Route #13 Trip to Dalhousie

Landsdowne, Kulu, Manali, Dalhousie, Goa, Kashmir...all these places came up on the drawing board. The aim was to make a trip of the Route #13 gang to one of these places in the month of September, 2010. Well, finally Dalhousie hit the bull's-eye. Thus started the planning, packing and discussions on the Dalhousie trip. The final trip members (name initials) were - KM, RP, BK, YS, SG, SM and PD.

Day-1 (Friday, September-10-2010)

Today we had the train (Malwa Express) at morning 6:00 AM. The initial plan was to have everyone depart from home and meet at the railway station. But, as luck would have had it one of the trip members (YS) had a grave-yard shift in office. Well, a baby-sitter was assigned (KM - was 'volunteered') who could accompany the trip member from Gurgaon to the railway station in the earlier hours of Friday.

Thus Friday, at 3AM in the morning, in some of the apartments alarm-clocks started ringing. Last minute packing was done, folks refreshed and started giving updates (SMS) to get the other folks to hurry-up. Not to forget SG had tucked into her baggage a torch with new cells (mind it !) at the last moment - in case required. Gladly, we also accepted SG bro's offer for a lift to the railway station :-)

Finally, the gang (KM, RP, BK, YS, SG, SM and PD) came together at the Railway station. The train, as usual was around 50 min(s) late. While we waited, snacks and fruits were packed up at the railway station. A slight drizzle followed, but could hardly dampen down the enthusiasm of the Route #13 gang on their way to Dalhousie.

Thus started the train journey to Chakki Bank (nearest rail station to Dalhousie). Off course there were Rummy, UNO [well, need I say that out of the initial 10 rounds of UNO - PD won 8 rounds ], dots-n-dashes. Then off-course there was the getting off at pit-stops and trying to take a few snaps here and there.

As we approached our destination, the greenery of the nature greeted us. The pollution, dust and honking of the city were no more there.

The quite and peaceful surroundings greeted us.


Reached Chakki Bank, and hired a Innova till Sunday. The gang piled into the Innova and off we started for the 4 hrs drive uphill to Dalhousie, via Chamba.Off-course, there was a stop-over for chai-pani (and also to stabilize YS - who seemed to be having rounds of motion sickness!!).

Near the chai-pani (tea) stopover, a steam was seen and everybody ran away to the stream (well, and photo session followed). After photo-shoot and snacks, we continued with our drive to Dalhousie. Reached there around 7pm, and check into the Dalhousie Circuit House (near Ghandi Chowk). Accommodation arrangements, courtesy of KM :-)

We refreshed a bit, and went down for a stroll to Ghandi Chowk (~2 kilo-meter from Circuit House). Did a bit of window shopping, had sizzling bread-omlette, chilled Khulphi and smoking hot tea. Finally, we walked back to the Circuit House following the Figure-Of-8 from Ghandi Chowk to Subash Chowk, via bear trail to the Circuit House.

Off-course, to pep-up the moment there we discussions of Bear, Leopard and Monkeys all the way ! Not to be forgotten even in the city (bear trail) stroll, at least 3-4 of the members had their fear-factor fall flat on the ground. Also, to be mentioned SG's torch (with new cells) which failed to light up even 1 cm of the path !!

Came back to Circuit House, had fresh home-made dinner (made by the Circuit House cook), gossiped a bit (about ghosts, ghouls and the super-natural) and packed up for the day. SG even spotted a light-bulb flickering on it's own (with no power on) at mid-night in one of the rooms !! Boooooo...

Day-2 (Saturday, September-11-2010)

RKP, BK, SM and PD were up and awake in the early hours. They were ready and waiting for the lazy sleepy-heads (read KM, SG and YS) to get ready. The ready folks went for a stroll to watch the Dalhousie morning. Once all were ready and waiting for the Innova to arrive, photo shoot followed in-n-around the Circuit House.

The Innova arrived and we started of for the day's sight-seeing, trekking and hiking adventure. First was a quick stop for breakfast (after all, as the saying goes - an army cannot march on empty stomach !!). A forest trail was spotted (trekking site) was spotted near the area, but for greater good to cover the day's itinerary we finished breakfast and went ahead.

First stop was the Kali temple, and as per our driver it was a 1 kilo-meter only. We all started off fresh to cover the distance in a wink of an-eye.

Later we came to know that it was 1 kilo-meter distance apart in altitude and not by distance. BK got the first shock ..when he kept walking on and on, and there were no signs of the temple. He gave his golden remark.... "Oh Bhaisaab !! we should present distance measuring equipment to these local folks" :O . On the way, we met areas of echo-point and SM and SG shouted out to listen to the echo from the surrounding hills !!

Our next stop was Khaijjar - the meadows that are called the Switzerland of India. It is a low lying meadow surrounded by conifer forests and hills. The view is quite amazing. Off-course to add to the scenery, there are horse-rides, balloon-rolls and para-gliding !

The group had a lazy walk in the meadows (off-course with continuous photo shoots) and had snacks of bhel-puri, chilled milk and bhutta (corn). Here in the romantic meadows of Khaijjar, KM also have induction to SM on some specific herbal medicine he was inquisitive to learn about !! :-)

Had a late lunch at Khaijjar, and around 5pm we departed for Kala-top. After reaching Kala-top and the initial refreshments, we started the hike to the hilltop. Kala-top is a forest reserve and is a dense forest infested with bears and other wind animals.

It was a 3 kilo-meter hike and we reached the hill-top just in time to view a eye-catching breath-taking sunset. Well, post sunset came the issue of returning to base...in the dark, through the forest with bears and leopard (here at the hill top, at sunset we came to know that the forest also had leopards!!).

The wild-animals scare did not dampen the spirits. We had our quota of hot Maggi noodles, sizzling bread-omlette, tea and coffee at the hilltop. By the time we started the trek down, it was pitch dark. The path was hardly visible and the trees and shadow's created illusion of wild animals to the eyes.

With no light, out came our cell-phones - with whatever light we had from the displays/LEDs of the cells and lots of singing of "po po po po po po" (no time to dance !!), we marched down the hill. The path was now slushy and some of the areas were pitch dark...when even the person walking in front was hardly visible !

What took more than 1 hour to climb up, we climbed down in 22 minutes flat ! Down-hill climb was accelerated with a sprinkling of fear-factor as everyone was expected a bear or a leopard to spring out from the next turn or from the dense jungle. Courage was put to test - finally we reached base (but not without a few hair-rising yells here and there from YS !!!), where BK delivered his million dollar outburst - "Yaar, Koi mere ko ...(call of nature)" .

After reaching the base and on our way back, it was a remembrance of the fact that - A Cat has 9 lives, wonder how many a human being has ?- We reached Circuit House, refreshed and had dinner.

Then the general gossip started remembering the adventured we had today. SM and BK packed up for the day - too much excitement in one night was enough for them !!

The Kala-top adventure had made the sleep of rest of the members vanish...so late mid-night we decided to take a Dalhousie stroll. The mid-night nature was quite refreshing (stroll went on till 2am in the morning) and then we called it a day.

Rumor has it that SG and YS made an attempt to scare the others in the middle of the night ! But it was a flop-show as the 'others' did not get scared !!

Day-3 (Sunday, September-12-2010)

Morning all folks were refreshed and ready. A quick check was done to ensure everyone was out of the Kala-top hangover. BK was still heard chanting "Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram.....". Breakfast was at Circuit House and we started off for the day. The plan was to visit Panjpulla, come back to Circuit house by 3 PM and leave for Chakki Bank for the onwards journey to Delhi.

We reached Panjpulla - known for the waterfall, Ganji Top (hill top with only grasslands and no trees) and a temple. A moderate trek (in slight drizzle) took us to the waterfall. A photo shoot ensured that all remembrances were captured digitally. , with the fun-n-frolic over, we started the trek to the temple ~2 kilo-meters (or so we thought !!).

After 30-45 minutes into the hike (a steep climb), we came to know that we had been climbing the wrong hill !! The temple was on the other hill, and the current path will take us to Ganji Top (~8-9 kilo-meters). On hearing this, BK almost made a dash downhill !! We decided to make it to Ganji Top.

With renewed energy and fervor, we marched on the hard steep trail all the way to Ganji Top (we were also in a time-bound limit, as we had to return, pack-up and leave for Delhi). B K gave up in between and decided to spend some time idling and watching "wild" bulls grazing !!

The rest of the gang moved on for the final push to reach victory - Gangi Top. The top was breath-taking. One would watch the surrounding hills, the clouds giving the fly-past and the green pastures at Ganji Top (this top derives it name from the fact that it has no trees here). A Photo-shoot ensured.

Will all places covered (the final place that we covered been Subhash Bowli), we raced for lunch. Post lunch, we packed up from Circuit House and left for Chakki Bank (for the journey back to Delhi).

A quite memorable trip of Dalhousie which had it's own dose of trekking, hiking, scenic beauty and off-course not to forget the pitch-dark trek in the wild forest of Kala Top !

But then again, we decided to also meditate for World Peace :-)

Cheers !

It's The Time to BINGO !

The clock ticks as the hour hand nudges towards 1800 hrs. We wait as the seconds fly past, so that we can sign-off from a hard day's work. Then goes the hour gong, at the hour - ding ! dong ! ding ! dong ! (in the earlier days it used to be factory blow horn that would signal the end of the working shift).... well, this is the IT-industry and we have evolved. As the clock strikes the last gong, we are already out and gunning for the exit. After all it is 6pm in the evening...

Outside the office premises, we wait anxiously for the shuttle to arrive, sincerely hoping that today will be a lucky day and that the by-lanes will not get jammed by some rookie driver trying to pull a fast one to get home early. The usual scenario is a vehicle barging in from one of the side-lanes, and causing a perfect traffic grid-lock that consists of buses, trucks, autos, rickshaws, cars etc.

Finally the shuttle's start arriving. As we keep a sharp lookout for our shuttle - Route #13, few wonder why shuttle Route#22 is always the first one to arrive (will surely give the guru's of Probability Theory a run for their money!) ? Well, as the rumor goes - this is the route that has esteemed passengers as the building admin, IT support. Now who would like to up against the probability theory !!

Finally, our Route #13 shuttle arrives. We board and pick out our cosy corners. Some starting reading "management" books, others can be overheard attending "client" calls, general gossip on how to bring world peace can be heard and some are lost in their turmoil of thoughts. Mr. X stretches full length on the three seater and dozes off ! If it was a lucky day (for the Route #13 passengers), hot sizzling samosa's or bread-pakora's will be passed around. A whiff of the tempting samosa/pakora's is enough to get anyone hungry ! Well fed with the on-board snacks, the calories now start burning. Well, we did hear Mr. X snoring now !!

Then suddenly a distance voice can be heard "Bingo tickets ! Bingo tickets ! Bingo tickets !". Well, that's Ms. Y marketing bingo tickets. Fortunately there is only one option - buy the ticket or else :-)

That's inside-the-box (bus) marketing ! Thus starts the bingo ticket sale and fund collection. Once the funds are collected the Fund manager and Bingo coordinator (Oxford defiation: someone who is not eyeing the cash prize/saab moh maya hai ;-) are identified.

The prize money is decided and announced. The first full house has a cash prize of Rs 20 and the second full house has a prize of Rs 15. Off course, there are consolation prizes too. These are Rs 10 each for the first-diagonal, first any-row, first any-column and all-corners. The lights dim, lenses are cleaned, seating positions are adjusted. Pencils are sharpened....and the magic gadget makes an entry. Let the Fun begin.....

As the numbers roll out, with bated breath the Route #13 bingo players check the numbers flashing on the screen. Some exult in joy as favourable numbers come up, some give a glazed look as suddenly the numbers start looking Greek-n-Latin (at least not on their ticket) and some curse the ticket Then there are those, who peek at other's tickets and compute their chances of winning the Full House prize.

Then someone shouts 'Row' (well, that effectively means we have a player claiming the consolation prize for first any-row). As the fun proceeds, follow-up shouts echoes of 'Column', 'Diagonal' and finally 'Corners'.

The enthusiasm mounts as everyone now targets for the "Full House" (Rs 20 cash prize). This is the biggest Return On Investments (ROI - 400%) - best returns comparable to even the Switzerland bank. Balls keep rolling out, numbers keep getting cross out, the silence is deafening as folks keep a sharp watch on the Bingo numbers.

Then comes the shout...."BINGO ! BINGO !". A few jealous looks are passed at the winner, as the cash prize is dished out.

But then, all is not lost ! The second Full House is up for grabs. The count down starts again. This time it is a fight to the finish, as this will be the last cash prize and a chance to get a 300% ROI. Then the magic words are heard again..."BINGO ! BINGO !". This time a few looks does say..'well ! there goes my money!' :-)

All in all, a very entertaining game that has Route #13 travellers energized for the next group activity (to be discussed in next blog). Quoting a few lines from something I had read somewhere...

Going to play bingo

Not to do anything-o

To win me some cash

And go home in a flash

So now I can dance-o, sing-o and say Thanks BINGO !

Cheers!

To believe or Not to believe

Was watching this other movie, "The Man from Earth" (2007) - a simple story line of a circle of friends who arrange an impromptu goodbye party for one of their colleagues who was moving on after spending around 10 years in their community. One might say..what's so great about it ?

Well, John Oldman (the One who is moving on) while discussing (over a glass of green whiskey) the fact that he did not seem to have aged at all (in the last 10 years) and the possibility of existence of a stone-age man into modern times, triggers the thought process...with an innocent remark.

He recalls that he was lucky to have got a change to sail with Columbus, to discover new worlds (and almost assumed that the world was flat and they may fall off the edge any time). John goes to claim that he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years !! What a chance to learn. His colleagues (all acclaimed Prof. and Dr.) would not take it for granted and assume it is a scam that John was trying to pull on them. The human mind immediately take it as it's face value and doubts arise.

As the story evolves, John describes how as a stone age man, he had travelled, hunted and seen the world as it was in those days. He details about the places he had stayed, how his nomadic life became difficult as villages, cities and countries evolved. How centralization of authority caused him to keep changing his identity - as new faces were always looked upon with suspicion.

His colleagues move on from doubt to frustration. They bombard him with question's and John provides controlled answer's that reveals a little more about himself. This provokes more queries and continued interest.

John proceeds to tell how had he had traveled East (towards the rising sun, to get warmer and followed the trades routes), he arrived at India and met Dalai Lama. More queries arise, and he answers every single question immediately without any hesitation (no signs of a con artist). John’s friends swing between semi-belief and doubt. They probe for more answers seeking confirmation. John's presence has everyone hypnotized eager to get a glimpse of the complete truth.

John's touches on the subject of knowledgeable recall, goes on to say how he had traveled back to Rome - with a plan to spread Dalai Lama's preaching.

The plot unfolds into the brutalities of Roman empire and how his simple preachings are picked up and passed on as that of (greek) Yesus, now known as as Jesus Christ. He proceeds to narrate how he could block the pain (crucification) and revive himself (a skill he had learnt during his studies with Dalai Lama) and had tried to escape unnoticed. Unfortunately some his followers were praying at his grave - and thus Jesus was resurrected.

One has to keep wondering if John is an exceptional story teller with a gift of the art of persuasion. One has to watch the movie till the very end to conclude on the final call.

Equivalently, on our own home ground, watching the new NDTV Imagine reality-show "Raaj - Pichle Janam Ka" -- one can only tinker our thoughts and wonder ..."To believe or Not to believe".

PS: If you are looking for action - then "The Man from Earth" - is NOT the movie for you. The entire film is set in a living room and the plot revolves around only conversation and nothing else. No special efforts, no action stunts, no singing or dancing. Just talk.

Do not confuse this movie with an equivalent movie set, in which the complete movie is shot in one room. Guess which one ? It is "12 Angry Men" (the hindi equivalent been "Ek Ruka Hua Faisla").

Diary of a Daily Traveler - The Morning trip

Gone were the school days when one had to wake up early in the morning, pack your bags and stand in the chilling winter waiting for the school bus to arrive. Gone were the days were you will be fiddling around, as the bus went round in circles picking up all the folks and finally arrive for the pick-up/drop.

Those days were history (or so I thought !) when we joined the professional world. Now we had the regulated 8:30am (Bangalore) ITPL shuttle to office. But then the life has it's own share of surprises. Things changed (Change is good) and I moved on from Bangalore to Delhi. The posting was at Gurgaon (Haryana) and I was on the other side (no ! not the Dark Side ] of Delhi - located almost near Noida (U.P). This meant that I would have take a shuttle (daily driving the length-and-breadth of Delhi is a strong NO) to reach the Gurgaon office.

A few pages from the diary of a daily traveler - The Morning Trip.

The shuttle is scheduled to arrive at 7:22 AM. Hey ! That's almost at par to the timings we had to follow for school. So started the day. Getting up early in the morning (you don't want to miss the shuttle and drive all the way to office !!) and reaching the pick-up stop in-time. It's quite a wonder we (the working class) standing along with the school kids waiting for their respective shuttle's to arrive. Add-on to that the chilling Delhi winter...7.5 deg. Celsius (just for reference).

The chill is good enough to have any 'chai-wala' (tea vendor) a budding business opportunity. Come to think of it - there lies an opportunity (business scope) the 'chai-wala' to go around (maybe in a cycle) handing out a hot sizzling cup of tea in a earthen cup to the chilled out souls waiting for the shuttle. Ahh... the aroma of hot tea served in the earthen cup is enough to make any person reach out for a cup.

Time flies - and finally our shuttle arrives (Route No: 13). We sincerely hope that none of the co-passengers (past/current or future) suffer from Triskaidekaphobia.

We board the bus and pick out our cosy seats (what ? did I hear some one if we had a/c in the bus to keep the shuttle warm ! yeah - In your dreams !!), cross-check that the windows are slammed shut.

We ensure that not a whiff of cold air can find it's way inside the shuttle. Thus the count down starts as we weave our way picking up the rest of the folks and heard towards Gurgaon. After the initial exchange of pleasantries - most of the co-passengers glide into their morning hangovers.

Some doze off to sleep (well ! we have not heard snoring yet !), some will switch on their personal music players, some of the literate kind will update themselves with the morning news (by reading the newspaper) and off-course some of the more adventurous type will discuss on how to maintain world Earth peace (a.k.a general gossip :-) ).

The shuttle chugs it's way across Delhi (well ! it is almost like Dilli dharshan) towards Haryana. Expected time to arrival is usually 60-90 minutes. Well, that's on a day when the odds are favorable, there are no traffic jams and the shuttle can just slide past.

However, on a not so great day (waving hands !!), the E.T.A to office is a variable that has an unknown value and is dependent on more variables, that are dependent on more variables.

So if we get stuck in a traffic jam (variable x) - the best thing to do is close your eyes and go to sleep. Surely, someone will wake you up when you arrive at Office !!

A bit of maths, back of the envelope scribble:
- for Route 13 it is approximately 65 Kms (40.3 miles) from home to office (Gurgaon)
- at this rate, per day we are covering ~130 Kms (80.7 miles)
- in a year (~22 working days), we will cover ~34320 Kms (21325.4 miles)
- a traveler doing this for ~12 years would have covered 411840 Kms (255905.5 miles) !!!

The average distance from Earth to Moon is 384403 km (238857 miles).

What say - which seems more preferable ? As we drive through the foggy chilly Delhi winter morning, I switch on my music player and start listening to 'Its the Final Countdown' .......

We'are leaving together

But still it's farewell

And maybe we will come back,

To Earth, who can tell ?

(Next the Evening trip back home - Did I tell you about the 'resident' mouse ?)

Gosh ..10 years whizzed past !

It happened on a fine sunny morning in Trivandrum, India many years back ......

30 folks (just of of college) came from all over India and landed at Philips International (in front of ChinChu dhaba) near Medical College Trivandrum. First they had a fight with Col. Nair on wanting to moving out of Philips International to some other place but finally decided to stay on.... Who wanted to leave the appam egg-curry and the roof top cricket matches.

Thus on Mar/22/1999 the T75 batch formation took place.

Gosh ! 10 years seems to have just whizzed past !!!

1st International Maitree Photography Contest 2008

The Fly in (to B.I.A)

As promised, the arrival experience to Bangalore International Airport is as follows.


This was the day when I was flying into the Bangalore International Airport (from Delhi). Had read reviews and had also being told that the departure was always good but the arrivals does bring in bad experiences. Well, this was my first arrival at the Bangalore International Airport (after the old H.A.L Airport was decommissioned).

Had an early morning flight out of Delhi (6:45 AM Indigo, from Delhi to Bangalore). Being a Sunday there was not much of traffic congestion in Delhi, so the flight did take off on time (for a change else there is usually a waiting list of 8-10 aircraft's waiting for takeoff from the Delhi Airport). The flight was uneventful and landed at Bangalore 5 min(s) ahead of schedule. The arrival time was 9:35 AM and it actually landed and we were off-board by 9:30 AM.


The Pilot himself announced that with the new Bangalore International Airport coming up, the arrivals are always on time - with no need to circle the city (Bangalore) for the Air Traffic Controller to provide the clear passage when an available slot would be available in the old H.A.L Airport and the flight could land. Well, that does not ATC are out of job - they did give the clearance and it came without any delay.

Thus the flight landed. Unfortunately the aero-bridges were already full. So the Indigo flight taxied to a place on the tarmac where the Indigo attendants were waiting for the flight. The arrival lounge is large (really large as compared to the old H.A.L Airport). One thing that provides a bit of an hindrance is that the arrivals of all the flights finally channelizes to a corridor. Becomes a bit of packed when many passengers have arrived and as usual they are rushing for the Baggage claims. Else, it is superbly designed.

The conveyor belts are in total 7 (compared to the H.A.L Airport that had only 3 conveyor belts). The rumour (as heard) was sometimes passengers had to wait 30-40 mins for the baggage's to arrive. The arrival/baggage claim lounge is so large that while we waited for the baggage - wondering when it would turn up - the silence was stunning !

But, call it luck (or what!), the baggage conveyor belt started off in 10 Min's..and the baggage's started rolling. I took a time stock - it was ~9:45 AM. Was relieved to see the bag roll out after five more minutes. It was 9:50 AM (not much of a rush - as it was a Sunday morning, so probably not much of incoming traffic into the Bangalore International Airport). Off-course, after the Baggage claim the Red-Channel and Green-Channel greets you - well, but were flying domestic. A lot of hawk-eyed cops and Customs officials (I suppose - as they were in dark suits) screened the outgoing passengers - for possible victims for Red-Channel.


Had seen earlier that the B.I.A.L - a/c VOLVO's departed on the hour, so when the baggage was collected and I exited the Airport - had around 5 min(s) to catch the a/c Volvo. Off-course, you will be met with free-lance Taxi drivers looking for a ride - if not walk on. The Pre-Paid taxi stand will be at your Left and the a/c Volvo Bus stand will be at your Right. They are both equidistant...must say, a nicely thought design. The best part is you can take the trolley all the way till the bus-boarding. No need to drag/pull/carry the luggage's if one is planning to take the Volvo.

The good thing is even the BMTC folks (dressed in White) - the official Volvo dress code, will be standing and directing the passengers to the awaiting Volvo's. Thus boarded the Volvo (BIAL-3, International Airport to Jeevanbhima Nagar) and started off at exactly 10:00 AM. Not bad, not bad at all. The journey was a 1:30 hr ride (as mentioned in the bmtc charts) and thus arrived at Jeevanbhima Nagar at 11:30 AM. Not to be forgotten, the Volvo conductor was quite courteous and helped out the passengers with the baggage's storage's, and coordinated dropping the passengers near auto-stops for easier next level transit.

Luckily, the auto driver did not charge much to travel to Vinayaka Nagar - very short distance !! - and was thus home by 11:45 AM. Over review of the arrival at B.I.A and the connecting transportation - will give a 8/10.

However, with rising prices of Aviation Fuel, B.I.A planning to add on an additional passenger tax (on top of what is already available) for all domestic/international to recover the new Airport usage, the rising cost of inflation - the Flight ticket prices are sky-rocketing.

Thinking of trying out the good old Rajdhani next time !! :-)