Mango Man: the Aam Aadmi

Travel de Earth -2

2013-02-22T02:41:00.003-08:00

Shivgange Trek:

Few do's & don'ts for this trek:

a pair of sneakers /shoes, caps, sun-glasses and a liter of water per person

good to start early morning

It is a 2 hour climb all the way to the top

Not advisable for people with heart problems

If you are happy to pay double the price, there's no need to carry extra food stuffs (please note: one would definitely like to have something after completing half course)

At few places, you will face lot of monkeys...don't worry, even a small stick in your hand would help...but don't try that on monkeys else they can also charge in reply

there are steps or notches cut into the rocks up to the top

Carry your belongings in a backpack and avoid unnecessary struggle with monkeys for your stuffs :P

Shivgange Trek:

This time on Wagon R; We started as a gang of 5 @ 5 AM on the third Sunday Morning of February 13'. Started from my place (Kathriguppe, Bangalore) and reached "Shivagange" @ around 6:30 AM ....Yeah it was fast for a city traffic.

Fresh breeze of dawn was refreshing.The climate seemed to be in full swing and was in perfect sync with our mood. We parked the vehicle near the village lake/pond and started the trek at sharp 06:30. Entering through temple gate in shoes was little not so usual behavior for me. But as per the suggestion of few villager (nearby) that was the only route for trek.

Not much of the shops on the way could be noticed due to their temporary nature and it was little early for the shop owners as well to climb uphill and start the business hour. We had limited resource and a kid (apparently my class mate and a great trekker) to handle. @ Kid: don't mind folk :P :P

Resources- a glance:

3 liters of water

4 potato stuffed parathas - spared only for "the" kid

Shades ...just in case we need those :P

The real beauty around could be noticed just by turning back and looking downhill... the farm land ... the lush green color of vegetation around...reflecting sunlight and the chimney smoke coming from far off place.

The sky with all shades of life and company of good friends kept the energy on and we reached the top of hillock by 8:15. Sharing few clicks below :

Few funny things that i noticed-

Dogs- There will be few dogs also who would follow you and would want more and more of biscuits, if u feed them. So beware of them
Goats- downhill, one will notice a bunch of goats moving around. Good for kids as they are harmless and good point of diversion.
Beggars- didn't read much about beggars. They keep catapult (gulel) to keep their stuffs safe from the monkeys.
Pandits- Don't get distracted by those. They simply find some area and settle there pretending to help you in attaining Nirvana. Of the many, I came across one who claimed the water locked between rocks as something that has no source and is sacred.
Small scale businessmen- They bring food stuffs from downhill and sell them at double price. And they seemed to be proud about selling them at over 100% margin.
Monkeys- You will find them mostly at the top. And they come in all shapes and sizes. Mostly the smaller ones and their small little games would make you smile.

Likewise, there are various things that would keep your enthu on and feel good about such small trips.

We reached downhill by 10:30 and waited for one of our friend to complete his darshan (so, just in case you like to visit the numerous temples on the hill, spare an extra hour for that).

BTW we also hit Devarayana Durga the same day as our next trek. Sharing few clicks here:

Riding Motorcycle in Rainy Season

2013-02-12T01:12:00.000-08:00

There is an old saying that if you don't ride when the weather is bad, you don't ride.But this holds good mostly in books and countryside slang. I suggest all motorcycle rider to avoid riding in bad weather.
Especially Rainy season proved to be really challenging and risky. However I am mentioning following tips for folks who cannot avoid such climate and goes on the tracks:

Speed kills traction- hence avoid high speeds
Avoid all sudden moves - strong changes in speed or direction can cause the motorcycle to skid.
- Accelerate smoothly, Change gears smoothly, Turn smoothly
- Use both brakes gradually and smoothly while stopping
Maintain a larger gaps with other vehicles in traffic- to allow more time to react
Slow at turns minimize the skidding of motorcycle.
Wear proper rain gear. Staying dry and warm will help a rider focus their attention on controlling their vehicle instead of thinking about their discomfort.
As water accumulates on your motorcycle helmet visor, alternate turning your head from the right to the left (while keeping your eyes forward). This will allow the force of the wind to blow the rain drops off our of your field of vision.

Travel de Earth -1

2013-02-09T19:11:00.001-08:00

Pune-400 miles around

Itinerary- We Skipped the Sea Route !
Started from Pune -Magarpatta city on 21st day of December 2012. This day in riders

Magarpatta City->Lavasa City->Mulshi Dam->Tamhini Ghat->Harihareshwar->Pradakshina Marg->Shrivardhan->Diveagar->Dhighi port->Rajpuri Jetty->Murud janjira->Kashid->Alibag->Lonavala->Magarpatta City !!

Lavasa City

Few things cant be captures as it is. One needs to be there -n- experience it in Whole.

Started from Magarpatta City (Pune) on 21st Dec in the name of last expedition on bike :)

gets back !!

2012-02-18T20:03:00.001-08:00

I have seen him busy in his day to day work-life preoccupied with what others expect from him (in general) and also to some extent with what he expects form him. Though, today morning he got an opportunity to socialize with himself and set free the salesman in him from all the targets.

The high-flyer started searching something. Was is inside ? Or it got stolen !!

Too late...for this was gone with last night storm. Why this happened to him. Why he has to suffer every time ? Why ?

So he started from his home to find someone. Someone with all answers to not so often asked questions !! ..And he moved between all possible places known to him. It was timeless expedition indeed !!

I know he got something today morning !! And he is back. Back in this world to socialize with himself. He is the one for whom he waited so long. And he has answers.. answers to some of the questions. But is he happy now ? I doubt !!

All I can say now is "Aam Aadmi gets back" !!

Poor Ministers: Part 2 (Mr. A. K. Antony)

2011-09-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

The man behind the US’ dismay for not signing the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA), Mr. Arackaparambil Kurien Antony, is indeed the real ‘One-man army’.

Recently it was noticed that Mr. Antony belongs to the singleton set in the cabinet, who comes under the “BPL category” (sarcasm). “BPL” is the only term that I could think of after going through the complete list of assets declared by his other peer ministers. But, after going through his achievements/positions held, one can, in no way, dream to underestimate him.

The following list of positions can mesmerize any aspiring politician:

“1970-77, 1977-79, 1995-96, 1996-2001 and 2001-05Member, Kerala Legislative Assembly

1977-78, 1995-96, 2001-04 Chief Minister, Kerala

April 1985- Elected to Rajya Sabha

April 1991- Re-elected to Rajya Sabha

1993-95-Union Cabinet Minister of Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

1996- 2001-Leader of Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly

May 2005- Elected to Rajya Sabha

May 2006-Oct. 2006- Member, Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health

June 2006-Oct. 2006- Member, Committee on Health and Family Welfare

24 Oct. 2006 onwards Minister of Defence

April 2010-Re-elected to Rajya Sabha”

All these esteemed positions come with great responsibilities and an upright amount of salary for the survival of an average Indian family. But it’s hard to envisage a person with such enormous amount of experience and dignity, to possess assets less than 2 lakhs. Taking into consideration the assets of his better half, Mrs. Elizabeth Antony, his total Net asset worth just over 32 lakhs, which is much below the observed average of the cabinet.Besides a house worth Rs.15 lakh and agricultural land amounting to the same value, Mrs Antony also has 2 Savings bank accounts worth Rs.182000.

The following table highlights Mr. Antony’s assets and in the later section, I will try to bring out few interesting facts that I deduced on or after my analysis.

Mr. A.K.Antony (Minister of Defence)			Smt. Alizabeth Antony (Wife, A.K.Antony)
Buildings (commercial and residential)	NIL	Not Applicable	Buildings (commercial and residential)	House	1500000
Deposits in Banks	Deposits	164,012		Land	1500000
Deposits in Banks	Deposits	18,465	Deposits in Banks	Deposits	18465
			Gold	25 sovereigns
Total		182,477			3,018,465

Mr. Antony believes in matriarchy (pun intended); upon comparing their declared asset values.
It is worth noting that Mrs. Antony also owns a second-hand Wagon R valued at Rs.169000 and bought with a “Kerala-loyal” bank loan of Rs.136000.
Mr. Antony entered into politics as a student leader in Cherthala Taluk as an activist of Kerala Student Union and was highly energetic, successfully exhibiting his innate leadership skills.
Wonder how someone who has never ever been a member of the Lower House, in a long political career, be offered the coveted Defence Ministry of a democratic country.

Poor Ministers: Part 1 (Dr. Manmohan Singh)

2011-09-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Indian Ministers

I am starting this series to analyze the assets (and liabilities) declared recently by the cabinet ministers of India. This post would also highlight few of the interesting observations that came out from these documents. And to begin with, none other than our honorable Prime Minister can hold the number one position in this series. I am trying to focus on the position capabilities versus their declared assets /liabilities( if any) of various cabinet members.

Prime Minister of India (2011):

Dr. Manmohan Singh (born 26 September 1932)

The prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system.

He (/she) selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, allocates posts to members within the Government and is the presiding member & chairman of the cabinet and is responsible for bringing proposal of legislation.

Dr. Manmohan Singh is among the few dignitary members who finally appreciated people's concern towards the exponentially growing corruption and seen active soon after team Anna's protest.

Once ranked among the top 100 influential people in the World, Mr. Singh took a real long time to start taking right decision at right time and making others follow to it.

Coming over to his declared assets, I found following five interesting points:

Mr. Singh is a loyal customer of State bank and holds over Rs. 3.7 Million rupees in five different accounts/banks.
He believes in saving money for future use and maintains five different term deposits in his preferred bank(s) with a term total term deposit of Rs. 28.4 Million.
He is a risk averse investor and do not like investing in shares etc.
He rather likes to invest in Post office to get tax benefits.
Still maintains same old Maruti 800 and do not believe in upgrading to a new and high tech high end vehicle.

And the following table gives you an overview of his assets in India:

A man with such a simple life and half a billion of assets says that he holds just Rs. 15000 in cash sounds interesting. And thus the "aam aadmi" is forced to think about the legitimacy of this publicly declared information...

To Fly !!

2011-07-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

I see a man

a man not far away

with a dream...!!

dream to fly high,

dream to be a hawk !!

But to be a hawk ...one need streamlined wings

And the will to take a risk...!!

Risk of giving yourself to gravity,

and wings the ability to fly high.

He is not sure as to how high can he fly

but shining stars fascinate him,

though far away

they look so close and accessible.

I see those bright eyes

they reminds me of "Arjun" from one of the epics !!

So bright and focused

Yet searching for something...

or someone who can help them

in seeing the not so seen

And make possible what seems unpredictable and impossible.

May the dream come true...

and one can see that man fly deep in the sky !!

Earth

2011-06-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

In a very Dawn

After the nuclear blackout,

After the dusk of shoot- n-smoke…

flourishes a bud of resurrection

Not retrospecting

But introspecting millions of intellect words

Nourished by millions of civilizations…

for the birth of the Best one,

Having the fragrance of science with conscience

for the beautiful garden of God.

“Had the bud flourished before,

Nothing would be to retrospect for!!

Team building activities for managers !!

2011-06-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

You get into an organization and it make sure that you stay there and make the Organization efficient and profitable. The day starts when one finds himself/herself in a place which seems like a Gurukul of early times. Its the perfect time to keep all your second thoughts aside and reap the learning from nature. The corporates call it Outbound Training/learning. Its the time when one understands that he/she is an integral part of society and it is the ecosystem that gives life to this society and all of this come at no cost. Its just that little effort is required from our side to develop various skills and be socially sensitive towards our ecosystem. If less developed life-forms can learn these skill-sets to survive and sustain, so can we.

A variety of programs are offered by various institutions for corporate organization in the form of Outbound Training Package which helps each team member/ participant in learning skills like swift action, peoples skill and smart thinking. These are the prerequisites in this contemporary world to survive in any organizational setup. In areas that involve building interpersonal relationships, trust and bonding, communication of shared vision and goals, motivation, behavior modification in response to change, and personal effectiveness such programs can prove to be of great help .

My experience :

In the initial phase I saw a clear demarcation between the two groups that was formed. One was a set of people coming from an elite family of institution and probably this created a mental blockage in accepting others as a team. This wall hindered the "gel-in" track for others. And they were not accepting others as an integral and important part of team.

Then I observed a randomness being induced to the groups by the system and it resulted in a cross boundary transition. Also the very formal setup of interaction was diverging to a more informal and open setup. This resulted in a steady flow of energy in the system and this energy later on became the energy house/source for the entire system and it kept on producing results beyond the expectation of the individual members. Finally it proved that an individual needs such kind of setup to explore more about himself/herself. People are found to become more introspective and uninhibited, paving the way for a complete and effective learning process. After spending a few days in an outdoor situation, team members tend to bond together in a way that is impossible in an urban atmosphere having its attendant worries and stress. And this complete process resulted in a well knit environment and its key elements with a clear understanding of being in a team and significance of other team members in achieving the goal.

She !!

2011-06-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

She...

is pretty,

has a killing smile,

sweet, sexy and salty too !!

Was in my dreams

now on earth.

Love,

dictionary fails here

to explain the feeling

and it remain inexplicable.

She...

is there, for my eyes to close

is there, when it opens.

Friends say its love

I just say

its a sacred feeling...

the feeling to care

the feeling of we

the feeling of togetherness..!!

One can find

an ocean of love

in the dreary desert of stillness

with lots of high tides.

Its not a mirage

but the heart speaking millions of words

And she is not an illusion

but end of confusion!!

A holy bliss is she.

Alone

2011-06-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

There sat a beautiful girl !!
away from the world is she,
away from fear
away from (the) tear,
of losing the Gods...
of losing the childish emotions !!!
For,
No One is there to take care
of the little lady;
Lost are the dreams,
For,
the dreamers are gone,
for ever...
No one is there to say
"Allah be praised";
No one to look after her
and be the gardener for this barren land;
she is waiting
waiting for them
and i feel that sinking heart
unable to tell..
No call can bring them back
neither you nor the God !!

journey to the best B School

2009-02-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

To start with ..i will take you to the D-day of being just another common student from Bihar, struggling to come in that elite group called IIM Grad. So the story actually started much before this 2009 February in kolkata.
Last night was a bit cool as i was teaching my little niece who is in her early KG's..and bhabhi was scolding her.."uncle ko kal interview main yahi poochha jaayega...!!!" But my love to teach kept me awake and away from those pre-interview inconsistent thoughts.
Next morning was quiet busy and after all possible preparations i saw an image in mirror which was well suited and fortunately the image looked smart and confident.

The cab dropped me outside the venue and i was happy to see people from the same community the to be future leaders"- as other biggies generally name us.
I met with people from different places and expectations and as per my style i relaxed the much tensed and heated waiting area. I went outside with couple of my new friends to have some snacks.
The day went well and the two consecutive interviews made me skeptical about the result of one and confident about the other. But still the answer remained the same for all my well wishers- "cant say..not that great".