Bangalore or should i say Bengaluru... Take 5

take ur pick before u read the post whether u want to call it Bangalore or Bengaluru !!... i wouldnt want to call it either nd will tread the diplomatic line :)..

My third visit to this place.. the first one was when i was a child with my parents at my uncle z place, the second one when i was visiting some industries while i was finishing my engineering !... and both the memories of this place are distinct and distant !.. so cant really recollect much except IISC, Papdiwala Burgers, BHEL campus, MG Rd, Brigade Rd, etc..

this time around seems different... i have a training prog from Monday and i decided to come for the weekend to see two of my very close friends at MBA... It was after a long time that i caught up with them and needless to say the fun has just begun !...

Take 5 was the place where we went to hang out for Saturday Night and it did not disappoint at all !... awesome place, awesome ambiance, great drinks and great food (especially the cheese balls) and great crowd... couldnt have asked more for a reunion of sorts with old friends !...

the sad part about banglore pubs is that they close at 11.30 pm max... ! now dats strange considering that you ve hit this place after being at Mumbai :) !!..

hopefully an equally great sunday ahead tommorrow !... Cheers !...

Murugan Idli nd Besant Nagar Beach :) !

The scene : u sleep at 2 am , the previous night and wake up to a beautiful morning in Chennai (which is vry rare considering the weather here) and lazily go to the besant nagar beach which is stormy and cool in the morning !... nd u take a walk through the breeze nd return to eat hot steaming idlis at 'Murugan Idli' followed by a dosa with 5 different types of 'chutneys' nd sambhar placed on the banana leaf itself !!... And.. a hot cup of filter caffee :) (coffee i mean)...

This is the scene of one good thing that you can enjoy in this land before you hit the road to your office on the polluted, traffic laden, hot and humid air !!!...

So as far as mornings are concerned, my times are rocking... hopefully the evenings will start shaping better too !!.. cant say that about my work though !... :) .. more to be updated soon !...

on my way to Banglore for a 4 day business cum pleasure trip ...

Chennai : Vadakkam !!

'Vadakkam' - This is a greeting that I am going to use for the next few months that I stay in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu !!!

My second trip to Chennai and though apprehensive at the first go to leave Mumbai, I must admit it was quite a welcoming experience till now... Thanks to my college friend who already stays here...

The refurbished airport definitely bore a different look this time around and I wasnt able to relate it to my trip the last time I came here... This was topped by a major delay in the check-in luggage tray operations ... OOPS !.. Air India goofed up this time.. .. The journey was tiring and got delayed by about 30 minutes... The seat was bad and lacked some basic cushioning !... Needless to say that Air India lost some brownie points they gained the last time I traveled by an IC !

Straight to the prepaid taxi which was guided in Tamil by my friend to his place !.. Wonder how would I have managed if he was not there !... Times will tell :) ...

Some catching up and off to bed at 2 am to wake up to a beautiful day next... Murugan Idli !!! Ye Ye ... dats where we had our breakfast.. (Murugan Idli is not a type of Idli, it is the name of the shop here, and they have loads of branches all over... )i could not stop eating the lovely dosas there... and the filter kaffee :) ... went to the stormy sea beach and enjoyed the strong breeze over a walk... back home and off to the zonal office for some work !!.. .. Traffic and Tamil directions !.. superb combo !... one TamBrahm (Tamilian Brahmin) said put it very nicely and it sums it up all too ... "Chennai is a Metro only on Paper !! " ...

Just had lunch... tomato rice, curd rice, sambhar rice, and more rice... .. Rice Rice Rice !! ..
Keep rocking Chennai... some super places identified to visit... more to come on the blog as and when i visit them !!...

Heading towards HELL

This one came to me as I thought about the past, present and the future that is in store for me and you... ... my rural experiences, sights, meeting different people, nostalgia dives and also doing the activity called SALES ... makes me write this.... nd I call it 'Heading towards HELL!'

--------------------------------

Gone are the magic days of fun,

When the innocent tops had spun.

With parents , teachers and elders around;

the world never ever made a bad sound.

The heat , cold and the rain around

were always always cherished aloud.

With all the friends and no foes to say,

we paved our way to today’s day.

Gone are those days in the memory lane,

we live our life in a hall of fame.

But is this fame a real fair game ?

Killing and hurting ; others to blame.

Love is no longer a gift of life ;

It comes and departs at a petty price.

With all the foes and a few friends to say,

we pave our way to the HELL I say………

Punjab !!!!

assi finally ithe aa hi gaye !!... koi gal nahi... aa gaye toh roti shoti khaa ke jaayege....
instant love for this land of India.... PUNJAB !! ........
i loved their food, i loved their culture, i loved their language and i loved the beautiful fields all around !... it was harvest season and i could actually see the proverbial golden flowing fields ready for harvest shining in their glory helped by the Sun ...
Day 1,2,3,4 : Jalandhar @ Hotel Maya
4 days spent in a grand hotel and covering the lovely outskirts and rurals of Jalandhar ... awesome fields again, some mandis selling fresh produce, talabdevi temple were the highlights of this trip here... I learnt speaking quite a lot of punjabi from my driver and the people there... though needed some assist on understanding certain words and phrases...
A sunday well spent, catching up with an old college friend and talking about MBA days...
Monday morning, i depart for Ludhiana - another beautiful land of Punjab... for two days there !... The same warm welcome and an amazing bus ride with punjabi music playing full volume....
Day 6 : Patiala !! ... the rich farming belt of Punjab, and a great place to eat awesome food... i asked my driver to take me straight to the best sweet shop (which one of my friends had suggested as she z from Patiala)... and had yummy chole-bhature there.... nd packed some sweets to take back home....
Travels outskirts included certain farmlands and brick making units....
on my way back on the outskirts of Ludhiana, we went to the fort where certain parts of the movie 'Rang De Basanti' were shot. It was a delight to see a grand sunset from the fort.... A satisfying return and sleep were to follow...
Early morning Shatabdi to Delhi and then a flight which was delayed by 1 hour to Mumbai !!... that finished my awesome and memorable trip to Punjab..
chak de phatte !
Date of Travel: 21st to 28th Oct 2009

she z not there ...

and there she is...

i see her smile, and i smile back..

i see her walk, and i run upto her...

i see her cry, and i too let my eyes cry....

i see her lonely, and i cheer her up...

i see her happy, and i join the party...

but

i frown, and i know she is not there to make me smile...

i walk away, and i know i wont get a call to stop...

i cry, and i know nobody hears...

i am lonely, and i know i have nobody to talk to...

i am unhappy, and i know she wont be there...

and she is not there...

Expectations, Friendship, etc...

Post Removed... ! Needs Revisit though ! Someday...

The taste of achievement is definitely sweet ...

no big achievement to boast about... but a small one to take a note of to describe the state of mind that I currently am in.. :)

its been almost a month and a half of hard work, slogging it out in the Sun, some humiliating experiences and a determination & belief that something will surely happen that finally led to some important customer conversions for me... which was one of my targets at the sales stint am doing in rural India...

I was so happy when i got a call from the dealer that the customer I had been pursuing since a month now and last met on Saturday had finally bought a deal we offered... ..

and the last week had some more good news like this.... so all in all i believe now that persistence and constant efforts do bring in results...

and the feeling is unbeatable... am yet to celebrate it.. coz there is nobody to celebrate ! .. but in my own ways.. listening to some foot stomping music over my iPod and watching the India-SriLanka Final match as I type this post.. and India too seems to be winning away in style..

------------------
Now playing : "lets have some ronak shonak.. lets have some party now.. lets have some rola rappa... lets have some dhol dhamaka, lets call some dholi now.. lets have some matti-tappa... " (Movie: Love Aaj Kal)

Pick a Car, nd the choices are...

a topic very close to my heart - CARS ! and it digs right into my heart when its about coupes and roadsters !!

it so happened that I had a talk with a very good friend of mine currently in the US of A.. and we discussed that we both were planning to buy cars...

i came out with my options of an SX4, Verna, Swift, Desire, in that order.... and we finally debated and settled for the SX4... :).. no debate actually, i had my option quite sorted out since long !...

he had his own list to consider... and the super list was : A BMW Z4 Roadster, Infinity G37, a chevy camaro, a ford mustang, Nissan 370Z roadster...

that is hell of a dream list to pick one from... we debated this one for sure and I suggested to go for a chevy camaro or a ford mustang.. 2010 versions.. .. he definitely wants a Z4 i guess since long...

it tells a lot about ur personality when u pick up from a list of cars like this... :).. and there is an association u make with a car... .. chck out the Transformers special edition ford mustang and you will know what I am talking about... These beauties make a statement, dont they ??

and i definitely want to do street racing in one of those monsters custom fitted with K&N filters and exhausts, alloys, attractive decals, sexy spoilers, hoods, tinted glasses, blue lights beneath the skirts, damped sounds and nitrous power !.. ready to hit that NOX button !! with hotties flaggin off the race and the 360 degree at the end when you win !... :)... i can feel the adrenaline and i can smell the burning tyres... whoooooopieee...

but what a drive its going to be in either of these mean machines... guess I will have to go to the USA and buy one there .. not possible here in India as of now :) :)

but what choices and what cars... i can get sleepless nights if i had to choose from one of these !...

hopefully a ride in his car when I first visit there would suffice for now ...

so , whats ur pick ? ??... spoilt for choices ? I bet !

My Pick : Chevy Camaro or Chevy Corvette

someday !

Manavadar, Visavadar : Traditions still live !

once again passing through the green patches of land and tree clad highways from Junagadh to a village about 70 kms from Junagadh...

Manavadar is a small village and we had to really pass through one of the smallest streets I have ever seen in my life .. a car could barely pass... The dealer we were supposed to meet asked us to have tea in a saucer.. me and my cousins always made fun of the saucers by pouring milk/tea in it and blowing air before drinking it.. it was for fun then... and later in corporate world a saucer was a formality... but here it was more of a compulsion and guess what.. the cup was not there at all... !! .. only a steel saucer... ! i somehow managed to drink it without dropping it... :) .. the warm greet of a customer we met and the small village confines were somehow very welcoming.. it reminded me of my ancestral village 'Rajpipla' which I used to go during summer holidays at school and the countless hours spent by the riverside throwing stones, taking a dip and walking back home to eat 'bajra rotlas' cooked on a 'chulha' and earthern pan alongwith ghee and jaggery !!... nights spent playing cards and sleeping on open terraces counting the stars till eyes gave up !.. Nostalgia surely returned...

then way back to Junagadh for lunch and then for the next destination that was a village called Visavadar.. we have a smalltime dealer here.. this guy is a typical villager, he welcomed us very warmly and ordered Thums-Up .. called his father and brother also to meet us... had proudly put up the merchandise given by my company in his shop..... I just could not stop being amazed by the simplicity of these people and the very humble nature... My driver had some stomach issues and was having a bad pain, the dealer's father took him to the local 'vaidh' who cured him with some herbs and a massage... i was amazed.. wish we had some village preparation instead of the cola... economy thrives in such places too !.. and this just added to the nostalgia i was already going through !!.. the way back was very pleasant and so were my thoughts...

Traditions still live, lets not loose them.. lets not forget our peaceful childhoods in the race to lay tarmac everywhere we can...

----------------------------
Total ODO = 260 kms
Date of Travel : 10th Sep09

Kodinar : The Cement Land !

The name had some religious bearing on my mind due to presence of a KulDevi temple here.. ..

but the place is famous for Gujarat Ambuja Cements' flagship cement plant and mines thereof.

One of the largest cement plants in India and obviously the largest cement manufacturing group in India (not very sure on that..).. This plant was a delight to visit... The entire plant is completely out of textbook in terms of operations.. Very clean, trying to be green, organized, safety first priority, helmets compulsory, well laid out pathways for travels, awesome security....

and this was my second visits here ... corporate meets and institutional sales too up my sleeve for a brief period !... a good change from the rural sales that I am doing !... queues of huge trucks full of cement loads passing by our car, and others operating in the deep mines... no wonder they are a good destination for us to sell tyres !! :)

I also visited Ultratech Cements' facility at Rajula sometime back... Aditya Birla's flagship cement company !.. that was a site to cherish too...

a click from my cellphone to end the description !!

and I was on my way back to Junagadh via Veraval...

------------------------------------------
Total ODO = 250kms
Date of Travel : 27th Aug and 9th Sep09

Una (minus) the hot water springs....

nothing much to write about this small town... except the fact that its situated v close to the therapeutical hot water springs... which obviously i did not visit ! :).....

for me its some work here and there and the proximity to Diu that makes it of strategic importance, nothing else really ! :) but needs a mention since it is a place i frequent now...

Veraval : The fishy land :)

One place i always wanted to visit as a kid because of its rare attraction (in Gujarat) - The Beach !!

Finally went to this coastal part of India.. It was a four hour journey in an ST Bus from Junagadh. The first thing I noticed on entering Veraval was coconuts. what else !!

This place was a major seaport for the pilgrims of Mecca till the route through Surat came to the scene. It boasts of a continuous coast line which is majorly uninterrupted and non-commercialized. Lot of virgin coasts to explore. The sea here is absolutely stormy and the entire coastline rocky. The entire area is on a high alert and venturing into the seas for leisure is prohibited. I have only seen such ferocious nature of the seas when I went to Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram down South.... but atleast the coastlines there are smooth nd not rocky....

Veraval houses the Indian Rayon Plant of Aditya Birla Group (now known as Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.)... and the main industry here is fishery. There are hundreds of fishing boats lined up at the jetty which can be seen as one enters the city... flags flying high like the ones in Pirates of Carribean.. most of them being the flags of India to avoid being identified as trespassers by border security of India or neighbours...

A special note must go to the fact that the local fishing boats or trawlers are still made by tradition using only a measure tape and not any other instruments ! Strange !!

now i was caught unawares in this small coastal city. I had to return Junagadh by the night but got a call and had to visit Kodinar the next day.. so here I was without an extra pair of clothes, laptop, etc. etc... So I bought everything from this place to make me go one more day !.. including a mobile charger for my rare phone ! :)... Koutons to the rescue and 80 % Sale on Garments is all I wanted... :)
and was all set to leave for Una and then to Diu for the night stay (;))..... one more strange experience on this travel.. the bus was stuffed with villagers and i landed up on a seat between a strange smelling fat guy and a typical village lady who was probably taller than me and looked stronger too !.. .. the lady asked me whether the bus would stop at some village.. i could only say that I am going to Una and the rest I dont know, its better to ask the bus conductor. She looked at me as if I was a dumb person parcelled into the bus against my wishes! .. the person infront of me started smoking a bidi... could it get better ! n he was a chain smoker.. .. I just decided to take out my iPod... and as ssoon as i did that.. ppl around me looked at me like I was some alien.. the fatso next to me couldnt take his eyes off.. for a moment I thought I was going to get robbed., but gave in to the status quo !... Did I have options ! ? NO !.. Finally reached Una with my cellphone all discharged.. used the STD booth and contacted the person with whom I was supposed to go to Diu.. finally in the cozy confines of the ever so familiar Indigo LS...

finally after a good round of starters , here i am in Diu, Four down :) at 2.00 am !! .. .. Cheers ! ..
Long day tommorrow ahead.. got to get up at 7.00 am... :(:(

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Total ODO = 280 kms
Date of Travel: 27th Aug

Mangrol : Skirting the coasts again !

finally.. after a long time.. skirting coastlines again... this time in Gujarat ! ... n a welcome change. From the concrete coastline of Mumbai to coconut clad soothing line of sight, Mangrol comes a long way in one of the most beautiful places i traveled recently ! a small town situated on the South West Gujarat coastline... Covered with a lot of coconut trees all across the way and a very soothing breeze blowing through my hair, i fell in love with the place almost instantly... the entire road was flanked by huge banyan trees... and provided a splendid view at many locations... this place is a major fishing point... and the fishermen here are famous for venturing into deep seas and getting caught by our neighbours for trespassing !

the market place was crowded, narrow and typical of any small town you can imagine.... where we had to meet some dealers ..

though my affair with the place was limited... it does leave a lasting impression on my mind... i have more towns to visit on this coastal belt of Gujarat in the coming days... and am looking forward to it... about it later as and when i visit 'em..

its been a long day today.. with Junagadh - Keshod - Mangrol - Veraval travelled..... now in a hotel on the highway... crashing into the bed was never better...

afterall it pays to get a sound sleep after a fulfilling and tiring day ! :)

Total ODO = 200kms

Junagadh, Girnar : Second Look - And m here to stay :)

well, i got posted at Junagadh from Rajkot... coz my company wanted me to taste more of rural sales !! get my hands dirty, speak dirty and get dirty :)

the same beautiful mountains (Girnar Range) greeted me, the same lush greenery around and the same old walls covered with algae...

on the second day, i just took a detour from the normal road on my sales associate's bike... he was surprised but didnt complain... i just asked him to drive towards the greens... and it started getting lovely...

i could not resist and took the bike from him and drove ... feeling the fresh wind and pure air... finally, i saw the old fort i had mentioned about earlier after which Junagadh is named... ('Juna' means Old and 'Gadh' means Fort )!! it stood at a distance in all its majesty having survived almost 16 sieges.. and as old as about 2300 years .. .. covered in algae and walls almost black-green...

we asked the local ppl around the way to the fort and reached the entrance. Surprizingly, bikes allowed inside fort ! for Rs. 5 ... and whattta ride...

entire junagadh could be visible from the top... cannons displayed... winding paths... covered with dark green plants and trees on both sides... bike ride couldnt get better.... A spot where we saw a peacock dancing !! and another from where the Girnar Peak could be seen.... There he stood in all its majesty covered in clouds neck deep.. seemed as if he was trying to bow down and try to have a peek at the residents and tourists below. !

it was time-up as the fort closes at 6.30pm, so i decided to come again, with my camera and in the company of early morning Sun ...

Also, visited the footsteps of Girnar mountain where people come in huge numbers to climb the 10,000 odd steps to reach the peak and worship there... Girnar is a collection of mountains here.. and the highest peak in Gujarat (about 3600 feet).

my stay in Junagadh is definitely going to keep me busy... and i hope to find a trekking expedition group too here ! ...

All r invited... All expenses paid... Sponsored by me ! :)... here z a look from the fort !



M here to stay !

Thats My Life... Thats My Life...

its lonely out here... but the greens are shining bright...

i enjoy the nature, its bounty.. i admire the mountains..

i keep myself busy.... i try not to be pensive ...

i travel... i write, i sleep... i try to smile...

and the dreadful hour comes back.. it ruins my peace...

i cry, i curse and i suffer... and i try to find a soul to talk to...

i wait for the phone to ring...but i dont know what to talk..

and i wait for a ping... but i dont know whom to talk..

then i see pictures of my friends... whom i did treasure and cherished good times with..

but nobody is around... and nothing is as beautiful...

and i gaze into the sky.... the mountains, trees, the tarmac winding...

i feel good... i am not alone... i say.. they too feel the same...

and i wipe off my tears.. .. walk ten steps ahead and smile..

jus waiting for the next five to retreat...............................

..................................................................and the dreadful hour comes back...


thats my life.. thats my life...

Gandhidham, Bhuj : No Earth Shake this time .. :)... only Tyre Mathematics

Ahmedabad to Bhuj... what a travel...
that was the first time i was travelling to the North-West Gujarat... very near to the famous Kachh region, Anjar (the earthquake disaster town), Bhuj (for earthquake again) and Gandhidham.. the transport hub near Kandala Port !!....

couldnt really know much about Bhuj.. as we had a quick meeting in the morning, followed by a lavish lunch (the gujju way, obviously) .. .. finnnnngerrr licking gooood.... :)..... nd yah topped with 4 glasses of butter milk ... and yummy gulab jamuns...

and we headed to the next destination ... Gandhidham... the plan was to go to Rajkot the same day... but i planned to stay one more day in Gandhidham and visit the high-potential market here... and get an opportunity to visit Kandala Port .. as i have never visited a port.. . but my dreams were dashed ... i was told that due to security threats, nobody is allowed to visit ports without prior permissions or official work :(... man, i so wanted to see the huge ships, the containers, the trailers with 18 wheels carrying these containers, the big cranes lifting them, ...

next time, maybe ..

the entire next day i spent in market... and found out that there are huge customers who own roadlines and these are the people who mint real money... what am i even doing making a career out of selling tyres :)... its better to start a roadlines business !!... these biggies.. command a great respect in the market, they have swanky cars, offices, n number of assistants, a great demanding power in terms of lowering prices with vendors ; almost arm twisting..(including us!) just because of the sheer volumes that they operate on...

to get things into perspective... a big roadlines guy has about 450 vehicles operating. lets say these are 10 wheels in each one... the mathematics goes like this ....

Vehicles - 450
Total Tyres - 450*10 = 4500
Tyre Consumption per month = 300 to 400 atleast
Cost of 1 truck tyre = 12,000 (approximately)
Business Opportunity (for ppl like us) = 400*12,000 = 48,00,000 PER MONTH
nd thats a whopping Rs. 5,76,00,000.. PER ANNUM...

and thats just one of those customers hovering in his BMW as he whizzes past us....

no wonder my company expects me to convert one of them into a loyal :) .... Someday ... yes.

allright, that was Gandhidham... the city which started and got over in a span of 3 kms....

took a bus from there to Rajkot and crashed into bed by 1 in the night....

needless to say, tyre mathematics was the only thing i dreamt of that night !

Travel Date : 27-28th July 2009

Junagadh, Keshod, Saradia - Rural Travel... at its GREEN Best !

nex destination was Junagadh.. at about 105 kms from Rajkot, this place really surprized me...

The entire region was green... covered with lovely stretches of lush green fields and trees doting the entire road. I was told that this place is normally this good even when its not raining. The rains and the weather just added to the beauty around.. even the walls of the old buildings in Junagadh were covered with Algae and moss.. (maybe that explained the age of those walls or the proximity to the sea)... there are a couple of things worth mentioning about Junagadh.. one is the fact that it is situated at the foothills of the Girnar Mountain, which could be seen from the city easily covered in clouds at the peak.. and secondly the remains of the fort which has till date undergone 16 sieges during various times from the mauryan empire to the last of Mughals.. it was built by Changragupta during the Mauryan empire in 319 BC !! so it was roughly built before 2300 years... !! and it was covered for about 300 years in between after which it was rediscovered... Amazing !

The first thing I did was to eat after reaching there.. i was damn hungry and we got hold of a small shop which was dishing out lip smacking 'gathias' and 'bhajiyas'.. now, as a kid and at my hometown, i normally never liked those 'gathias' but here it was totally different.. once i started hoggin on them, there was no looking back.. within minutes i ate almost 200 gms of these delicious things with fried chillies... the entire region, the whole Saurashtra for that matter gorges on these delicacies apart from the Kathiyawadi food that i was mentioning earlier..

so now, we had to travel to a village called 'Saradia'.. and the dealer we met in Junagadh arranged bikes for us... and this was one travel i would always remember for many reasons.. one, it was a bike ride of almost 60 kms (one-way), second, it was interesting to note that each remote part of Gujarat is connected by very good roads, third, there was greenery all around and rivers and water bodies coming over the way just added to the serenity. fourth, i got hit by a stone in the eye.. it was nerve-wrecking for me for sometime coz i guess, it had damaged my pupil a little.. but i was fine in sometime..

Saradia - a village which had just one main cross-roads and some shops here and there... we inspected a tractor tyre tehre and were on our way back.. when we realized half way that one of the bike had to take a detour and we would have to go triple seat on the single bike.. that was adding to the already paining ass of mine and now my back and legs were added to the pain-tally.

finally we got a bus from a village called 'Vanthalli' to Keshod..

Now keshod is another town situated in this region, and i was told that though being smaller than Junagadh, it is more prosperous than the former... there was a road that led to 'Mangrol' village that was where we were supposed to meet a customer... what is worth mentioning here is that Keshod has an AIRPORT !!! yes!! it was used earlier by the nawabs to escape to Pakistan... today it is not used for regular flights, but it is used for chartered air-planes of ministers and big shots...

the meet went fine and we were back in a bus that took us from Keshod to Rajkot.. and on the way, i couldnt stop seeing the greenery and feeling the fresh air through the window panes that was gushing inside...

one more thing worth observing was that Vodafone has branded all the bus stations in Gujarat almost.. or at least the entire Saurashtra region.. wondering if vodafone has left any stone unturned in branding activities...

that took care of the day and was back in Rajkot by around 11 pm.... all in all it was a GREEN day... nd it also inspired me to write a poem while i was in the bus returning from Keshod... which is in the other post..

Total ODO = 320 kms
Date of Travel : 21st July 2009

Conversations with Man ! Wish Nature could speak !

As I travelled in the lush green Junagadh region of Gujarat.... i couldnt help but pen this down and as if the eye-soothing green patches of land actually conversed with me...

.. n so there it goes... ...

....

He first said, so beautiful you are, can i stay?
She said yes- u r my son, all i have is yours, i say.

He said I will cut some green and use it for survival
She said yes - go ahead, take your fill, make your life beautiful.

He said i will dig you and make a ranch
She said yes - my love will hold you and give you all the strength.

He said there will be pollution in waters and air
She said yes - that is your right; but be careful, do not impair.

He said all is destroyed and survival is rare
She said yes - but try and reconstruct, bliss will surely be there.

And Man finally said am moving out for a better life elsewhere
Mother Nature said yes - Son, You devoured and destroyed your own mother,
U will find peace nowhere !

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Penned in the bus from Junagadh to Rajkot on 21st July 2009....

Pizza Express to Nestle to Parle.... The 'Brand' Spiral (Down) !

... Ceaser Salad, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pizza Exotica with extra olives... Lunch Anyone ?? Heaven for a foodie like me...

that was my typical lunch menu a few years back while I was working in an office with plush interiors (requires a mention, since i don't have one now .....) and a decent salary to splurge on...

sometime later, i became a student again... shifted to a rented flat on a sharing basis... with modest budgets and a student life.... my lunch menu comprised of Maggi noodles and Tropicana Orange juice (if lucky)... so that i could save for some exotic dinners over the weekends or a movie ticket in Mumbai.... But, we all need to bow down and thank Nestle for providing me (and I bet many others) nutrition most of the times and fueling my studies(lol) with those lip smacking Maggi noodles... i felt i was degraded and had stepped down two-three levels... but was optimistic coz I would soon become a 'Manager' of sorts and have my 3 course meals again... or even better... the best part was my shopping bag in any super-store consisted of loads and loads of Maggi.. and I had tasted almost every type of Maggi and the all other brands available.... but as long as i saw many similar 'noodle-doodles' around ... i wasn't complaining !!

and voila, here I am today .. yes i did become a 'Manager'.. and did start earning more than what i used to... enough to fund a 4 course everyday... but what do i feed on ? Any stretch of contextual, degraded, & wild imagination would lead to an answer - 'normal food maybe'... but when i am on the field or even in office, most of the days go surviving on packet of Parle G.... (that's the most nutritious of the options i get, i guess !)... its generally lack of time... and no company to have food with that are the reasons...!! ... and my regional office is situated outside the city limits... huh ! Was someone mentioning Plush offices with its own cafeterias and exotic restaurants around ???? .... thing of past (and maybe future) ..

so is there some kind of a law applying here ?? my designation and salary have been rising... but the food (esp Lunch) that I am eating has fallen down to standards that are way beyond imagination !... as they say in MBA parlance... i did some vertical Integration... but horizontal integration seems to be missing... but the question is, can they both go hand - in - hand ?? :) (sorry if i got it wrong.... lol.... no point getting baffled, my MBA concepts aren't the best in the class.... probably Maggi doesnt have enough stimulants for the brain....)

So from IT Industry to MBA Uni to Manufacturing...
form Senior Software Engineer to Student to Manager-Sales N Marketing....

its been a downward spiral ... from Pizza Express to Nestle (Maggi) to Parle (Parle G)...

wondering whats next ? could there be anything left ? maybe i ll reduce to the smallest available size of Parle G :):):) or Cadburys (Eclairs) !!! hmm... worth a thought...

but who cares, the missing courses will be added to the dinners ;)... !!!
And besides, I am loosing some extra pounds and getting back to shape ! :)

So, Cheers ! And I aint complaining......

Rain, Rain Come Again...

Finally...the clouds oblige... and the Gods agree... :)

this land has long starved for rain and water... there are water woes amongst residents, farmers, everyone...

Rains here meant happiness all around.. but with the expectation that it will rain more.... and a little more consistent...

only 2 days after i came here i realized that there are acute water problems here... in households and farmlands.. i was lucky to be in a hotel and didnt realize that....

i too enjoyed my bit in the rains by walking across the street, eating some steaming boiled eggs, dabeli (gujju version of vada pao), and some more street food.. that was my dinner...

signing off with hopes that Rains will fall nice and good here and make everyone happy and content...

Khambhalia - The land of GHEE

yup... even i did not know that GHEE was exported to various places in and around India from this small village in the district of Jamnagar...

It is about 60 kms from Jamnagar Mainland...It boasts of a population of about 37,000 and could be more because those are old census figures... lets take 50,000 …. A typical small railway station and a deserted bus stand find a place in the middle of this town…

There are a lot of dumper owners and farmers in this area… there are some two dams here where these dumpers operate... and it has ruined remains of fort walls...surrounding the place..

Just when I was dismayed at the site of this town and it was lunch time… the dealer we were visiting took us to a fabulous restaurant at the main cross roads… it was called Hotel Milan. It was as big as a 5-6 BHK apartment… and had excellent Kathiyawadi food… I couldn’t stop eating the theplas (everybody knows that), dhokli (something like besan ka gatta), undhiyu (a gujarati speciality), bharela bataka (stuffed potatoes) and drank almost 4 glasses of butter milk… lovely food… if I could just have had a bed for a short nap... the best part was customer service… the owner himself went to each and every table (about 40-50 tables in total) and asked if we are done and want more or had any issues… …this guy earns handsomely because of this place and does not bother to open the restaurant on a Sunday and public holidays… STRANGE !! … that was what was told to me… ..
so do visit Hotel Milan if anybody is remotely close to this place .. and as someone put it.. “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach….” Very True here !

Travel Date : 9th July 2009

Jamnagar : The OIL Land....

JADA welcomes u… that was the first message conveyed to me while we entered Jamnagar – the prosperous city/town (thanks to Reliance and their biggggg refinery)…

What I observed was a grand entrance with some paintings with light up facility for the night on the two pavements by the side of the road .. it was a very beautiful sight..….. there were NIRMAL Gujarat 2007 boards running along with the roads… so the first impressions were good… I was keen on seeing the Reliance refinery but it was a one day trip, so that was out of question… though i observed the Reliance township somwehere out of Jamnagar.. it was huge, clean and green... and they had their own mall and auto repair shop, etc....

Whether you have anything in the entire Saurashtra or not, but there will be Pan Masala shops for sure… and any place you go, they will offer you tea and pan masala.. which they call ‘faki’ in the local language…. Everybody invariable eats that ‘faki’.. and the TL assured me that I too will eat that within a month of staying in this region. I hope that’s not true :) :)

Jamnagar is a district and a big town with a population of about 4.5 lakhs and boasts of a solid power sector and oil refineries. Reliance, ESSAR, etc have a strong presence in this belt... Air Force, Army and Navy all have strategically important base locations here ....

but what Jamanagar seems to be famous for is a mention in the popular soap - 'kyuki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi..' .. thats what a friend from DELHI remarked when she heard about Jamnagar :)... Are you listening Reliance ????

Travel Date : 9th July 2009

What A Day .... Sales n Marketing.. here I come..

What a day !! Had been expecting it though…

This is where my sales n marketing career starts I guess J….

I started at about 7.30 am in the morning to catch a bus for a village called ‘Khambhalia’ … couldn’t get a seat in the state transport bus… so me and the other person traveling with me took a bus to ‘Jamnagar’… the rattling bus took about 2.5 hours to reach Jamnagar.. .i was sitting at the window and the Sun was shining bright on me directly… felt I would soon get a stroke… J… but I survived…

From Jamnagar, we took a bus to Khambhalia for a 1.5 hour journey… Finally reached the village and went to the OE guy …

Had great food and finished work… started for Jamnagar again and reached at 6.00 pm to do some more work at the local depot there…

Left Jamnagar at about 8 pm in the night and reached Rajkot at 11 pm, had dinner and crashed into my bed..

The best part about the whole thing was that it gave me an insight into the life of a traveling sales n marketing guy… and the fact that I would be doing this more often gives me a good feel because this is something I like to do and feeling drained at the end of the day leaves me satisfied with everything… Allright, we could subtract the ST Buses from the day’s story… but as I read in an article about a talk at one of the IIMs by Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan (Executive Director – TATA Sons).. one has to dirty his/her hands and feel the ground realities before rising up the ladder… so this seems to be my tryst with reality and understanding of the industry that I work in…

And its so far so good… I am loving it ! ! Whats next !

Total ODO - 360 kms

Day 3... Nothing much happening..

so yah.. its been 3 days here at Rajkot already... nothing much seems to be happening... the work seems to pick up a bit slow... one or two inspections at customer sites and the CnF here... and the day ends...

the temperature is really soaring.. and coming from humid land - Mumbai, its getting difficult adjusting.. .. ...

had a tough time searching for a new budget hotel for accommodation and finalizing for a month z deal... but finally did it... its a place called 'Hotel Savera' n i hope my mornings are as good as the name goes... :)

the food really doesn't seem to interest me till now... except the first day lunch at a good kathiywadi restaurant... or i am yet to identify the right kind of spots for the lip smacking food...

hoping to have more eventful days ahead... loads of traveling in store i guess....

Kathiawadi Food Calls me... Rajkot z the land...

the first thing that comes to my mind when i say the word 'Rajkot' is the amazing kathiawadi food, sodas, pan masala ... being a foodie thats all i can think of ..
on a more serious note.. rajkot was one of the locations that i had never been being born and brought up in Gujarat... and neways, leaving Mumbai was giving me cold feet... so when i got my posting at Rajkot, it was a mixed reaction for me...

i landed rajkot on Sunday 5th July, 2009 in the evening... interestingly this is the same date when i started my corporate life and career at Satyam (now merged with Tech Mahindra)... and rajkot is the same place where my Naanaji (grandfather) started his great career with... so gives me some positive vibes about this city... :) :)

the first new thing that happened to me was the air india flight... i had never been in an air india flight before... the terminal 1A was different and supreme... the only thing missing in air india's decor was girls... the entire ground staff seemed to be made up of middle and old aged uncles (with all due respect to their working efficiency)...

when i boarded the flight.. i found older air-hostesses.. which initially did give me a feeling that they(the airlines) are loosing out on something(service) by employing them... but to my surprize.. they gave an excellent service.. and sometimes i guess they would look after the passengers better than the younger hot shot girls... and they were more decently dressed than the so called kingfisher bombshells... and gave a more natural smile and service... natural z the word... it feels so artificial with the other airlines... i just hope it was just not my flight that was lucky... and all air india crew is like that...

so i was not cribbing about the staff atleast... :) ... looking fwd to travel again... Maharaja style..

so time to land rajkot... the airport was real small and got over as soon as i entered it :)... decent though and i saw tractors there pulling the walkways and luggage trolleys... amazing usage of tractors !!!!!

i took an auto to the hotel i was booked in... and the first feel of rajkot was very positive... passed through the famous race course and ring road.... gave an amazing site... i always thought its only baroda, ahmedabad and surat that makes up the urban Gujarat... but here was a city unexpored (by me) and am eager to explore more now...

going in with a positive mind... and enjoying each day as it comes.. thats what is my mindset right now..

i am missing all my friends in mumbai as i am alone here... but i am sure time will make me meet em all again... and soon...

so cheers to Rajkot... ahhh.. i forgot its a dry state (minus the boot legging)!!!
so, Kem Cho Rajkot...

Nashik : The Valley of Wines...

yup.. finally visited Nashik... the much awaited destination... not for anything else, but for the vineyards and the wines....

it was a one day trip... nd we set out for Nashik in a Ford Ikon... (one of the cars i always wanted to buy as a kid... no longer though !) - the Josh Machine. And it did pump in some josh for me.... the car, the destination, the beautiful scenic roads... and the wine ! did i miss somethin ? uh, ah... the factory visit :) .....

we had a factory visit lined up for the day but most of us were waiting for the SULA vineyard visit... so finally we managed to get there... it was an amazing place and the place directly overlooked a big yard where these grapes were grown and surrounded by mountains and a serene lake on one side.... the Sun was about to set... and we started having wines... it was pure bliss... some of the wines were really good... and learning and understanding wines was never so much fun... the two ladies with us didnt want to wait there and were giving us cold looks.... but couldn't help it.. they had no choice... finally they too gave up and joined for the wine-tasting .... and yah, needless to say, we all had a lot of fun...

we bought some wines to take them back home... and cherished them for two or three more occasions later...

wines, cheese, exotic flutes, and soft music... ..... candle lights anyone ???

Mumbai : Here I come again....

All right, my travels seem to have started... and i guess this is what its going to be like in the profession of 'Sales n Marketing'... so i thought why not write about my travels and experiences... so here goes...

so the first destination (joining) was Mumbai as the company i work for has its heavenly abode (HO) in Mumbai.... we were treated like kings and queens in the first 10 days of our induction programme.... we stayed near Nariman Point and we went to a fantastic outbound at Kolad some 150 kms away from Mumbai...

all said and done, the city still held the same surprises for me... being there and having stayed for almost 2 years, the city still did show me new things... for the first few days i had shifted from a 'auto driven' area to a 'taxi driven' area... and found that these taxiwalas operate on an amazing efficiency with a FIAT that is as old as 20 years.... there are holes under the leg area below the front seat.... and there are broken window panes and door handles... i literally had to hold the door with my hands in one of the taxis, else i would have been thrown out :).... but they give motion to the better Mumbai...

the late night travel in the local trains give such a refreshing feeling, especially when one stands near the door and feels the wind .... that's when u experience the dynamism of mumbai... thats when u experience the pace of mumbai... nd thats when you feel that you have to stretch to the limits to have a fulfilling life in this land of dreams....

nd then there were some nice evenings that we spent... at Leopold, Boat Club-Bandra, Firangi Paani, Sky Lounge, InOrbit, Oberoi, Marine Drive, and ofcourse the chummrey at Malad....

the highlight of Mumbai this time though was the great friends I made at my new organization.... hope these friendships will go a long way ...... for years to come...

the city never sleeps.... and the party never ends... all you need is enthusiasm and the spirits (of all kinds...) :)

CHEERS..
Make it Large

Adieu NM !

True, its time to leave this place where I spent two of the most important years of my life. It becomes important, as I think, to mention what made these two years important for me and all my friends @ NMIMS ! So here z a non-serious way of looking around.....

Academics :

First trimester could be named "Sincerity", while the last one "Formality" ...
Someone(read: handful) tried to master the credit system, others(read: almost all) tried to avoid the attendance system !...

Love/or Whatever :

some tried to search for love... some met love ... some others lived love... while some just made love.... ;) ..
don't be disheartened the rest... u ll get the best ! :)

Hangouts :

If the Quad was too crowded, ASIAD was the gateaway... If classrooms were too drowsy, CCD/Prithvi welcomed us... If nothin was apparent, hostels/flats were the Den... If debts were running an all-time high, dont worry bhai.. its Juhu Beach and Chai..... If hunger stopped us from studying (!!), Madhav, Cooper, Anand Vada-Pav, McD, Maggi were the 'in-thing'...

They Came, They Drank, They Still Do :

some continued the tradition of getting High.. some took to the new High... some started drinking coffee... others graduated from coffee to vodka... the regulars stuck to their whiskies n rums... the fun gang loved to empty beer drums...

Specializations n Placements:

Finance n Marketing went up for the crown, but nothing survived the western storm... HR n Ops did not want to frown, but couldnt help following the norm ....

Lectures:

some(read: almost none) of them made a little sense... the others (read: almost all) really were termed "what the hell"...

Friends:

These were the people whom we know... who made this journey a great love... nd when the chips were down, these were always there to frown... the coffees, the beers and the hanging around.... were always cherished aloud.. ..

who knows where will we land up tomorrow... but with such friends around, there surely seems no sorrow...

That sums up the journey called - NMIMS; Its about fun, cheers, nd chats !!!

Delhi 6 : Ek Soch !

Allright, I am not here to lambast this movie; instead I feel it is one of the very good movies made off late.

Almost all the reviews I have read/heard from critics, friends and relatives (barring a few exceptions) about this movie have been dismal.

Getting straight to the point. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has once again proved that he has made a movie out of a thought process. Though this might have gone unnoticed in this one (unlike Rang De Basanti). Right from the word go, Delhi 6 takes you to the old delhi. And in a way embarks on a journey that is thought provoking yet very subtle.

Many little and simplistic things in the movie depict the fact that there is an old Delhi in every city of India today. This is the part of the country that was once rich in traditions, culture, unity amongst people and there was widespread brotherhood and love. An era of innocence, an era of LIFE. This has all ended in a bid to sensitize issues over petty advantages. From politicians taking advantage of the situations to religious pundits voicing their concerns to a fake 'baba' commenting on the existence of temples and mosques; Delhi-6 comes a long way in showing what we have lost as a race. Every city today boasts of a nostalgic glorious past where people rejoiced and life sang. Today this very region has been converted into partitions of hatred between hindus, muslims or sikhs. Take Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Chennai, Calcutta, Pune or any other city in India. There is a part of every city that reminds us of culture, people, peace and harmony over high-rises, malls, new roads n fly overs. We have lost this part of city. And in a way, as a race we have lost our identity in the pursuit of seemingly better avenues.

The other aspect which is directly conveyed in the movie is about the thought process and a "doubt" that is present in every human being's mind. And it is this doubt (nicely portrayed as a Kala Bandar in the movie) that leads to crimes, divisions, greed and mistrust. If you kill the negative doubt, walls break, religions unite, trust prevails and life sings a happy song.

This is seemingly the unseeming message conveyed in the movie. The direction is simplistic and keeps one engrossed. The idea is to try and not miss the point while watching the movie.

Signing off with what quoted by Abhishek Bacchan in the movie - "India Works, And it's the people that make it work!"