because we did not lose much. When we have chances that carry some degree of loss with them, what is the level of courage that supports us to take the chance?
2. Amount of Learning (L) (if you can come out of failure) ∝ D^n where ^ is power of, and n can be any integer
This has always been true. In the end, it might have sounded like "Ahh... this is so simple", but the problem may not really have been that simple. In retrospect everything is perfect. Isnt it? But when we fail again and improve and fail and improve and fail and improve, a neural network system is working that is continuously learning.
3. B = f(Social Factors, Inner Soul, ..)
Our decision to take chance, our decision to take risk and our desire to dream big gets impacted by so many social factors, inner resistances, fear of failure and so on. But when that indomitable passion dominates, nothing can stop one from taking all kinds of chances. That passion keeps telling the person that there is nothing to loose. So go for it.
More on this to follow if I feel ...
A very fascinating article indeed. Sometimes it is so difficult to continuously maintain the thought and breeze through. Some neat equations were brought up in this article. Several more relationships come to my mind when I think about it is. They are :
1. Balance of Courage (B) ∝ 1/(Degree of Failure (D))
That means, many times we take riskless chances and when they do not work, we say, that is fine. This is because we did not lose much. When we have chances that carry some degree of loss with them, what is the level of courage that supports us to take the chance?
2. Amount of Learning (L) (if you can come out of failure) ∝ D^n where ^ is power of, and n can be any integer
This has always been true. In the end, it might have sounded like "Ahh... this is so simple", but the problem may not really have been that simple. In retrospect everything is perfect. Isnt it? But when we fail again and improve and fail and improve and fail and improve, a neural network system is working that is continuously learning.
3. B = f(Social Factors, Inner Soul, ..)
Our decision to take chance, our decision to take risk and our desire to dream big gets impacted by so many social factors, inner resistances, fear of failure and so on. But when that indomitable passion dominates, nothing can stop one from taking all kinds of chances. That passion keeps telling the person that there is nothing to loose. So go for it.
More on this to follow if I feel ...
Part V - In Mangalore and Return
In Mangalore
After reaching mangalore around 10 a.m in the morning, we were thinking what to do? As expected, nothing was planned for this leg. Lots of things to do though. First and the foremost was to try was a train reservation to bangalore. Folks told me that the bus journey is horrible and should be avoided. But well we couldnt be choosers at that moment and decided to just book some reservation and try our luck. As expected, it was on waiting list. Once that done, the next most important thing for the hungry souls was breakfast. Went straight to taj Manjuran without realizing where we are headed to. Ordered some idlis. I am not sure what special were these but 2 idlis definitely cost me Rs. 180. :-) Just so you know I am not a miser. But I cannot justify certain things too.
After breakfast, we decided that we will not roam around to all the places possible. Rather, we wanted to go to one place where we can peacefully sit. Without knowing whether we will get peace or not, we decided to go to Kadri Manjunath temple. As we got down the autorickshaw, we started looking around to see where is Kadri Manjunath temple that was so much talked about in travel books. It was a small gopuram from outside. We looked at each other and thought what a hype this could be.
BUT WE WERE WRONG. This was a huge complex inside. That explained why this temple is talked so much about. There were many temples inside this complex. And it was not crowded. It was peaceful. It was like the playing compound of a house that reminded me of my grandparents house. We slowly walked around, visiting each and every temple in the complex, resting under the trees wherever possible. Some of the beautiful aspects of this temple were :
As we were stepping out of Kadri Manjunath temple, we were thinking that may be this has been the best place we have visited. Where there was so much of peace and tranquility. And we thought, no visit to Mangalore could be complete without visiting this blissful place.
Return
Well!!as we were expecting, we could not get our reservation confirmed. So rather than waiting long, holding hands of TT, greasing his hands, we thought we would rather come back by bus. And guess what, we got the last two seats of the last Airavath bus that was available from Mangalore to Bangalore. Holiday return rush huh!! And man that was one painful bus journey. Throughout it seemed to me as if the driver was on a suicide mission with all of us rallying behind him :-) No it was not fun. All the body parts went for a toss. My wife's sandals skid and went to the front of the bus. There was this AC exhaust or somethign that was right under my leg. And throught the night I would step on it, burn my leg , wake up and then go back to sleep. :-) Believe me, that was not fun. So go for a train if you can.
Summary
After reaching mangalore around 10 a.m in the morning, we were thinking what to do? As expected, nothing was planned for this leg. Lots of things to do though. First and the foremost was to try was a train reservation to bangalore. Folks told me that the bus journey is horrible and should be avoided. But well we couldnt be choosers at that moment and decided to just book some reservation and try our luck. As expected, it was on waiting list. Once that done, the next most important thing for the hungry souls was breakfast. Went straight to taj Manjuran without realizing where we are headed to. Ordered some idlis. I am not sure what special were these but 2 idlis definitely cost me Rs. 180. :-) Just so you know I am not a miser. But I cannot justify certain things too.
After breakfast, we decided that we will not roam around to all the places possible. Rather, we wanted to go to one place where we can peacefully sit. Without knowing whether we will get peace or not, we decided to go to Kadri Manjunath temple. As we got down the autorickshaw, we started looking around to see where is Kadri Manjunath temple that was so much talked about in travel books. It was a small gopuram from outside. We looked at each other and thought what a hype this could be.
BUT WE WERE WRONG. This was a huge complex inside. That explained why this temple is talked so much about. There were many temples inside this complex. And it was not crowded. It was peaceful. It was like the playing compound of a house that reminded me of my grandparents house. We slowly walked around, visiting each and every temple in the complex, resting under the trees wherever possible. Some of the beautiful aspects of this temple were :
- No restrictions on cameras and camcorders
- Not crowded
- Peaceful
- Lots of shades to take rest
- Awesome free lunch
As we were stepping out of Kadri Manjunath temple, we were thinking that may be this has been the best place we have visited. Where there was so much of peace and tranquility. And we thought, no visit to Mangalore could be complete without visiting this blissful place.
Return
Well!!as we were expecting, we could not get our reservation confirmed. So rather than waiting long, holding hands of TT, greasing his hands, we thought we would rather come back by bus. And guess what, we got the last two seats of the last Airavath bus that was available from Mangalore to Bangalore. Holiday return rush huh!! And man that was one painful bus journey. Throughout it seemed to me as if the driver was on a suicide mission with all of us rallying behind him :-) No it was not fun. All the body parts went for a toss. My wife's sandals skid and went to the front of the bus. There was this AC exhaust or somethign that was right under my leg. And throught the night I would step on it, burn my leg , wake up and then go back to sleep. :-) Believe me, that was not fun. So go for a train if you can.
Summary
- Overall fun trip. But tiresome
- If you visit Mangalore, make sure you drop by K M temple and spend some time here in introspection
- If you are returning to Bangalore, return by train.
- This travelogue ends here. If you are planning a trip to the regions I have shared my experiences with, please feel free to contact me if you need any more information. Adios on the travelogue till my next travel.
- Keep reading this blog for other topics and my intelligent view points :-) Yeah Right!!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Part IV - Bekal Fort Trip
Murudeshwar to Mangalore
Verna - Mangalore passenger train passes through Gokarna and Murudeshwar on its way to Mangalore. So when leaving Murudeshwar, we decided to catch the same train to Mangalore. The train was 1 hour late when it reached Murudeshwar. It was supposed to take around 3 hours to reach Mangalore but it delayed further and by the time we reached Mangalore I think it was almost 10:00 p.m. We were definitely very tired due to constant roaming around and extreme heat. The fact that the remaining part of the journey was pretty much open ended and unplanned was making it further difficult in deciding what to do. What ensued was a high voice debate with hungry stomach. First we thought we will just stay the next day in Mangalore and then come back to Bangalore. But it was already very late and the hotels were charging too much. So we thought, to hell with staying in hotels tonight. We decided to move ahead and travel to Bekal Fort.
Mangalore to Kanhangad
Once decide, I went to the enquiry to find out if there is a train to Kanhangad. The next train was only at 4:00 a.m and that was Parashuram Express from Mangalore to Trivandrum. Kanhangad was the third stop after Mangalore. So we waited at the Mangalore station till 4:00 am. What was comforting was that, unlike other stations, here there were no repeating advertisements on TVs. Rather, there were some nice songs playing on FM radio. That was nice time pass. But one horrible thing was too many mosquitoes. Good that we had Odomas with us. So I put it on everywhere on my body and was very happy to see the mosquitoes getting repelled away :-) . Throughout the night we were half asleep and half awake. By the time, the train left at 4:00 a.m, we were unable to open our eyes and were scared that we might miss Kanhangad. But thankfully, I could keep my senses alert and got down at Kanhangad after around an hour of departure from Mangalore. With whatever eyes open, I knew for sure that this journey was fantastic with full moon lighting up the vast sea like a silver plate and coconut trees decorating the sea coast. Oh what a view it was. Just plain brilliant and the only feeling was to just to sleep on a boat in the middle of the sea in that beautiful full moon.
In Kanhangad
We reached around 5:30 a.m. It was pitch dark, the place completely unknown but the station, though small was sweet and well lit. As we came, there was only one auto. All we said was Hotel Bekal International. He nodded his head in NO. But it was actually a yes. So we got in having no clue where we are being taken. But pretty soon, we were brought to Hotel Bekal International. The hotel room was around Rs. 300. But it was pretty ordinary. After taking a short nap, waking up, freshening up, having breakfast, we took a small stroll in the hot sun to reach a bus that was to take us to the Bekal fort. It took us around 20 minutes by bus to reach the Bekal fort. The place huge. We got excited to see the fort and I started clicking around with my camera :-) Then we reached the gate and there you go. Rs. 25 for camera and Rs. 25 for cam corder. The Government has to squeeze money out at every chance it has. Well we paid and went in. Aww!!! did we come at a wrong time? Where is the green grass? Why is it all yellow? May be Maniratnam shot his movie in the rainy season. Thats true!! The hero and heroine were all seemed to be drenched in that movie :-) Well, the fact is, it was not as close to how it was portrayed in the movie. So the smart thing is to go during monsoons and get drenched. Thats when the fun is. But the beauty was the view of the ocean. After the fort, we went to the beach. And here again, Rs. 25 for camera and Rs. 25 for camcorder. :-( Later we came to know that there is a side way to escape this pain. :-) So if you are visiting the beach, look for the side way. We came out via the side way.
By the time we finished visiting the fort and the beach and came out, it was almost 3:00 p.m. Tired, no food, hungry. Went to hotel and took some rest. We were now like in the mood to just get back home in Bangalore. That was 24th December. Christmas eve.
Return to Mangalore
On 25th, we took the early morning train from Kanhangad to Mangalore. Now it was daylight and a beautiful train ride along the sea coast.
Summary
Verna - Mangalore passenger train passes through Gokarna and Murudeshwar on its way to Mangalore. So when leaving Murudeshwar, we decided to catch the same train to Mangalore. The train was 1 hour late when it reached Murudeshwar. It was supposed to take around 3 hours to reach Mangalore but it delayed further and by the time we reached Mangalore I think it was almost 10:00 p.m. We were definitely very tired due to constant roaming around and extreme heat. The fact that the remaining part of the journey was pretty much open ended and unplanned was making it further difficult in deciding what to do. What ensued was a high voice debate with hungry stomach. First we thought we will just stay the next day in Mangalore and then come back to Bangalore. But it was already very late and the hotels were charging too much. So we thought, to hell with staying in hotels tonight. We decided to move ahead and travel to Bekal Fort.
Mangalore to Kanhangad
Once decide, I went to the enquiry to find out if there is a train to Kanhangad. The next train was only at 4:00 a.m and that was Parashuram Express from Mangalore to Trivandrum. Kanhangad was the third stop after Mangalore. So we waited at the Mangalore station till 4:00 am. What was comforting was that, unlike other stations, here there were no repeating advertisements on TVs. Rather, there were some nice songs playing on FM radio. That was nice time pass. But one horrible thing was too many mosquitoes. Good that we had Odomas with us. So I put it on everywhere on my body and was very happy to see the mosquitoes getting repelled away :-) . Throughout the night we were half asleep and half awake. By the time, the train left at 4:00 a.m, we were unable to open our eyes and were scared that we might miss Kanhangad. But thankfully, I could keep my senses alert and got down at Kanhangad after around an hour of departure from Mangalore. With whatever eyes open, I knew for sure that this journey was fantastic with full moon lighting up the vast sea like a silver plate and coconut trees decorating the sea coast. Oh what a view it was. Just plain brilliant and the only feeling was to just to sleep on a boat in the middle of the sea in that beautiful full moon.
In Kanhangad
We reached around 5:30 a.m. It was pitch dark, the place completely unknown but the station, though small was sweet and well lit. As we came, there was only one auto. All we said was Hotel Bekal International. He nodded his head in NO. But it was actually a yes. So we got in having no clue where we are being taken. But pretty soon, we were brought to Hotel Bekal International. The hotel room was around Rs. 300. But it was pretty ordinary. After taking a short nap, waking up, freshening up, having breakfast, we took a small stroll in the hot sun to reach a bus that was to take us to the Bekal fort. It took us around 20 minutes by bus to reach the Bekal fort. The place huge. We got excited to see the fort and I started clicking around with my camera :-) Then we reached the gate and there you go. Rs. 25 for camera and Rs. 25 for cam corder. The Government has to squeeze money out at every chance it has. Well we paid and went in. Aww!!! did we come at a wrong time? Where is the green grass? Why is it all yellow? May be Maniratnam shot his movie in the rainy season. Thats true!! The hero and heroine were all seemed to be drenched in that movie :-) Well, the fact is, it was not as close to how it was portrayed in the movie. So the smart thing is to go during monsoons and get drenched. Thats when the fun is. But the beauty was the view of the ocean. After the fort, we went to the beach. And here again, Rs. 25 for camera and Rs. 25 for camcorder. :-( Later we came to know that there is a side way to escape this pain. :-) So if you are visiting the beach, look for the side way. We came out via the side way.
By the time we finished visiting the fort and the beach and came out, it was almost 3:00 p.m. Tired, no food, hungry. Went to hotel and took some rest. We were now like in the mood to just get back home in Bangalore. That was 24th December. Christmas eve.
Return to Mangalore
On 25th, we took the early morning train from Kanhangad to Mangalore. Now it was daylight and a beautiful train ride along the sea coast.
Summary
- Murudeshwar to Mangalore by Verna passenger train
- Mangalore to Kanhangad by Parashuram express or some earlier train. Just find it out.
- To come back from Kanhangad to Mangalore, there are tons of trains
- Bekal International is Ok. Not that great.
- Dont go in summers. By the way, we went in winter and winter is literally undefined. :-) It was so hot that it does not qualify to be called winter.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Part III - Murudeshwar Trip
Gokarna To Murudeshwar
As I mentioned, the train from Gokarna to Murudeshwar was supposed to reach Murudeshwar at 5 p.m. But the train got delayed and we reached Murudeshwar around 7:30 p.m. It was dark enough. We thought it will some good size enough railway station that will have some autorickshaws waiting outside. To our surprise, it was pitch dark outside and the railways station was right on the highway. So all we could see were the trucks breezing away. With many other passengers we came out of the railways station and stood on the highway with a hope to see an autorickshaw guy. Luckily we saw one coming and got it since we were standing closest top him :-)
At Murudeshwar
The RNS Guest House where we stayed was pretty close to the railway station. So, the auto guy breezed to the RNS guest house. The majestic Shiva statue was right near the RNS guest house and surrounded by sea. After the formalities, we quickly checked into the hotel and freshened ourselves up.
Naveen Restaurant was adjoining to the guest house on one side and sea on the other. We had some good but very little food there. Not because we wanted little. We were desperately hungry. But you have to have the food there to believe how little they serve. :-)
It was already around 10 p.m by the time we had dinner. So we spent some time just sitting and relaxing at the footsteps of shiva statue.
Next morning, we took some snaps, moved around the Shiva statue, had lunch and then left in the afternoon. The place was under construction. So we could not completely go around the statue. I must also say that Murudeshwar beach is not that impressive. To be frank it was dirty. May be because it is much more commercialized and too many people with little sense of maintaining clean surrounding. So half a day was enough for Murudeshwar.
Murudeshwar to Mangalore
We took the Verna-Mangalore passenger at Murudeshwar for Mangalore. The train was moving fast enough in the beginning but slowed down gradually to reach Mangalore only at around 10:00 p.m. What to do next? Should stay overnight at Mangalore? Should we continue our trip further to Bekal Fort? What happens when in dilemma? An obvious argument and a fight . Thats what happened between me and my wife :-) And it is a very wrong time to argue with her when she is hungry. :-) After trying some hotels in Mangalore (with an obvious wish not to get any room), we decided to go to Bekal.
Summary
To be Continued...
As I mentioned, the train from Gokarna to Murudeshwar was supposed to reach Murudeshwar at 5 p.m. But the train got delayed and we reached Murudeshwar around 7:30 p.m. It was dark enough. We thought it will some good size enough railway station that will have some autorickshaws waiting outside. To our surprise, it was pitch dark outside and the railways station was right on the highway. So all we could see were the trucks breezing away. With many other passengers we came out of the railways station and stood on the highway with a hope to see an autorickshaw guy. Luckily we saw one coming and got it since we were standing closest top him :-)
At Murudeshwar
The RNS Guest House where we stayed was pretty close to the railway station. So, the auto guy breezed to the RNS guest house. The majestic Shiva statue was right near the RNS guest house and surrounded by sea. After the formalities, we quickly checked into the hotel and freshened ourselves up.
Naveen Restaurant was adjoining to the guest house on one side and sea on the other. We had some good but very little food there. Not because we wanted little. We were desperately hungry. But you have to have the food there to believe how little they serve. :-)
It was already around 10 p.m by the time we had dinner. So we spent some time just sitting and relaxing at the footsteps of shiva statue.
Next morning, we took some snaps, moved around the Shiva statue, had lunch and then left in the afternoon. The place was under construction. So we could not completely go around the statue. I must also say that Murudeshwar beach is not that impressive. To be frank it was dirty. May be because it is much more commercialized and too many people with little sense of maintaining clean surrounding. So half a day was enough for Murudeshwar.
Murudeshwar to Mangalore
We took the Verna-Mangalore passenger at Murudeshwar for Mangalore. The train was moving fast enough in the beginning but slowed down gradually to reach Mangalore only at around 10:00 p.m. What to do next? Should stay overnight at Mangalore? Should we continue our trip further to Bekal Fort? What happens when in dilemma? An obvious argument and a fight . Thats what happened between me and my wife :-) And it is a very wrong time to argue with her when she is hungry. :-) After trying some hotels in Mangalore (with an obvious wish not to get any room), we decided to go to Bekal.
Summary
- Gokarna to Murudeshwar by Verna Passenger in the evening
- Enjoy the sea and Shiva statue at Murudeshwar
- Murudeshwar to Mangalore by Verna Passenger
To be Continued...
Friday, December 28, 2007
Part II - Gokarna Trip
Jog Falls to Gokarna
After the Jog Falls visit it was time to catch a bus to Gokarna. We came to know that right outside the Jog Falls gate there would be a bus to Kumta. It was supposed to come at 11:30 a.m but finally came at around 12:45 p.m. Because it was Gorvernment bus it seems :-) To make things worse, there was no seats available. To make things further worse, it was hilly and curvy road so the bus could not move at more than 20 k.m per hour. And we were getting the taste of the hot sun. I wa afraid that my wife might faint in the bus. Thankfully, some people got down at Talguppa and we got to sit. I kept taking some photographs in the middle of all this. It took almost 3 hours to reach Kumta. We got down and immediately took a bus that was waiting to leave for Gokarna. This was more comfortable since we got a seat and also the road was flat enough for the bus to go fast. We reached Gokarna in around 1.5 hours. The natural beauty started showing itself as we were nearing Gokarna. Beautiful lakes, nice agricultural fields, mountains were the ornaments of nature in this stretch of land. Gokarna bus stand is a small one.
First Evening at Gokarna
After reaching Gokarna in the afternoon with hot sun burning over our heads, we quickly checked into Hotel Gokarna International (HGI). This hotel is very close to the bus stand and walkable i.e., it is around 1.5 Km or less. But since we did not know, we had to take an auto and the auto would take Rs. 15. We were kind of doing things on a roll since it was a jampacked trip. So without wasting much time, we freshened up and wanted to go out. The hotel guy suggested we go to the Main beach since it is the closest and it was almost evening time. Main beach is also called Gokarna Beach. So we decided to go to Gokarna beach that evening. By now it was slightly cooling down as the sun was setting. What a time to go to the beach isnt it? We walked through the narrow lanes of Gokarna with kachha roads, towards the Gokarna beach. On the way we found that the Venkataraman temple and Mahabaleshwar temple were there. We decided to visit these temples next morning. So we kept walking towards Gokarna beach. It was around 2 Km from HGI. Wow what a beautiful view when you look at the sea and then see the sun taking a nice dip into the sea. It is breathtaking. All this is fine only if you see straight and up and not down. The moment you see down will you realize how qualified we human beings are at dirtying the beautiful nature. Throwing stuff everywhere even though there are dust bins. I see this and think "We the biggest A**H****" :-( The sea view was beautiful but we were starving. So we went to a small restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some nice dosas. We decided then to sit on the beach for a while until it darkens. We bought a couple of coconut water and sat on the beach, sipping the sweet coconut water, eating the nice soft coconut inside it, and enjoying the dances of the waves on the lap of the sea. Little kids playing around was adding music to this beautiful dance.
Next Morning at Gokarna::Temple Tour
We woke up pretty early since we had so much left to cover and we only had half a day in hand before we set off for the next destination town of Murudeshwar. The early morning was beautiful. A nice small temple in view from the balcony and the sun rising over the head of the temple and from within the hills was making it splendid. By around 7:00 a.m we started walking out in the streets of Gokarna. The streets were awake with little kids on their way to schools. And these tourists (ourselves) were randomly roaming around. We went to Venkataramanan temple, Maha Ganapathi Temple and Mahabaleshwar temples. These temples were nice. But beware of the priests at Mahabaleshwar temple though. We nicely got ourselves ripped off by Rs. 1500. It may not be about money but the way we were cajoled, I feel like a dumb idiot in perspective. So you dont be the next. I am just not habituated to temples where you are just pushed around by tons of people. For me, a temple is a calm silent place where I get some peace and an opportunity for introspection. Well Mahabaleshwar temple could have been but the priests there are definitely not letting it be. They were all commercial agents. Thats how I felt. So next time you visit, if you just want to walk around and nothing more, just pay the Rs. 2 and gently say I am not interested in anything. Dont be in a state of confusion as we did.
Gokarna :: Om Beach
After the temple tour and royal rip off , we decided to forget about it and rather focus on the better part for the day and went straight to Om Beach. The auto rickshaw took Rs. 100. The drive was pretty neat going way up the mountain and stop there only to walk down to the beach. We realized that there were many huts on the beach that could be rented. We wanted to have breakfast and found this place called Namaste Cafe. The typical breakfast there is, Bread and Egg, Bread and Egg and Bread and Egg :-) The one that was not was Paratha. We had paratha and curd. Everything cost around Rs. 150. The view was beautiful. After having the breakfast and a glass of coffee, we started walking on the Om beach. Pretty soon, a boatman approached us and asked if we would be interested in having a boat ride to the Half-moon and paradise beaches with other folks. We hopped into the boat since boat rides are cheaper if there are more people. The guy cruised in the sea and went past the half-moon and paradise beaches. But he went from a distance though and did not embark on those beaches. These beaches were kind of desolate and I am sure more peaceful. I also kinda got a hint that half-moon might be one of those beaches where there was no clothes on body freedom :-) The boat ride cost us Rs. 150. After coming back to Om beach, we decided to go to Kudle beach, the last one to be covered in the series of 5 beaches of Gokarna.
Gokarna :: Kudle Beach
This was by far the best beach at Gokarna. That is what I would say. Clean water, beautiful horizon, bright sunlight, nice shaded restaurant to have a cup of fresh lime juice and a vast stretch of beach to walk on. What a pleasant walk it in the morning. The feet getting wetted by the waves hitting the beach. Cooling our heads from the burning sun. Crystal clear water. How beautiful would it have been had we rented a hut on this beach. The night would be spectacular I am sure. We had a nice lime juice at a beach restaurant here. The water was so clear that we saw starfish, crab, sting ray only at this beach. After a nice 1 hour at this beach, we took another exclusive boat ride for just two of us to the Main beach.
Gokarna Streets
Once at the Main beach, we had to go back to our hotel so that we could pack up. This time we started walking through the other streets of Gokarna. These were beautiful streets giving us a glimpse of what ancient Indian society would have looked like. I mean it. A lot of antique feeling was there to these calm tree shaded streets. Almost every house had a well in the front yard. The roads were like bricklaid. While walking, we came across KothiTeertha.
Gokarna Wrap-Up
This was great place to visit I would say. Except that it was very hot. Soon we had to pack up our bags and leave for the Gokarna railway station to catch our train for Murudeshwar. The train was almost 2 hours late. But when it came, we couldnt locate our coach. And when we did, it started running. My wife almost got stuck in the station. The Ticket Collector was extremely apologetic for not stopping the train until we had boarded. We were surprised to see such nice behavior. He was a very friendly man from Andhra Pradesh. His name was Mr. Venkateshwarulu. Throughout the journey to Murudeshwar he was talking to us, asking about us, telling about himself, his family and so. And when Murudeshwar came, he ensure that the train stopped long enough for us to alight. Well, I wouldnt mind going again to Gokarna but this time it would be an exclusive Kudle beach trip.
Summary of Travel
After the Jog Falls visit it was time to catch a bus to Gokarna. We came to know that right outside the Jog Falls gate there would be a bus to Kumta. It was supposed to come at 11:30 a.m but finally came at around 12:45 p.m. Because it was Gorvernment bus it seems :-) To make things worse, there was no seats available. To make things further worse, it was hilly and curvy road so the bus could not move at more than 20 k.m per hour. And we were getting the taste of the hot sun. I wa afraid that my wife might faint in the bus. Thankfully, some people got down at Talguppa and we got to sit. I kept taking some photographs in the middle of all this. It took almost 3 hours to reach Kumta. We got down and immediately took a bus that was waiting to leave for Gokarna. This was more comfortable since we got a seat and also the road was flat enough for the bus to go fast. We reached Gokarna in around 1.5 hours. The natural beauty started showing itself as we were nearing Gokarna. Beautiful lakes, nice agricultural fields, mountains were the ornaments of nature in this stretch of land. Gokarna bus stand is a small one.
First Evening at Gokarna
After reaching Gokarna in the afternoon with hot sun burning over our heads, we quickly checked into Hotel Gokarna International (HGI). This hotel is very close to the bus stand and walkable i.e., it is around 1.5 Km or less. But since we did not know, we had to take an auto and the auto would take Rs. 15. We were kind of doing things on a roll since it was a jampacked trip. So without wasting much time, we freshened up and wanted to go out. The hotel guy suggested we go to the Main beach since it is the closest and it was almost evening time. Main beach is also called Gokarna Beach. So we decided to go to Gokarna beach that evening. By now it was slightly cooling down as the sun was setting. What a time to go to the beach isnt it? We walked through the narrow lanes of Gokarna with kachha roads, towards the Gokarna beach. On the way we found that the Venkataraman temple and Mahabaleshwar temple were there. We decided to visit these temples next morning. So we kept walking towards Gokarna beach. It was around 2 Km from HGI. Wow what a beautiful view when you look at the sea and then see the sun taking a nice dip into the sea. It is breathtaking. All this is fine only if you see straight and up and not down. The moment you see down will you realize how qualified we human beings are at dirtying the beautiful nature. Throwing stuff everywhere even though there are dust bins. I see this and think "We the biggest A**H****" :-( The sea view was beautiful but we were starving. So we went to a small restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some nice dosas. We decided then to sit on the beach for a while until it darkens. We bought a couple of coconut water and sat on the beach, sipping the sweet coconut water, eating the nice soft coconut inside it, and enjoying the dances of the waves on the lap of the sea. Little kids playing around was adding music to this beautiful dance.
Next Morning at Gokarna::Temple Tour
We woke up pretty early since we had so much left to cover and we only had half a day in hand before we set off for the next destination town of Murudeshwar. The early morning was beautiful. A nice small temple in view from the balcony and the sun rising over the head of the temple and from within the hills was making it splendid. By around 7:00 a.m we started walking out in the streets of Gokarna. The streets were awake with little kids on their way to schools. And these tourists (ourselves) were randomly roaming around. We went to Venkataramanan temple, Maha Ganapathi Temple and Mahabaleshwar temples. These temples were nice. But beware of the priests at Mahabaleshwar temple though. We nicely got ourselves ripped off by Rs. 1500. It may not be about money but the way we were cajoled, I feel like a dumb idiot in perspective. So you dont be the next. I am just not habituated to temples where you are just pushed around by tons of people. For me, a temple is a calm silent place where I get some peace and an opportunity for introspection. Well Mahabaleshwar temple could have been but the priests there are definitely not letting it be. They were all commercial agents. Thats how I felt. So next time you visit, if you just want to walk around and nothing more, just pay the Rs. 2 and gently say I am not interested in anything. Dont be in a state of confusion as we did.
Gokarna :: Om Beach
After the temple tour and royal rip off , we decided to forget about it and rather focus on the better part for the day and went straight to Om Beach. The auto rickshaw took Rs. 100. The drive was pretty neat going way up the mountain and stop there only to walk down to the beach. We realized that there were many huts on the beach that could be rented. We wanted to have breakfast and found this place called Namaste Cafe. The typical breakfast there is, Bread and Egg, Bread and Egg and Bread and Egg :-) The one that was not was Paratha. We had paratha and curd. Everything cost around Rs. 150. The view was beautiful. After having the breakfast and a glass of coffee, we started walking on the Om beach. Pretty soon, a boatman approached us and asked if we would be interested in having a boat ride to the Half-moon and paradise beaches with other folks. We hopped into the boat since boat rides are cheaper if there are more people. The guy cruised in the sea and went past the half-moon and paradise beaches. But he went from a distance though and did not embark on those beaches. These beaches were kind of desolate and I am sure more peaceful. I also kinda got a hint that half-moon might be one of those beaches where there was no clothes on body freedom :-) The boat ride cost us Rs. 150. After coming back to Om beach, we decided to go to Kudle beach, the last one to be covered in the series of 5 beaches of Gokarna.
Gokarna :: Kudle Beach
This was by far the best beach at Gokarna. That is what I would say. Clean water, beautiful horizon, bright sunlight, nice shaded restaurant to have a cup of fresh lime juice and a vast stretch of beach to walk on. What a pleasant walk it in the morning. The feet getting wetted by the waves hitting the beach. Cooling our heads from the burning sun. Crystal clear water. How beautiful would it have been had we rented a hut on this beach. The night would be spectacular I am sure. We had a nice lime juice at a beach restaurant here. The water was so clear that we saw starfish, crab, sting ray only at this beach. After a nice 1 hour at this beach, we took another exclusive boat ride for just two of us to the Main beach.
Gokarna Streets
Once at the Main beach, we had to go back to our hotel so that we could pack up. This time we started walking through the other streets of Gokarna. These were beautiful streets giving us a glimpse of what ancient Indian society would have looked like. I mean it. A lot of antique feeling was there to these calm tree shaded streets. Almost every house had a well in the front yard. The roads were like bricklaid. While walking, we came across KothiTeertha.
Gokarna Wrap-Up
This was great place to visit I would say. Except that it was very hot. Soon we had to pack up our bags and leave for the Gokarna railway station to catch our train for Murudeshwar. The train was almost 2 hours late. But when it came, we couldnt locate our coach. And when we did, it started running. My wife almost got stuck in the station. The Ticket Collector was extremely apologetic for not stopping the train until we had boarded. We were surprised to see such nice behavior. He was a very friendly man from Andhra Pradesh. His name was Mr. Venkateshwarulu. Throughout the journey to Murudeshwar he was talking to us, asking about us, telling about himself, his family and so. And when Murudeshwar came, he ensure that the train stopped long enough for us to alight. Well, I wouldnt mind going again to Gokarna but this time it would be an exclusive Kudle beach trip.
Summary of Travel
- Bus from Jog Falls to Kumta . 1 bus that goes directly from Jog Falls. Leaves around 11:15 a.m . Takes almost 3 hours
- Bus from Kumta to Gokarna (around 2:00 p.m) Takes around 1 hour
- Enjoy Gokarna
- Gokarna To Murudeshwar (Train. Verna-Mangalore Passenger at 4:00 p.m)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Part I - Jog Falls Trip
Planning
I must say that planning for trips is some gigantic task in India. Either because of my lack of experience, lack of ample information on the web or some unknown reason. This has been precisely the situation when we started thinking about this 5 day trip. Several questions in mind. Several blogs in hand. Several websites with incomplete information.
How do I reach Jog Falls? How do I reach Gokarna? What is the best way? Where to stay? What places to visit ? And this needed lot of time searching the web. And then there is lack of time to invest in researching. So my dear wife was doing lot of research on this. Finally we could plan a part of the trip and we left the remaining unplanned and decided to plan as we reach the place and accordingly adjust.
Bangalore to Shimoga Town :
After lots of thinking, we took the Bangalore-Shimoga Express that left Bangalore at 23:40 hours. So all you do is get into the train and sleep :-) And in the middle of that I managed to lose my umbrella. Not that it is a comfortable sleep anyways in the train. So I was turning left and right and once in a while waking up thinking if I have fallen down from the upper berth. But I am not sure when I again slept off because soon I found someone shaking me and telling me "Hello this is the last stop. ". :-) Realized that we have reached Shimoga Town (SMET, different stop from Shimoga (SME)).
Shimoga Town to Jog Falls:
It was around 6:00 a.m. We were heartily welcomed by bunch of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes would not leave us for the rest of our journey. So carry Odomas with you all the time. We did by the way. We wanted to take a Toy Train from Shimoga Town to Jog Falls. But on getting down we came to know that the train is not in service now due to some work. Repair works are perennial in India arent they? You always see roads repaired, drains repaired. OK OK. Back to topic. We came out of station and took an auto. Being in a different town, you never know what is a reasonable rate. So you accept what you are told :-) I think the auto guy took Rs. 30 to take us to bus stand. The first difference I notice was people are very friendly. No I mean it. And it was the same observation for the res of our journey. The auto guy talked with me a lot and I continued the conversation with my "Swalpa Swalpa Kannada Gottu (i.e., Little little Kannada)" concept. As we reached the bus stand a bus was leaving. The auto guy stopped the bus and got us in. The bus guys gave us a seat and told us the bus would go to Jog. After we got in and the bus started moving, they said it will go till Sagar and then we have to catch another bus. We could not do much anyways. So we sat and enjoyed the countryside as the bus bumped and jumped and moved over the roads. It was a nice experience. The bus brought us to Sagar in 1.5 hours I think. Soon a bus was there for Jog Falls. The bus was pretty empty. We got in and reached Jog Falls in around 2 hours.
At Jog Falls
It was a bright sunny morning when we reached Jog Falls. We were very hungry too. So before even thinking of visiting the falls, we decided to have our breakfast first. There was this Hotel Mayura run by KSTDC. It was OK. Had some idlis to fill up our stomach. Then asked the guy which way is the falls. The falls were right opposite to Mayura. I couldnt believe it. Not in awe but was thinking what a let down. There was almost no water at all. Then why does the Government blow of the trumpet of largest falls? The falls that is not always in its vigorous form cannot be called falls. I heard most water is diverged to the dam. Karnataka Government should put up notice on the website on when the water will be there and when not. Otherwise I felt it is blatant cheating of the tourists. Imagine the let down when you go all the way and u find nothing. IMagine you go to Niagara Falls and you see a narrow stream falling. I for sure was upset with the way Government did not ensure that it maintains a place where it provides updates on the status of Jog Falls. I did not find it. And this according to me is cheating. After a few photographs of narrow streams, we decided to continue our journey to Gokarna.
So be careful about when to go to Jog Falls. It seems they release water on sundays and mondays. So those are good days to go. Otherwise, you may want to consider going during the months of July-August-September i.e., monsoons. That is when you will feel your visit is worth it.
Summary of Travel
I must say that planning for trips is some gigantic task in India. Either because of my lack of experience, lack of ample information on the web or some unknown reason. This has been precisely the situation when we started thinking about this 5 day trip. Several questions in mind. Several blogs in hand. Several websites with incomplete information.
How do I reach Jog Falls? How do I reach Gokarna? What is the best way? Where to stay? What places to visit ? And this needed lot of time searching the web. And then there is lack of time to invest in researching. So my dear wife was doing lot of research on this. Finally we could plan a part of the trip and we left the remaining unplanned and decided to plan as we reach the place and accordingly adjust.
Bangalore to Shimoga Town :
After lots of thinking, we took the Bangalore-Shimoga Express that left Bangalore at 23:40 hours. So all you do is get into the train and sleep :-) And in the middle of that I managed to lose my umbrella. Not that it is a comfortable sleep anyways in the train. So I was turning left and right and once in a while waking up thinking if I have fallen down from the upper berth. But I am not sure when I again slept off because soon I found someone shaking me and telling me "Hello this is the last stop. ". :-) Realized that we have reached Shimoga Town (SMET, different stop from Shimoga (SME)).
Shimoga Town to Jog Falls:
It was around 6:00 a.m. We were heartily welcomed by bunch of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes would not leave us for the rest of our journey. So carry Odomas with you all the time. We did by the way. We wanted to take a Toy Train from Shimoga Town to Jog Falls. But on getting down we came to know that the train is not in service now due to some work. Repair works are perennial in India arent they? You always see roads repaired, drains repaired. OK OK. Back to topic. We came out of station and took an auto. Being in a different town, you never know what is a reasonable rate. So you accept what you are told :-) I think the auto guy took Rs. 30 to take us to bus stand. The first difference I notice was people are very friendly. No I mean it. And it was the same observation for the res of our journey. The auto guy talked with me a lot and I continued the conversation with my "Swalpa Swalpa Kannada Gottu (i.e., Little little Kannada)" concept. As we reached the bus stand a bus was leaving. The auto guy stopped the bus and got us in. The bus guys gave us a seat and told us the bus would go to Jog. After we got in and the bus started moving, they said it will go till Sagar and then we have to catch another bus. We could not do much anyways. So we sat and enjoyed the countryside as the bus bumped and jumped and moved over the roads. It was a nice experience. The bus brought us to Sagar in 1.5 hours I think. Soon a bus was there for Jog Falls. The bus was pretty empty. We got in and reached Jog Falls in around 2 hours.
At Jog Falls
It was a bright sunny morning when we reached Jog Falls. We were very hungry too. So before even thinking of visiting the falls, we decided to have our breakfast first. There was this Hotel Mayura run by KSTDC. It was OK. Had some idlis to fill up our stomach. Then asked the guy which way is the falls. The falls were right opposite to Mayura. I couldnt believe it. Not in awe but was thinking what a let down. There was almost no water at all. Then why does the Government blow of the trumpet of largest falls? The falls that is not always in its vigorous form cannot be called falls. I heard most water is diverged to the dam. Karnataka Government should put up notice on the website on when the water will be there and when not. Otherwise I felt it is blatant cheating of the tourists. Imagine the let down when you go all the way and u find nothing. IMagine you go to Niagara Falls and you see a narrow stream falling. I for sure was upset with the way Government did not ensure that it maintains a place where it provides updates on the status of Jog Falls. I did not find it. And this according to me is cheating. After a few photographs of narrow streams, we decided to continue our journey to Gokarna.
So be careful about when to go to Jog Falls. It seems they release water on sundays and mondays. So those are good days to go. Otherwise, you may want to consider going during the months of July-August-September i.e., monsoons. That is when you will feel your visit is worth it.
Summary of Travel
- Train from Bangalore to Shimoga Town (11:40 p.m at Bangalore Central)
- Auto from Shimoga Town Station to Bus Stand (around 6:30 a.m)
- Bus from Shimoga Town to Sagar (Around 6:45 a.m at Shimoga Town)
- Bus from Sagar to Jog Falls (Around 8:45 a.m at Sagar)
- Enjoy Jog Falls if there is water
- Do not go arbitrarily. Call the folks there and ask if there is water
Jog Falls, Gokarna, Murudeshwar, Kanhangad, Mangalore Trip
Coming Soon.... The complete travelogue
Part I - Jog Falls Trip
Part II - Gokarna Trip
Part III - Murudeshwar Trip
Part IV - Kanhangad Trip
Part V - Mangalore and Return
We (Me and my wife) just finished a 5 day long tiring exhaustive trip to the above places. Will write as much as possible so that I can include our complete experiences. It was fun and lot of learning.
Part I - Jog Falls Trip
Part II - Gokarna Trip
Part III - Murudeshwar Trip
Part IV - Kanhangad Trip
Part V - Mangalore and Return
We (Me and my wife) just finished a 5 day long tiring exhaustive trip to the above places. Will write as much as possible so that I can include our complete experiences. It was fun and lot of learning.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Who is Afraid of Transparency ?
A must read and introspect and act article by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey.
Who is Afraid of Transparency
Who is Afraid of Transparency
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Shopping -- Things to Note
I suck at shopping. More so at bargaining. And the way it hurts is more prominent when the vendors out there are desperate to rip you off.
I was planning to purchase my new cell phone. A simple one. I wanted to move back to Nokia. I was having a Samsung phone and I tell you it sucks. Even before the end of an year, my network failed badly and I cant even make calls. Yeah it has nothing to do with AirTel. It had to do with my phone. So when I decided to buy my new Nokia, the next question was where to buy from. I am somehow nervous about dealing with these "Authorized Nokia Dealers". They are freaking clueless folks manned by clueless personnel. They come running to you showing as if they are desperate to help you. After first question, they lose steam and start looking elsewhere. All they tell about the phone is, "It has FM", "It is Rs. 16000". Nothing more. No clue about more specifications.
After filtering out the "Authorized Nokia Dealers", I went to this "Nokia Concept Centre". Thought it might be genuine Nokia store. I might be wrong. The guy there was soft spoken and explained everything. He quoted me a price for the phone. Next day when I went, all kind of dancing was done, such as "extra commission on credit card use" etc. only to give me the phone at the same rate. No discount etc. This is ridiculous I feel. I think there is a general lack of percerption about customer mentality. I finally managed to not buy from there and ended up buying from Chroma in the Eva Mall. And I got it from Rs. 50 less. Its not about Rs. 50. Its about this flip-flopping that is absolutely irritating.
Nokia can avoid caring anything about this but they should be very careful about how these folks are marketing their products and influencing their reputation. Lot is at stake. This is the problem of non-direct sales.
I was planning to purchase my new cell phone. A simple one. I wanted to move back to Nokia. I was having a Samsung phone and I tell you it sucks. Even before the end of an year, my network failed badly and I cant even make calls. Yeah it has nothing to do with AirTel. It had to do with my phone. So when I decided to buy my new Nokia, the next question was where to buy from. I am somehow nervous about dealing with these "Authorized Nokia Dealers". They are freaking clueless folks manned by clueless personnel. They come running to you showing as if they are desperate to help you. After first question, they lose steam and start looking elsewhere. All they tell about the phone is, "It has FM", "It is Rs. 16000". Nothing more. No clue about more specifications.
After filtering out the "Authorized Nokia Dealers", I went to this "Nokia Concept Centre". Thought it might be genuine Nokia store. I might be wrong. The guy there was soft spoken and explained everything. He quoted me a price for the phone. Next day when I went, all kind of dancing was done, such as "extra commission on credit card use" etc. only to give me the phone at the same rate. No discount etc. This is ridiculous I feel. I think there is a general lack of percerption about customer mentality. I finally managed to not buy from there and ended up buying from Chroma in the Eva Mall. And I got it from Rs. 50 less. Its not about Rs. 50. Its about this flip-flopping that is absolutely irritating.
Nokia can avoid caring anything about this but they should be very careful about how these folks are marketing their products and influencing their reputation. Lot is at stake. This is the problem of non-direct sales.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Kya sochtaa hogaa sooraj
Subah ki kirane
Khidki se aati huyeee
Mere aankhon girti huyee
Mere savere ki shurvaath kartee hai
Khidki se jhaaktaa hoon
To suraj muskuraataa hua
hello kehtaa hai
Kehtaa hai
Dost tum bhi jaag gaye
Chalo tumhe
Apni kiranon se
jhappi de detaa hoon
Dheere dheere jaise din badegaa
suraj ki aankhon mein mayoosi dikhti hai
woh gusse se garam dikhtaa hai
Woh sochtaa hogaa
kambakht kyun itna shor hai
din ki shuruvaat mein jo mehek thi
woh is dhuen mein kyun kho gayee
savere savere jo shaant maahol thaa
is shor mein kyun kho gayaa
sooraj ke man mein jo khayaal hai
woh mere bhi man mein hain
hum sab ke man mein hai
magar hum baithe hain
bas sochte huye
Khidki se aati huyeee
Mere aankhon girti huyee
Mere savere ki shurvaath kartee hai
Khidki se jhaaktaa hoon
To suraj muskuraataa hua
hello kehtaa hai
Kehtaa hai
Dost tum bhi jaag gaye
Chalo tumhe
Apni kiranon se
jhappi de detaa hoon
Dheere dheere jaise din badegaa
suraj ki aankhon mein mayoosi dikhti hai
woh gusse se garam dikhtaa hai
Woh sochtaa hogaa
kambakht kyun itna shor hai
din ki shuruvaat mein jo mehek thi
woh is dhuen mein kyun kho gayee
savere savere jo shaant maahol thaa
is shor mein kyun kho gayaa
sooraj ke man mein jo khayaal hai
woh mere bhi man mein hain
hum sab ke man mein hai
magar hum baithe hain
bas sochte huye
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Tipu Palace
Visited Tipu Palace a last week. I would say it is definitely a well maintained place with a nicely shaped garden. It adjoins the beautiful Ramanaswamy temple. Unfortunately the temple was closed when we went since it was the afternoon time. The entry fee was Rs.5 and as usual extra charge for photography. I will never understand why we are obsessed with not allowing photography. Anyways.
We went to Tipu Palace after a enjoying a nice lunch at MTR.
It was a weekend and hence our wait for 90 min. We went to MTR at 1 p.m and we got food at 2:30 p.m. So it is always good to get advanced booking if you are going on a weekend. But the food is great. Tipu palace is hardly 2 kms from MTR. And Lalbagh is a stone throw away from MTR. So a nice weekend outing could be a great morning breakfast at MTR, then straight to labagh for a nice walk and then a sumptuous lunch at MTR again, then have fun at Tipu Palace and if you are not tired, go to Basavangudi for the Bull. All these places are pretty close to each other.
Our mode of travel was the dearest Auto. :-) And have the Bangalore map book in hand.
Bangalore Palace
Got to visit the Bangalore palace on December 1, 2007 afternoon. Here are some pictures. The palace was beautiful. But the charge was ridiculous. It was Rs. 100 per head. And if you want to take pictures, you have to get picture taking permit for Rs. 500. Absolutely ridiculous. I guess this is our way of promoting tourism. And that is too much greediness. More on that in my later posts. When we went, there was a Timesjobs fair also going on. The whole place was looking like a garbage can. That convinces me that we in general dont give a shit about cleanliness. And remember that majority of people coming here were for IT and ITES jobs. OK why am I saying this? Because dont even make the mistake of associating education with cleanliness. These are all "educated" lot who came for the job fair. Freaking made a mess with plates, glasses all around.Anyways, I think have deviated and moved towards my frustration.
Visit the palace and enjoy it from distance :-)
Monday, November 26, 2007
All Men of India should be Ashamed
I am ashamed. I am disgusted. I can feel the stink in the rotting principles of the society. And this rot is right in the center of the IT super revolution and this rot is fast spreading.
Every male of this country should be ashamed. The educated, the richest, the powerful, the skilled, the leaders , everyone.
For we do not deserve to have any pride after the unnerving incident in Guwahati. Stripping a woman and beating her up as a mark of punishment seems to be becoming a regular activity. And we watch. The perpetrators are not punished.
Is this the 21st century India? I am afraid not. It is uncivilized society. We attribute uncivilized behavior to lack of education. But what happens when educated people do such kinds of acts? It is a disastrous sign.
If there is any shame left in the people ruling this country, they will ensure that some trust in community is restored. They will ensure that justice is delivered in the form of exemplary punishment.
The community where it becomes a habitual activity to strip a woman to teach her a lesson is bound to be doomed unless corrections are made and made fast. The social fabric of this country is in danger.
I wonder if we have been this animalistic always.
Every male of this country should be ashamed. The educated, the richest, the powerful, the skilled, the leaders , everyone.
For we do not deserve to have any pride after the unnerving incident in Guwahati. Stripping a woman and beating her up as a mark of punishment seems to be becoming a regular activity. And we watch. The perpetrators are not punished.
Is this the 21st century India? I am afraid not. It is uncivilized society. We attribute uncivilized behavior to lack of education. But what happens when educated people do such kinds of acts? It is a disastrous sign.
If there is any shame left in the people ruling this country, they will ensure that some trust in community is restored. They will ensure that justice is delivered in the form of exemplary punishment.
The community where it becomes a habitual activity to strip a woman to teach her a lesson is bound to be doomed unless corrections are made and made fast. The social fabric of this country is in danger.
I wonder if we have been this animalistic always.
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