Dubai Ahoy!!

Well.....the far seas beckon again...this time Iam leaving the country for the land of black gold...in search of a little gold myself.......only I struck gold right here .... :-).

During the past week, I have found myself in an inextricable dilemma.......to be or not to be....to say or not say.......Catch 22 as it is rightly put!

Well...Iam moving to Dun & Bradstreet in a consulting role and the role will be very very demanding of my capabilities and skill (!!).

More later....

It doesnt get any better than this!

Well...it most certainly does not!..... No more am I feeling bad leaving, cause My heart is firmly rooted here.

I found love and more so...I found home!

I leave to dubai on the 19th and have a whole lot to get done before that, but Iam in such a state of bliss now, its inexplicable. Its like a scene right out of a movie that I never imagined I would ever be in!

God...please make this last forever!!!

Laterz

Win some ......Lose some!

There are some remarjable phases in every individuals life which he/she will always cherish. I think I just such a remarkable phase in the last month or so.

I have been given some really wonderful things, but somethings very dear to me have been taken away :-(.......Iam supposed to be very happy...Iam moving to Dubai for a consulting job, but I feel very sad for leaving something very dear to me behind.

Life rewards you whatever you ask for, but it also takes what you hold dear!!

This phase of life will only be filled with fond memories and no regrets.........I want to capture this snapshot forever!

Thought for the day: Life always plays a fair game....its us who are confused !

My First Car!

Yep....Finally. It is my 28th birthday gift to myself :-). Its yet another addition to a long list of black automobiles that I have owned.

Black TVS Champ - 1994
Balck Kinetic Honda - 1996
Black Honda Activa - 2005
Black Pulsar - 2003
Black Apache - 2006
Black Santro Xing - 2007

I guess that leaves a black merc sometime in the future!

A prediction for the future: I will gift myself a black BMW/ Merc on my 38th Birthday!

Well....life is good :-)

Ciao

Another year younger !...Its a hap hap happy b`day to me :-)

Well...not really.....I feel older!! I turned 28 today, and alomost feel like people are looking at me differently now ;-)......

Down memory lane:

11th Birthday: Was having fun in the U.S......but desperately wanted to be older...the number was 28 I think!!

13th Birthday: Revelling in a lot of importance having turned into a teenager......was also opening up a lot of gifts post my poonal ceremony :-)

16th Birthday: Was gifted my freedom in the form a TVS Champ....my first two wheeler!! How I tortured that poor vehicle!!

18th Birthday: Got myself a Kinetic honda....dissapointed cuz I couldnt buy a bike!!.....Didnt how how to change gears:-).Celebrated my 18th birthday with my first beer (At least thats what all of my family thought :-))

23rd Birthday: Celebrated in the US....bought my self a 1984 Camry for $300!!! the leaky vehicle cost less than the amount of money I paid for a speeding ticket that i got... :-)

25th Birthday: Celebrated this bangalore.....I remeber this day vivdly....I was so engrossed at work, I was late for my own Bday party.....it was a very low key family thing!

26th Birthday: Another memorable birthday........I had broken my leg and i was brought cakes by both my very considerate frinds and later on by family.....

27th birthday: Celebrated in a pub in chennai with some good friends...it was a rollicking time!!

28th Birthday: Spent most of my time writing about my earlier birthday and sitting around at work......probably the lowest I have felt during a birthday in the last few years!

30th Birthday : ????????

I cant believe Iam 2 years away from being 30 yrs old!!!!......And I have done almost none of the things that I set myself out to do:

• Travel to at least 20 countries
• Make enough money for me and everyone close to me....
• find true love!!
• Achieve some thing so significant..that My name will become a brand!

Well iam not even close to any of the above.....!!! lets see what the years to come have in store for me.

Ciao.

BOOORRRREEEEDDDDD.......

Well...that covers my sentiment today!! After a lot of travel and a whole week off, Iam back at work and doing what I dislike the most.....Typing out a report!!

Last week was possibly one of the worst holidays I have had a while...spent the entire time at home in chennai !!!! Imagine that.......Compare it with last years holiday in the himalayas!!!! AAH....really bad deal this year!

What Iam not clear about is whether Iam bored with this job, or am I bored with work in general???

Is it a question of motivation?? or is it of laziness??.......

Nyways....i think I go through a phase like this every summer...booring summer!

6 out of the last 7 years, I have basically spent the entire month of may doing basically nothing!!

Maybe everyone is meant to have a holiday, but frankly Iam not ready for a holiday yet you know!!!...so much to do, so much to see.....yet that inertia holds me back.....

Wild idea for the day: Just quit now and leave for a world tour..... :-). What an exciting thought!!

More later....

Karthik Bhai.......

Yesterday was one of the most remarkable days I have had in a while! We were to meet around 10 motorcycle customers and have a chat with them about thier preferences and buying behaviour. My biggest insight here was that in the hindi belt of our country, the education levels play a big role in terms of the media mix that can be applied for this category of products. Also, the level of industrial growth vis a vis IT sector growth plays a major role.

We met customers from various income classes, right from bhel puri walas to teachers in udaipur. The remarkable thing here was that lower the education levels, lower was the interaction of these customers with conventional media like newspapers and TV. Key influencers and Word of mouth play a much bigger role in such cases. Also, with a large number of self employed people in these areas, the best medium to effectively communicate and influence them is activities in the marketplace with activities and demos. Almost none of them had any recollection of the communication and even if they did, they did not back thier judgement to make a choice based on such communication.....This has a grave impact on the way companies in such categories go to market with thier products and promotions!

Buzz is the key word , and those who master the art of buzz and build trust effectively will be the eventual winners!

Coming to the interesting part of the day, Our guide for the day was an ex-don in these areas who is under the cover of having turned over a new leaf in the eyes of the police. Initially, he was very quiet but as time went on , he started talking about his escapades and his less than enviable criminal record!.....It was a little scary, but end of the day he was a perfectly nice guy....Bhaigiri is just a way of life, and it was nothing out of the ordinary for people around us. The personality change was so apparent as soon he started talking of the past: "Kyon Bhai....ek dum chakaaas....." with the ostensible accent we all hear only in the movies :-).....

Anyways.....good times....looking for more such experiences....

Thought of the Hour: Education is the only way to liberate the indian hinterlands!

Life is but a movie.....

My life in the last two weeks has been like a scene out a hindi movie......I was talking to a very interesting lady, circumstances lead me to a potential two timing situation and then the classic miscommunication between the characters leading to some heartburn...but now Iam back on track.

This weekend, one of my friends got engaged and he wanted to surprise his bride by turning up for the event which he was not going to be there for initially......this dude tavelled thousands of miles completely undercover and I was the chief enforcer to ensure that the surprise was well executed. I virtually halted the the engagement for a 15 Mts period in order to " deliver my gift" :-).......but alls well that ends well! it was an amazing surprise and it was a very joyous occasion.

Finally, work has brought me to Udaipur Rajastan. I think fate has it that I will have to travel to every nook and corner in this country and make up for all the time I spent cozy in corner of the country for almost 20 yrs of my life! Till I was 21 the northernmost point in my life was Bombay!!....In the last 1 year, I have travelled to Dehli, Bombay, pune, Calcutta, Interior tamilnadu, Kerala, Upper reaches of the himalayas, Manali, Himachal pradesh, Chandigarh, AP and now Rajastan.....Whew that quite a lot!!

Anyways, The Mood of the Hour: Patience is a virtue, but will it get you anywhere??

Travel Travel...till you Unravel !!!

I have never travelled so extensively in my life thus far, I have never seen so much of india thus far, and yet Iam very excited about yet another short trip tommorow (for entirely other reasons :-))

Last saturday, I started from bangalore to chandigarh and then onto Nalagarh in Himachal pradesh.I had been there for the opening ceremony of our new plant there.The highlight of the place was this amazing Hotel that we stayed in. Its called the Nalagarh fort, which used to be the Maharaja`s house. Supposedly he had 365 rooms for each one of his wives...ideal for a hotel huh!! The view and the amazing regal Bar just added to the fun, but the place was a little disconcerting...I mean there were bats flying around and the bathroom was filled with furniture...how wierd is that!....

Then came delhi....now this is one city which is really starting to scale up to international standards in its infrastructure....the metro was just amazing! Then we visited Karol bagh for some dinner and shopping...the hustle and bustle was simply amazing.

Next day, we moved onto UP....Ghaziabad. It was largely uneventful and we returned to delhi the very same evening. The next day, we started our pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. Now this is when it struck me as to how backward india still actually is!! After dusting off some work, we visited the Kashi Viswanath temple on the banks of the Ganges....it was a nice experience and very different from south indian temples. The again tried to shop , but failed miserably....Im just sooo impatient!

Next day, we visited markets like Mirzapur and then to Allahabad....my impressions were further worsened. Supposedly, all that we see in the movies is very true in eastern UP. Allahabad was tense with the oncoming elections and there gunmen all over the place....

Finally, some solace when we finally came to Lucknow...now this place seems to be developing rapidly and did wipe off some of the nasty memories. Hey, on the way there, we were encountered with a freak storm called Aandhi. It was a wierd sandstorm after which it rained.
Finally we ended out trip in the gandhi stronghold of Rae bareilly.

Whew..that was a tough trip especially in the heat! But great experience though....

Thought of the hour: Customers behave remarkably similarly across markets, corporates are the one who are different across markets

Recap of the year

Hmm....Its exactly a year since i started work post ISB....this is a wrap up of what I have done (accomplished??) ;-)

• Started the year with an unexpected raise!!
• Understood that no role as defined to me existed and that i had create one for myself
• dipped my feet into market understanding..a subject on which I was clueless!
• Worked with all the departments across to get alignment to a common stated goal
• The realized there was no such common goal :-)
• Started feeling the pinch of working in an organization which was going through tough times
• Felt like quitting, but wanted to continue...noone calls me a coward :-0
• went on a trip to indonesia, mostly spent in a hotel with all corporate types !
• Conducted a Corporate war game in india...which was widely appreciated
• Then the lull before the storm.....The taskforce
• Got inducted into a taskforce to improve sales in Tamil Nadu
• 3months went by in understanding the problems, facing up to it and addressing it adequately
• Designed and developed my first set of marketing campaigns....which was wildfire hit across the state
• Learnt that strategy is best communicated thorugh actions and result for rapid scaling rather than words
• Worked on a organizational motvational program, learnt the fine art of editing in the process :-)
• Exited the taskforce on a very happy note...very successful, to the extent where the competiton copied the campaign that we designed :-)

On an aside, I also decked up a proper house with all the electronics a guy could want....Well done !! Towards the end, also started looking forward to the next phase of my life.

During these last 12 months, I thought life was very chaotic, but it all seems to be following a nice plan...lets see what the next year has in store for me!!

Cheers.....

Of Mairrages and Conversations......

Well......I have finally started looking out for a life change. I was a little worried and confused, but Iam realizing that the only way to live through it is to go with the flow.

So far, I happened to meet this one very interesting lady.....fiercly independent yet practical. One of the more interesting personalities that I have met so far.

One question which has bugged me for a while now! Should I look for someone similar or someone opposite.....should I look to be constantly challenged, or for a harmonious subdued relationship?....I dunno!!

One thing is for sure.....i definitely enjoy good conversations.......but for the worry that the evil twin will come out soon enough to spoil the party :-)

So net net.......what is the most important consideration parameter?

• Thought compatibility
• physical attraction and chemistry
• bit of both
• none of the above and I dont have a clue :-)

On other aspects......work is interesting, but dealing with politics is extremely draining. I really want to move on to better things...... my interest span for this job has now officially expired!!!

Mood of the hour: Cant wait for whats next ;-)

Rapid Action Taskforce!!!

Well....as the title suggests, I got my stint in a sales function. A group of us were given charge of an entire state and asked to improve volumes and marketshare significantly....Well, We certainly did!!!

It has been a hectic couple of months and the amount of travelling I have done, I need to be paid more!!

Life is Hollow now and Iam convinced that I need a change.....change to what is the big question!!!

Anyways, some of my old friends are visiting this week and I shud be meeting up with them after a loong time now....shud be fun.

Thats it for now, More later....

Round and round on the merry go round

Well....thats the current mood. The pressures of daily life are always at loggerheads with longer term aspirations...looks like I will be revisiting some of my ideals ......

I have been travelling a lot in the recent months...exciting but tiresome. There have been a few bright spots: made a new friend, looked at new opportunities, learnt many ground level realities in the marketplace.....

Life is turning a littlepointless recently though....what is the purspose? why neglect my self at cost of a career?...I have not been able to anwer these questions with any certainity!

Well....I guess I need to go round on the merry go round...will come out a little dizzy, but can say that I did get on it :-)

Updates...

Looong time since I last blogged!! Anyways, life chugs on, the new year briefly brought some cheer (Thro some highly concentrated ethanol ;-) ) but it is dreary again now.

"Boriyath katharnaakh ho sakti hai!!!": tag line of a recent ad......I totally agree. It gets your mind to wander and look outside for other forms of excitement. I have started doing exactly that!!

The most recent book that I read was called "Punchtantra". I read it while I was extremely bored in an airport where the flight was delayed for more than 4 hrs. Review: well it was trashy, it took a modern day view on the panchatantra stories with a funny yet pathetic twist. All in all it just reemphasized that kaliyuga had truly set in and if you still have an idealistic view of the world in the context of the hindu scriptures...well change quickly, cuz you WILL get swept under the carpet if you keep it up.

On an aside, I have always considered myself young, but now looking at a few of my much younger cousins, I realize that Iam getting older now....much more than I would like to be !!!

Hint...Hint: Is it time to settle down and live a Happily?? married life. I really dunno the answer, but iam not one to cringe at change.......wait and watch!

The highlight of the past few weeks was my trip down memory lane at ISB. I had gone back there for our alumni reunion "Solstice". great fun...met a lot of friends, future CEO`s, entrepreneurs and danced like a mad dog. It was truly a memorable weekend...I miss ISB :-(

Well thats it from me now....more later (Hopefully regularly )

Cheers

Travelouge from the Himalayan trip....

Iam posting a rather lengthy description of our Trek. Read at your own liesure......

The people: Me, RT & hubby namit, Ayshu(rts friend from school) & hubby Deepak, Santosh(my friend from school, santo from now on) & Karthik (deepaks friend from college, gku from now on) ….. (that truly was one link list J)

The guide: Shubhranjan Thakur (from now on ranjan)

The time: The week of 15th august (so we could save on a days leave), a total of 9 days in which we planned to trek for 6 days.

Since the planned trek was a strenuous and longer one (than my last trek) the next month saw a few of us (yours truly included) gymming away to glory while the rest hoped to rise to the occasion. As the trek grew nearer my life revolved around shopping, getting the tickets booked, getting to know all ‘the strangers who were to be my fellow-felli trekkers, and telling the rest of the world about the planned trek & making them jealous. A week before D-day we did have one major setback when ranjan called to tell us that there had been a landslide on the route we were planning due to heavy rains in Manali. A decision had to be made if we would go on as planned or reschedule (Santo actually spent two sleepless nights in the fear that this dream trip of his would not happen). Thanks be to God we went ahead with the hope to change the route or the destination based on the situation in manali once we got there.

Finally on the 12th of August the seven of us flew into delhi at different times and met up at ISBT (the bus terminus) to board the Volvo for manali. Like all times before, much to the others envy I slept through the twelve hours of traffic jams, bad roads, tunnels and breaks. Just as we set foot in manali the clouds burst out in our welcome and lo, our acclimatization trek was in the water. We headed to Guptramjis (GRJ) home in vashisht. After freshening up and a quick lunch we went on a short walk along the roads. During dinner (lemme mention the yum chowmein) along with ranjan and a topography map we looked at all the alternative routes to chandertaal (since the original route through hampta pass was not possible due to the collapse of one of the bridges along it) and all the alternative destinations. At the end of it ranjan decided that we would go to chandertaal through the motorable route through Battal.


Day 1 (August 14, 2006)

After a good b’fast of parathas we packed our stuff & ourselves into two sumos. Other than the seven of us & Ranjan, the group consisted of our ace chauffers, the wise Birbalji & the daredevil pavan & our chefs, Prakashji & Arjun. The first part of the route was the ascent from manali (6000ft amsl) to Rothang pass(13000ft amsl) where we were treated to the view of lush green valleys of manali with its roaring waterfalls at intervals and the clouds enveloping it at the top (the first of the many picture postcard backdrops we were going to witness on this trip). At Rothang myself and Gku walked to the ledge to look at the other side of the valley, which is brown in stark contrast to the greenery on the opposite side. Then we headed downhill where we encountered a cavalcade of about 30 army vehicles heading to the plains in order to stock up supplies for the cold winters.

DYK (Did You Know): That places like Leh & other areas to the north through Rothang pass are cut off from the rest of the world for about 6 months a year due to snow covered roads. Currently a 13km tunnel is under construction so that Rothang no longer will remain a bottleneck for access during the cold season.

Where green had been the artist’s master color so far from here on brown and black were the dominant colors in the landscape surrounding us. We lunched at Jagath auntys dhaba, a roadside dhaba. The point that struck me about all the roadside dhabas was that though these had small & compact stone kitchens they were always neat and well maintained. From here on for the next few days we always had the gushing brown waters of the river Chandra on our side to keep us company.
A note on the roads(so called), absolutely no metal, hugging the mountains on one side and the river chandra on the other, many streams run through it and sometimes the road is the stream & the stream is the road. There was absolutely no human habitation for the next 30kms before we reached our camp site for the day, chatru. Here the distance time funda is staggered since we only average about 20kms/hr.

DYK: Basic requirements of a good campsite in the mountains
1. a freshwater stream
2. Not too close or in level with a roaring river (What if a flashflood must happen?)
3. Not near a mountain face than has boulders or stones (what if a landside must happen?)
4. Some boulder cover nearby for your crapping & peeing sessions
5. Preferable if is a plain surface (easier to set up tents) and there is some land cover on the side from where the wind comes

Chatru is one such location, our cute little tents were set up. Then Ranjan took us on a short (but steep) acclimatization trek where he judged our stamina & fitness. It was a tough climb and we were panting by the time we reached the target. From there we could see the snow covered deotibba peak. Returned to base, had our dinner and settled down for our first night in the dis-comfort of sleeping bags & tents. As luck would have it, it poured that night and so we slept to the accompaniment of the gurgling waters of Chandra, the roaring winds of chatru & the lashing rains.

Day 2: Aug 15, 2006

When we woke up the next morning we could see fresh snow on the higher peaks. After a quick b’fast we set out on foot. The plan was to trek the first 8kms to chottadara on foot and then do the rest of the way to Battal by sumo. As you walk through those roads you feel like every few steps a new landscape reveals before you, from bouldered mountains, to jagged rocks, to steep straight faced rocks, to grey loose soil mountains and moraines. Now we got to see lots of glaciers in between mountains at higher elevations. The only other living beings we saw were the shepherds with their flocks of sheep and mountain goat, and not too forget the good looking thick furred shepherd dogs. The way this set climbs the steep faces of mountains does make one jealous at their prowess.

DYK: Old snow takes on a black colour and Ranjan told us that if we were to hit this hardened snow with an ice-axe it would clang as if it were hit against metal.

On the way we got to hear tragic stories of how trekkers who had camped in a relatively safe looking location got washed away by the river during the night due to flash floods and how 3 sumos carrying Japanese trekkers got washed away by a landslide. So the key takeaway is that always be careful in the mountains, never venture without a guide & listen to what your guide has to say. After a good walk we reached Chotadara (A point to be noted here is that each of these landmarks like chatru, chotadara, battal etc have only one or two dhabas to mark human habitation and nothing else but mountains). From there we completed the rest of the trip to battal by jeep. Battal was to be our home for the next 3 days. We found a good camp site and had the pleasure of having the jawans of Dogra scouts as our neighbors. After setting up our tents again and lunch we set out once more on the road to chandertaal on foot. We just trekked about 3kms. Rt had the first signs of altitude sickness in the form of a severe headache. This road is so narrow that at some points it is just about enough for the fourth wheel of the vehicle to make it on the footing of the other 3 wheels. We could see the Chandrabagha peaks. These peaks are numbered for names and referred to as CB-12, CB-13 etc. The dogra scouts were to summit CB-13 and one more target for their mission was to look out for the remains of a airplane crash that happened in 1968 (blackbox is still missing). I did some googling and found this about the airplane crash in ‘The tribune’.

Jammu, August 6 2003The Army and Air Force today abandoned the joint aerial recce of the 35-year-old air crash site on the South Dakka glacier (16,000 ft) in Lahaul-Spiti district because of bad weather. The recce was to be conducted with a view of formulating a strategy for extricating the bodies of the 102 soldiers who were killed in an air crash 35 years ago and are lying buried under snow since then.
The AN-12 aircraft on its flight to Leh from Chandigarh with 102 persons on board, including six members of the crew, four officers and 92 jawans of various regiments, went missing on February 7, 1968. The defence authorities continued the search for six months and then abandoned it as no signs of the wreckage were detected

This was a search mission organized in 2003 and today another attempt is being made to recover any remains of that crash.
On the way back myself & santo chatted up with two jawans. It seems most of the guys were locals and took to the mountains like fish to water but one of them had suffered the same problems of acclimatization like us. Got back to base, all of us sat holed up in our dining tent trying to recover as most had some ache or the other.

Day 3: Aug 16, 2006

Today was the day we had been waiting for. Set out by sumo for chandertaal. The drive was truly adventurous and not meant for the weak hearted. We truly had pledged our lives in birbalji & pavan’s hands. We trekked the last 5kms to chandertaal. The first view of the turquoise blue waters of the lake is truly beyond words. Thankfully when we reached there it was not windy and so from atop the hill we could see the reflection of the surrounding mountains on the placid waters of the lake. We then went down to the shores of the lake and the guys took a dip in the cold & crystal clear waters. The lake is supposed to contain herbal properties and thanks to its inaccessibility it still remains virgin and unspoiled. We then went for a walk along the periphery of the lake, about 3kms. On the way we went up to see the green meadows of sudarshan. This raised plateau was surrounded by rivers on either side and one wondered how the shepherds got on top of it. The face of the plateau along the river was very very picturesque. We then returned from there and started our trek back. By now the altitude had begun to play and most were too tired to walk. Myself, Santo & Ranjan trekked back to the meeting point for lunch while the others took the sumo. After this drive we were all in awe of the prowess of a sumo, it truly is an all terrain vehicle.
DYK: New local buses are used on this route for about a year and then sent down to the plains (now you know why the local bus is in a bad state ;-)
Back to camp and noone had the energy, so we just sat holed up in the warm sumo and played many (actually few very long) rounds of uno. Dinner and then back to our tents. Sleeping at Battal was an experience in itself, we would take around half an hour each night to add on many layers of warm clothing in order to catch some sleep in those sleeping bags.

Day 4: Aug 17, 2006

Today our destination was Kunzum La(the second highest pass at 4551 mts amsl) and the village of Lossar. The entire route offered us a changing landscape with parts looking just like the pics I have seen of the grand canyon. At Kunzum-la is a small tibetian temple. All vehicles passing through here do take a deviation and circle the temple. Every vehicle sticks to this ritual no matter how many times they pass there since it is supposed to bring bad luck otherwise. In this temple are two small rocks which have some magnetic power, and the belief is that if you have a pure mind the coin you press against that rock will stick to it. Amidst that brown landscape the village of Lossar springs as a surprise in green. Here I tasted the sweetest of green peas I have ever had. The village is very well planned. We checked out the monastery and museum. After 4 full days we had the luxury of using a proper loo at the pwd rest house there. Since this village is cut off from the rest of the world for a full half year the people spend the winters celebrating festivals and other religious activities. The women weave woolen garments during this time. From the caretaker at the pwd house we came to know that every family that has more than two sons have to send one to the monastery to train to be a lama. It is a completely tibetian culture in this part of the country. After a simple and healthy lunch we started back. On our way back myself, ranjan, rt & namit did a short trek from kunzum-la to a point where there were many tibetian religious flags along the path that connects this pass to chandertaal lake. From that high elevation we could catch a distant glimpse of the blue waters of chandertaal lake. Evenings were the toughest to while away with the chill winds coming in. We spent a lot of time in the warmed up sumos playing cards or sitting in the warm kitchen tents and chatting with the others and listening to interesting local stories and scary ghost stories. Since this was the last night we were to spend in the mountains we looked forward to surviving the cold and awaited the morning.




Day 5: Aug 18, 2006

The day to bid adieu to the mountains & battal, we packed, took some pics with the jawans who were also moving to their main base camp below the glacier and started off on foot. In the next hour or so we walked like there was no tomorrow and managed to cover a good distance (about 8kms) before the sumos caught up with us. On our way we stopped at chatru and handed off all the remaining vegetables and chocolates to the kids of the workers who take care of clearing those mountain roads. We went into one of their houses and again though very compact it was very neatly arranged and maintained. My heart went out to those kids who have nothing but the hills for company, no schools, no friends, no toys, no parks, no tvs just lots and lost of mountains and the only break to their routine is the vehicles that pass and trekkers who camp there. Now after reaching rothang and crossing over from the brown to the green side, the valleys looked greener than when we left them thanks to the rains in the days past.
Now after lunch at madi we returned to try our hands at para gliding. We decided to take the medium level but we did not realize what we had bargained for until the gypsy that was to take us to the take off point kept climbing higher & higher. We were gasping for breath by the time we climbed from the road to the launch site. This was really scary and at least 3 of us had second thoughts on whether we wanted to be doing it. The heavy weights were to go first and the sight of them running along with their tandem jumper and two others along their sides down a rugged steep slope for take off was not in the least encouraging. Finally everyone did manage to take off & I was the last to go. My first attempt was unsuccessful & when we got the next gust of wind I did manage to take those 3 steps needed to take-off (benefits of being light). That feeling of flying is exhilarating…. The magnificent view of the lush green valley before you and the clouds at your level was truly out of the world. Suraj let me steer the chute for some time but the landing was again amazing when you descend at full speed in a series of pendulum like maneuvers. It was a smooth landing and we left there after collecting the video recordings of our great adventures.

Back at vashisht it was time to scrub ourselves clean after 5 days of no bathing. In the evening we got to see a religious procession where the main deity in the vashisht temple was returning from a trip outside to a mela. The pujari got possessed in the course of the proceedings and made some predictions which nobody understood. The men carrying the deity kept swaying & falling on their sides, it is said this happens since the weight of the deity keeps changing. That night we decided to check out the restaurants of vashisht. This place is a weird combination of the traditional locals on one side and lots & lots of doped foreigners on the other. All the eateries here offer international cuisine and we dined at a roof top café called aryavratha. Lovely dinner there, where we all chatted up. The food came in slow but it was worth the wait since every dish was delicious and I think this was one of the best conti food I ever had. Worthy of mention is the smiley waiter here who managed to make us say we were not hungry in response to his innocent (big smile) question of ‘aap ko bhook nahi lagi hain’ at 12 midnight when we were actually dying of hunger. We then went back to our rooms and feasted on the yummy yummy cakes from the german bakery.

Day 6: Aug 19, 2006

After bidding good bye to GRJ and his family we did the regular touristy stuff at manali, I think the place is too commercialized. Checked out the hadimba temple and one monastery. Started back for delhi in the evening after some confusion in the bus stop. Reached delhi by 10am the next day and back to Bangalore late aug 20th.


I have tried my best to use the “look & sound” in words to convey and capture what we saw, felt and learnt on this trip.

Back after a loooong time :)

Well, Im back. The past 3 months have been hectic and boooring, interesting and frustrating alternatively. But thats not the reason why Iam have not blogged, this website is blocked at work and I have been spending a lot of time at work.

Anyways....an update on the hapenings. In august i went ont that whirlwind trip to the lower himalayas and I will add a detailed post on that trip soon.

In september, I visited indonesia for a week and conducted an entry strategy workout for the upcoming business there.

A couple of friends got married, couple got engaged, and a lot more changed jobs. I still maintain status quo (at least for now).

Met a lot of my friends during the recent business trips and have really been burning up the skies with these trips :)

Well.....more later

Got tagged...Here goes nothing!!

Aaah..got tagged by Ram. This is my shoddy attempt at opening out!

I Think

That I should get whatever I wish for, elese it is not worth thinking about

I wish

I could execute routine activities with a little bit more interest...but it is so darn boooring

I want

To live a life less common......Leave a footprint in the sands of time

Iam

Probably the laziest person on earth, but am happy about the sheer of inertia of motion evident when i do get started on something.

I look for

Simplicity and honesty in people. Also constantly look for change

I miss

The good old days of free money and no real responsibilities (I mean undergrad college)

I hate

Beaurocracy.....and of course incompetence

I love

Company of good friends and harmonious relationships

I talk

A lot....in words of my boss "reticence is not definitely a virtue that you possess"


Laterz......

Overdose of "Strategy".....

This is word which is thrown around rather casually without understanding the true import of implications. Especially in my role, I hear it everyday and am trying to change the way we think here.

Work is tiresome at best with such extended timings with comparatively lower levels of value addition. Only bright spot in the horizon is a wild trip that I have planned to the lower himalayas

-- Around 7 of us have gotten together and decided to venture out on a 10 day trek through the mountains through a mountaneous region near manali. Check out the attached map.

Of the lot, Iam probably the most out of shape and given that I have a bad ankle....god alone can help out during this trip.....But Iam still going for it!!

Thats my mood nowadays...."GO FOR IT". It keeps me from getting too risk averse.

Well thats it from me. My trip to bombay this weekend is put on hold because of the horrendous blasts yesterday....the poor souls who had to give thier souls for some absolutely useless and pointless cause....

A moment of silence please : -

Motorbikes and the countryside!

Last week I finally ventured out into the market on a whirlwind weeklong trip across tamilnadu.
First I took a chartered flight from our office to Coimbatore (Which was a funny and ear deafening experience i might add). Couple of days in and around coimbatore and tiruppur, then onto Chennai.

It just so hapened that I landed there on my birthday, so obviously I had a good time. Cut my cake in a Pub with a bunch of drunk people singing me birthday wishes :)

Next I went onto Madurai and adjoining Dindigul and Theni (Close toKodaikanal). What was I doing in all these places.....Well I was visiting customers and channel partners to sort out something which has propped up in the field. OH OH lets not forget....Spying on the competition was an important aspect of the entire trip.

All in all, It was a hectic but great experience and I hope to travel up north next month.

Laterz

A whole month down....

I was dreading this very moment....that I would be marginally bored after the first month of work.....it happened at my last job too, but it quickly changed with the first assignment. Anyways, Iam now comiong to grips with the role and if looked at seriously, I can make a difference......

Fingers crossed.....Welll the book that has made the greatest impact in the recent days...."Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse.....It seemed like the story of my life when I was reading it :)

Laterz