Pondicherry - How it went on

Pondicherry is a very pleasant place to walk. But make sure that it is not in the months of March to May that you are visiting for the sun will kill you with its heat. You will get motorised two-wheelers or bicycles for hire to make your memories fast forward.

The normal tourists visit from Chennai through road taking the ECR road which itself is scenic. On the way there are some tourist spots such as Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram.

If you are wishing for an offbeat travel take the train, but be advised that it takes too much time in travel. I planned for a train journey from Bangalore. There is a comfortable 3-tier AC train (Garib Rath 2255) from Yeshwantpur Junction to Pondicherry. It leaves Yeshwantpur at 11:15pm and reaches Pondicherry at 9:40am. Though the train takes lot of time to reach the short distance it allows you to sleep peacefully. Don't worry you can still cover Pondicherry in a day. :)

After that I was planning to take a bike for travelling, but did not work out well as I could not freshen up in time and did not get to know the directions. From the Govt. Guest house nearby the Railway station got the Pondicherry Tourist map with places marked in it.

With the help of that we first planned to goto Aurobindo Ashram. Walked till the beach and slowly walked and enjoyed the little bristling rain. Reached the Gandhi Statue and walked past Manakula Vinayagar Temple and finally reached Aurobindo Ashram and it was about time to close for lunch. But I was lucky enough to visit the tomb of Sri Aurobindo and Mother. It was such a peaceful atmosphere that I wanted to stay in the place for some more time. 

Our plans went on from there to visit the Beach once more where we visited the Freedom Memorial Stone sculptures. Briefly walked in the Beach. Also walked past French War Memorial. Then walked through Bharati Park and Aayi Mandapam to reach Botanical Garden. It was a mild disappointment as it was closed due to rains. I wonder why in the earth you close a Botanical Garden for rains.

From there I hired an auto(tuk-tuk) to Auroville where we where video-briefed about the Matri Mandir. Then we got free pass for visiting Matri Mandir from Viewing Point. The entry inside Matri Mandir was restricted as it was a peaceful and meditation only point. It is not a tourist spot.

Then returned from Auroville to again walk past some shops, and reached the beach. A long walk through the Promenage (now a hotel) and the beach made the end to my Pondicherry trip. I had the return ticket to Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) in the same (Garib Rath-2256) at 10pm. 

Though this was a very brief visit of Pondicherry I wish to come back some day and freely enjoy the French Architectural buildings and Auroville beach among some other spots.

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Pondicherry - A plan for a break

A long weekend this time prompted me to plan for a travel, a small but memorable one. I was thinking of places near to Bangalore but without a vehicle of my own I preferred to travel by Train. I could not plan for more than one night of travel so that I waste out time on sight-seeing. Initially my plan was towards some hill stations, but suddenly came to my mind the name Pondicherry.

Puducherry as known officially now, Pondicherry is a small coastal town near Chennai, South India. Pondicherry boasts of French history as the town remained a French Colony till 1954. Now this town along with some other places form a Union Terittory of India.

There is not much to see in Pondicherry as I know from internet, so I keep my expectations low. I plan for a Train Journey from Bangalore, a brief one day affair. Read Pondicherry in the morning visit as many places as I can and then pack back to Bangalore the same night by Train.

The Garib-Rath train from Bangalore seems to be a better option for me and I had an initial googling on places to visit. Out of which the prominent are:

• Aurobindo Ashram
• French Institute of Pondicherry
• Bharti Park
• Pondicherry Beach
• Manakula Vinayagar Temple
• Navagraha Temple (15 ft high Navagrahas) etc
• Auroville city (maybe)
• Auro Beach (Opposite to Auroville City)
• Heritage Buildings (perhaps by walk)
• French war memorial
• Chunnambar Boat House
• Botanical garden
• Oustery Lake
• Government Museum

I am not sure whether how much can I visit in one day, but I am not caring too much about it. Let me think that this plan happens, let it unfold its own way.

Will share my experiences and planning once I am back.

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Never buy Airtel DTH Connection fellow people

I am reproducing my experiences with Airtel DTH, with which you will understand why I said DO NOT BUY ANY AIRTEL DTH CONNECTION.

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അകപ്പെട്ടു പോകുന്ന ജീവിതങ്ങള്‍

നമുക്ക് എന്ത് ചെയ്യുവാന്‍ ആകും? ഒരു പക്ഷെ നമ്മള്‍ ഒത്തു ചേര്‍ന്നാല്‍ എന്തും ചെയ്യാന്‍ പറ്റും.

1. Start educating our friends, sisters about this
2. Even for fun do not encourage these acts as this might create a trap

Other suggestions welcome:

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50 Most Creative Indians

Open Magazine recently rated the 50 most creative Indians, and there features A.R.Rahman. I am a big fan of his music right from the begining. (I may have missed Roja when it got released, but loved his music right from all songs and ad-jingles).


But why I chose to write this post? Definitely not just because his name figured out in the top 50  Most creative Indians list. But the short description the author chose to write for him. This article was written on 14th August 2010 (At least it was posted on that date).


Just to replicate the word from the author: "Among the world’s all time top selling artistes: over 150 million records of film soundtracks. Starting off with the Chennai rock group,Nemesis Avenue, he’s won award upon award. His Dil Se soundtrack is a classic."


When you describe a man, who have achieved something will you normally describe his achievements or just describe what he has performed? That was the question that got lingering in my mind. If you say Mahatma Gandhi, we will have a picture in mind that depicts him in his self-woven dress (if you can call so) fighting for India's Independence. While thinking of Jawaharlal Nehru you will first say "First Prime Minister of Independent India". That is what he has achieved. 


To confuse more take two figures most Indians can remember: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. They are the best cricketers. But how will you tag them. I of course will tag Sachin as a achiever whereas Sourav as a performer. Will you not describe what Sachin has achieved?


To sum it up just be an ACHIEVER, that's what I wanted to say.


Confused, so am I. :)


Heres the list from Open magazine:
1. ARUNDHATI ROY
2. VISHY ANAND
3. AMIT HERI  
4. JITEN THUKRAL AND SUMIR TAGRA
5. SACHIN TENDULKAR
6. SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE
7. SIDDHARTH BASU
8. PRASOON JOSHI
9. JAGGI VASUDEV
10. DAKSHA SHETH
11. SUBODH GUPTA
12. BIJOY JAIN
13. E SREEDHARAN
14. VISHAL BHARADWAJ
15. GUITAR PRASANNA
16. VIJAY IYER
17. EKTA KAPOOR
18. PRABHU DEVA
19. NAMDEO DHASAL
20. RAHUL BHATIA
21. GIRISH KARNAD
22. PINAKIN PATEL
23. RAKESH MARIA  
24. FILMMAKERS OF MALEGAON
25. AR RAHMAN
26. SANDIP TRIVEDI
27. RONNIE SCREWVALA 
28. MALAVIKA SARUKKAI  
29. FARHAN AKHTAR
30. ABHIJIT AVASTHI
31. CHARLES CORREA
32. RAJAT SHARMA
33. RAJKUMAR HIRANI
34. SUNIL GANGOPADHYAY
35. PRANAV MISTRY
36. PRINCE DANCE TROUPE
37. AAMIR KHAN
38. HARSH MANDER 
39. G RAVINDER REDDY
40. VIRENDER SEHWAG
41. RATAN THIYAM
42. A RAJA
43. JAYANT V  NARLIKAR
44. ANURAG KASHYAP
45. LALIT MODI
46. RAGHU DIXIT
47. VG SIDDHARTHA
48. SAINA NEHWAL
49. ABHAY DEOL
50. PATU KESWAN


Copied from the Magazine website. Read more for knowing more about the individuals. (I did learnt about some for the first time).

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Ask Why or Why Not?

Are you stuck from not achieving anything? Decide for yourself whether you are an achiever or a performer.

 

“Some men see things as they are and ask why?

I dream of things that never were and say why not?”

Author unknown.

 

First identify whether you are in any sort of comfort zones. If you are then you can never be an achiever. For a performer just sits in his/her comfort zones and passes days like seconds. But an achiever always breaks out of his/her comfort zone and takes an ACID TEST.

 

Come out of your comfort zone and be acquainted with asking WHY NOT.

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Win Win for MindTree

Win win for MindTree. Yes that is to be believed if this news sounds true. MindTree has won the first set of contracts in Indian Unique ID. It is not surprising to know it will connect to the largest non-commercial datacenter (4 Terabytes of data storing Indian citizens details; approximated from 600 million people reserved place of 5 MB).

 

Can't wait to see the Unique ID in my hands... :-) The day getting nearer and nearer. Come on MindTree give it to me fast… J

 

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Roller Coaster Ride for Just Rs.3

If you happen to be in Bangalore, South India do not think too much. This must be your golden opportunity to ride the high-quality plus lowest fared roller coaster in the world.

Just take a ride in the public transport BMTC from Byapanahalli till Ulsoor stop. The fare in the normal bus would be Rs.3/ or in deluxe bus it would be Rs.4/.

You will experience the ride of your life. Just do not forget to carry helmets, to protect your head. (Of course for this cheap fare no one gives you helmets). The roads are so bumpy that it will defeat the design and experience of all professionally built roller-coasters in the whole world.

Also if you wish to stay in Bangalore for some more time, choose a day after heavy-rains. You will get to see sceneries unseen of like, Splash of red colours all over the road and over the bikers, people walking and running in dirt. This makes the day remembered for ever.

And say to yourself, Welcome to Bangalore.

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BPO in Hyderabad Jail

First the content from Times of India:

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HYDERABAD: Now, BPOs are going behind bars, literally. In a unique experiment, Hyderabad's Cherlapally Central Jail is all set to become the only prison in the country to have a BPO unit in its premises.

C N Gopinatha Reddy, director general of prisons, Andhra Pradesh told TOI that as many as 200-250 inmates could be engaged in the BPO unit and they will be shortlisted from inmates that are matriculates and graduates. Officials explained that those shortlisted would first be trained by experts and later absorbed by the BPO company.

"The idea is to ensure that on being released, the prisoners find it easy to get absorbed in the mainstream. Prisoners often find getting suitable employment post release a tough task. So, this is an attempt to ensure that their employers know them well in advance," said Reddy.

For the full text of the news click here.

---

This is a surprise move on the part of authorities and I welcome the message. Normally people raise their eye-brows on knowing if a person is returned from prison. The society normally ignores and avoids such people. They mostly remain jobless and are forced to do illegal and pirated activities. If this project were a success it gives a big boost for the society only.

Then comes the legitimacy of people behind bars doing such work. Well my take is that they are the ones who are convicted for misbehavious/deeds. What about the hundreds who are serving in public who have access to such jobs and doing miscreant works? Whom do we believe upon?

Lets wait and watch how this project goes about.

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Bangaloreans Welfare Association

Bangaloreans Welfare Association, my dream project hit me as a bullet when commuting to work. I termed it an office goers association which aimed at improving the quality of life the office goers faced. I myself being part of such an experience, called for a more mature and united people's action organizatoin. The problems like improper transportation facilities, rude behaviour of people on-road, traffic hurdles were my initial thought. My intend was to bring people together, educate what they might be doing wrong, and to create a little maturity on roads.

Later on this idea inside me matured enough to address all problems faced by Bangaloreans. The purview of the association should focus to more and major issues. Volunteers are just about more than an asset; especially for this association. As of this writing, I have none of the active volunteers; its just my story. Even I switch off from this association for some days, which I treat as FINDING A VOLUNTEER is lost.

I do have some points where this "unity" can be put to best use. But before building this volunteer-bank, I have to do more ground work in terms of results, and statistics ready. Statistics such as "Ground water availability in the city", "Infrastructure menace in the city", "Access to public, information much needed" etc and more. I am still to finalize the list of to-do's the problem being unable to find a partner. I work more elegantly in partnerships rather than solely.

Once this research and ground work is on-way, I will be able to attract volunteers, and educating them to bring on-board more volunteers. I believe sitting behind a computer the above said tasks can be achieved. But there on its a daunting task ahead.

But I believe stone-stepping, that too one at a time will achieve the unachievable.

For more information about Bangaloreans Welfare Association visit the website http://bit.ly/blorewa

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Remembering Rajesh

I fondly remember this guy, with a positive attitude and always wearing a pleasant smile. I know him for more than 4 years, from Chennai where he was roommate of my PGmate Ramakrishnan.

Very natural in his reaction, the reply I used to get were very much positive. I lost his worldly presence when the Carlton Towers @ Bangalore caught fire (23rd February 2010). He suffocated to death inside that building.

You should have lived many many more, but God felt you dearer to him. Oh Rajesh, live with him in peace.

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