Mera Mann

The Repatriation Ordeal In Corona Times

2020-07-02T03:35:00.005-07:00

The ordeal

While we all are in forced lockdown without being able to travel and this can be frustrating, however believe me when I say traveling at these times is even more frustrating.

(photo for representation only)

While I was happy to secure a flight home through "Vande Bharat Mission" repatriation flight after loosing my job in Dubai I was not really ready for the ordeal that was to come. The AirIndia Express flight to Chennai was at 1150hrs on 1st July. I have been one of the lucky few to get a ticket home in the 4th phase of Vande Bharat mission from Dubai to Chennai.

In normal times a 2hrs or 3hrs pre arrival at airport would have been sufficient. However these are different times and we came 5hrs before expecting too many formalities. The arrangement at Dubai terminal 2 was adequate. Social distancing well maintained with chairs spaced for seating, An initial rapid test conducted and a sticker on passport mentioning “FIT TO FLY”

After this we were directed to checkin counter for boarding pass which again went smoothly. Since my work got terminated my visa was cancelled and it had incurred some overstay fines. The immigration officer directed me to pay the fines.

This is where it all started , the ones who were in these lines impatient as their flight was about to close gates and frustrated as they never expected a fine in such troubled times as there were limited or no flights earlier to take them back home. The staff here were a bit angry over those poor souls who had already put in the last of their savings in tickets and hoping to go back home to survive this pandemic. The queue in the payment counter was so long with no one following distancing and extremely stressful. The personnel there in fine collection were taking ever to process each payment and people were getting impatient as their flight time was coming close.. finally managed to do the payment for me and my wife and managed to get through security to my gate.

Since we were already late the boarding started as soon as we came to the gate with the airline systematically allowing windows first, middle then finally aisle seats.

The people who got middle seats were given additional PPE to wear.

It was advised not to remove the face mask, shield and gloves unless it was necessary. It was not comfortable to be wearing these and traveling but I guess we have no options considering the self and others safety.

I think the full face mask is a good thing to wear as it can prevent anything entering eyes, nose and mouth.

The flight journey was okay and arrived at Chennai airport. Funny that all those nice passengers who willingly were adhering to all the rules in Dubai suddenly turning rebels.

Even when I gently requested a senior person in front of me to maintain distancing and not come close to me to interact with another friend of his in the nearby line got agitated and was shouting back at us. Guess the stress had taken toll on everyone. I patiently listened and preferred not to respond back.

Immigration was smooth in Chennai. There were forms being distributed to fill our option wither to go to government free quarantine or paid hotel quarantine. We chose paid quarantine as filled the forms accordingly. Collected the baggage and reached the booth where we will be given details of the hotel quarantine. We were asked to fill a declaration that we will be paying our quarantine duration of 7days. The next stop was the COVID test. A nasal and throat swab was taken after which we proceeded to the bus waiting to take us to the hotel quarantine. Upon reaching hotel a few more forms filled payment done and finally reached the room which was okayish. Food was being served to your room in non contact way where the food is being kept at the door and you hav ego collect it on Yusuf own.

Quarantine

Day 0 : had reached hotel around 8pm got into room and were served dinner. Begin tired with the 14 hrs of stressful and frustrating travel have hit the bed..

Day 1 : Had a sound sleep and were woken up by the knock at the door. The breakfast was being served at 8.30AM. Nothing special but Idli with sambar and chutney. Shortly after the breakfast tea comes at 10.30. Took a shower and lunch arrived at 1.30 noon. Took time to call all our relatives and friends and let them know we are safe and sound. Day passes swiftly. Evening tea along with some snacks. The dinner was served at 8.30 PM.

Day 2 : Same routine as previous day

Day 3 : Same routine as previous day, Food is in so excess that we have started to put some out in the window for birds to eat instead of having it thrown in garbage. Some crows have started to be interested in the leftover but they are still very cautious when picking the food.

Day 4 : It has been a routine morning and have slowly got used to it. Around after we got a call from the reception asking us to come down with any ID cards and get our Swab test done. The hospital staff after asking some routine questions led us to get our nasal and throat swabs. Back to room.

Day 5 : The routine somehow feels annoying as after all these food we have nowhere to walk and have to be in our room. The crows have now become used to us and do not mind us sitting right next to the window when they take away the food.

Day 6 : Routine continues

Day 7 : Are hoping that our results will be shared by evening today and will come to know when we can checkout and reach our home. But nothing yet till 6PM.. So it looks like another day of solitude.

Day 8 :

(To be continued)

A Year to forget

2020-06-14T07:33:00.001-07:00

Year 2020 came in silently into our life like a serial killer, no one would ever suspected what it had to offer. If you survive this medically, mentally or monetarily you should be happy. 2020 has hit everyone like a tsunami, and only a few will make it alive to remember this.

It has been only 6 months of 2020 yet the causality are very high. Like any other year it started with a New year well celebrated across the world, however the happiness was destined to last only a few days when the first few cases of corona were recorded in the Far East. It did not take long for this to spread across. Even those who thought this would be yet another flu that will be eventually cured and will not affect them had to change their mind when it gradually spread in Italy, Europe and the US. All the initial theories that it will slow down when the temperature soars also fell flat when the fatalities and people affected kept growing in numbers.

To a generation who are used to the mad rush and running around like headless chicken this year has taught them that certain wars have to be won only by sitting at your home and doing nothing. This year has taught that you can do your household chores yourself without requiring a domestic help, that its more important to value small things in life who knows those could become dearer. Even a stroll to the neighboring park, a shake hand with known, a hug with your friend, a visit to the mall could be snatched from you. All those crazy hours you spent in your office were never needed neither where those business travels.

With still 6 months to go and no known cure it seems like 2020 will be one of the worst years of anyone alive. Those who survive will never forget the scar it has given. With many loosing their near and dear ones and who lost their jobs only hoping to limp back to normalcy it is more of a nightmare that one wished to forget and never remember.

Addicted to Apple

2020-06-14T06:08:00.001-07:00

Am I being the Adam who ate the forbidden apple when I say I am addicted to Apple.

Being a staunch android user I have always believed apple was overhyped and kept on my love for android devices until I accidentally dropped my precious Huawei phone cracking its screen. Left with no choice had to borrow my wife’s iPhone 7+ which I though was a few days affair. However blame my laziness which prevented me from having my Huawei repaired and eventually led to me using the iPhone and gradually upgraded ito to a iPhone X and then a XS, in between these transitions I had to subconsciously move on to a Apple Watch and a MacBook Pro.

Things still seemed as if it was under control but not addicted and may not require any de-addiction or medication. However things got changed when I bought the iPad Pro 2020 recently for which I had to buy a magic keyboard and a Apple Pencil 2.

This is when I slowly realized how I was falling into the rabbit hole even without knowing it.

So am I addicted to the Apple, Probably...

Perseid Meteor Shower 2018 [Dubai]

2018-08-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

With Very high expectations and equal enthusiasm booked my Perseid meteor shower and stargazing along with my friend through the Mleiha Archaeological Center.

I have always wanted to shoot start trails, Milky way and was hoping to get some nice shots. Being the first time ever to be shooting night skies did some hurried google searches to get tips on how to enable this shoot. As per the expert suggestions I packed my Tripod, Wide angle lens, intervelometer , extra batteries and storage card. The Mleiha archaeological center had arranged this stargazing with the beautiful backdrop of Mleiha fossil rock site which was an hours drive from our home to the Archaeological center reception and thereafter a bus would take us to the prearranged spot where there will be a presentation about the event and then we could have a look at some of the planets (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) through the telescopes they had setup and finally enjoy the meteor showers later on the night.

The key to get great night skies is with reduced light pollution. But since the Mleiha center had also allowed people to take their own 4x4 this was being a tough ask with some one or other driving in to the location with their 4x4s and headlights.

The event started with a screen presentation of the event by astronomers from the center and then asking people to take turns to have a look at the planets through their telescopes. The hosts ensured that all the visitors were provided all the information needed regarding the skies and where to expect the Perseid meteor showers. They announced that the lights will be dimmed so that all could watch the skies clearer. The Milky way was told to have appeared right above us (which was not visible to naked eye) We hoping to capture with our camera pointed in the direction and started taking long exposure shots. The occasional vehicles were being a pain but it was not in our control. The Perseid meteor started appearing and enthusiasm level raised with people making noise whenever one spotted one. It was told that we could see at least 60 meteorites in an hour but the number was far less. the meteors were not in a straight line but appearing random in the sky making it difficult for us to capture, So we kept focused on the milky way expecting for a miracle that we may capture one such meteor streaking past in our captures (we were not lucky enough) At around 1.30 AM we decided we will pack off and call it a day.

I am yet to process the shots captured. (Please keep an eye in this page to see what we captured)
starry-night

When Ego is a Good thing

2017-07-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

I am sure every one have heard about "ego" and it is the one three lettered dreaded word which no one wants to be associated with. "EGO" me...? Nah... But only a few might have actually heard about "ego search" and its not a path of self enlightenment where you search for your inner ego. It is not as bad as it might sound.

Wikipedia actually defines ego search as "Ego-surfing is the practice of searching for one's own name, or pseudonym on a popular search engine in order to review the results." or put in simple words "Googling yourself"

In fact its a good thing to search your name/nickname in Google and to analyze the first page results. Its indeed a proud moment to have google return pages related to you unless it is "content not suitable for all viewers". It is a great source of information about you. My search results usually is my personal homepage or a link to my LinkedIn profile or some post that shared in some social site. But occasionally it does surprise me with links which were long forgotten. In one of my recent ego search I came across the links to 2 books for which I had sold my photographs to be cover image. It was a pleasant surprise as I had forgotten how passionate I had been about my photography and that recently I find little time to go out and take photographs as I used to do earlier. Its also one way to keep check of incorrect online information about you.

So don't be shy and key in your name in google search and see what it returns. Who knows you might discover something that you didn't know about.

When TGGT, TTGG

2017-07-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the riddle in the title however what it meant was "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

This is a very apt statement that portrays the current scenario in India. The past couple of years have been tumultuous for the people in India. Demonetization, GST, Beef Ban and what not. We were promised a "Achhe Din" (Good days ahead) not this.

Political parties and their underlying politicians have plundered the country of what was left of the British and Moghuls invasion. Not pointing fingers any particular party but the fact remains that there have been greedy individuals who in the expense of the rest of the country had profited and accumulated wealth to last generations. While a very few shrewd ones grew irrespective of who was in power the poor where kept poor.

Steering a vast country like India is a humongous task. This can be related to a huge ship(like Titanic) which has been put in autopilot mode , the new captain arrives at the deck only to realize the imminent fact that they will hit the iceberg, Now as a last resort he tries to steer away sharply which causes the disturbance to the passengers (rich and poor). The rich unhappy that they are unable to dance in the ball room or have their sip of wine and the poor unhappy with the ruckus that has made his last piece of bread fall from hand. The impact is averted with minor bruises. Unlike the fate of titanic all are alive but now all complain that the captain has indeed steered in the wrong direction.

So ... "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

It is a tough situation for all and its only right that we pull our socks up and in the words of D.Trump "Make India Great Again" (not exactly what he said but does makes sense here)

Disclaimer : Not meant to hurt anyone's sentiments. Be kind in your comments.

To Jallikattu or not

2017-01-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

Are age old traditions always a social evil or do they carry some hidden message ?

Born in a country with vivid cultures and 23 constitutionally recognized languages you will find a different tradition every 50 mile you travel. But one intriguing question is whether these traditions were merely introduced for fun or do they have some deeper message. During the early 1800 there have been multiple peoples movement that aimed at abolishing few of these traditions as it was more considered as blind beliefs. Mostly fueled by western influence that knew that our culture is our identity and in order to defeat us these traditions have to be demolished. This continued into 1900 as it united people against the then British government. Post independence people realized that these traditions were part of their culture and their identity and it was not a good thing to forget.

One such tradition being "Jallikattu" or eru thazhuvuthal or manju virattu practiced in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration. It is a traditional sport in which a specific breed of bull is released into a crowd which tries to grab the hump of the bull with both arms and hands while the bull attempts to escape. Jallikattu event symbolizes how ancient Tamils tamed the bull and introduced them to farming. There are evidences that Jallikattu has been practiced even before 400 BC.

In 2014 the supreme court banned this sport in response to a petition from Peta and some animal welfare organizations that claimed it was cruelty to animals and a threat to public safety. Its important to note that bulls never get killed during the Jallikattu but people participating do get hurt and killed. There has been a wider faction of people who consider that this tradition was in place to protect the indigenous breed and ensure the lineage of the Kangeyam bulls and that the effort of Peta is actually with ulterior motive of introducing western breeds.

People of Tamil Nadu united for this cause and protested in 2016 right after the Pongal being denied the celebration of Jallikattu. The protest continued for more than a week peacefully and finally TN government passed an ordinance that allows Jallikattu now. Even though the crowd of students without a leadership clashed with the police when asked to disperse after successfully achieving the intention of the protest.

There are many such traditions that have been in practice but now forgotten in the busy schedule of people.

Balls of Steel

2016-11-13T01:02:00.002-08:00

There is lot of commotion and people have been put to some awkward situation following the announcement from our Honorable Prime Minister Modi last week regarding the demonitizing of 1000 Rs and 500 Rs notes.

I have been hearing about the sudden disruption and discomfort caused to the unsuspecting law abiding citizens. Unfortunately I cannot give the first hand experience being an expat working out of India , however I have been talking with relatives , friends and colleague in India about the situation and if at all they are facing any serious issues. Most of them reported that there are some minor issues however nothing that cannot be handled. I am sure this might not be the case with everyone as situations vary with people and location.

There are a variety of reactions from people

Some laud the PMs strong action however also accepting that it could be more streamlined.
Some feel this is a bad move and could cause more issues than benefits.
Some are totally against it and have been sharing their concerns.
Some are questioning the motive and alleging foul play as well for personal mileage. (no prize for guessing ... )
And there are people who are really affected the ones who have lots of undeclared money and now feel that their lifetime savings are at risk.

I am sure people out there can relate themselves in one of the above category. India is huge country and any such change has a large impact. To decide something of such a mamothness and still be able to maintain the secrecy to ensure that those culprits could not get any information is something which is so commendable from all those involved including the PM. One important role of the people in this great decision of the PM is electing him with the clear majority and thereby allowing him to do what will benefit people. Its a well known fact how a few people have been able to manage to bend/break rules to their benefits in the last few decades and thereby able to accumulate money.

One thing the country had been lacking in the recent past is a leader who could make strong decisions and own it. I personally feel that it needs balls of steel to take such decisions and PM Modi has shown his mettle.

Nimbu Paani

2016-05-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

Google I/O 2016, the annual developers conference for Google, introduced a plethora of new goodness. Google also announced improvements to Android — though N, out of beta this summer, still needs to be named.

You can participate too by visiting this page .

I personally would like the name "NimbuPaani". Its high time Google gives India some importance now that we have Sunder Pichai there for support.

Out of all the major improvements to the new OS , in Andoid N you will be able to run android application without the need to download it.

Some more exciting things that you may see coming soon are Allo, Duo, Daydream,

Things I Miss

2016-05-20T03:03:00.000-07:00

Just after seeing an article "Giving up my iPod for a Walkman" I realized there are lot many things in the world which we sparingly use now a days. Certain things which were a must have and hard to live without have vanished from the face of earth now. Technology took a drastic turn in the last decade and its worth noting that few things we were used to in our earlier childhood will never exist and the generations coming might never have heard or experienced them.

Talk about calculators and kids now a days would really be amazed to know that they actually had a device for calculator while its an application in their smartphone or tablet.

Pay phones are slowly becoming obsolete, can't remember when I used one to call someone.

Postbox - Remember the red shiny box that stood in street corners where you would drop your letters which you intend to send to some friend or distant relative. Rightly called as snail mail it has been replaced by faster means of communication like mobile phones , chat apps and emails. Written communication no more runs into pages but hardly 140 characters long.

Stamps - Something related to the above. The only stamp I've recently used would be a revenue stamp.

Televisions antenna on which the telecast will get disturbed if a tired crow planned to rest on it for a while.

Desktop Personal Computer It wont be long before the Desktop Personal Computer or PC as we all call it would be a history and only seen in museum. We already know that PC sales have started declining the last few years as people tend to by smartphones/tablets which more powerful than these PCs.

Does anyone still use a fountain pen , I am sure in some some years from now people will even forget the pen. I know some schools who ask students to do online homework and get printout out of assignments.

vtrravikumar's photostream

2013-05-20T23:57:00.001-07:00

vtrravikumar's photostream on Flickr.

Like the new look of Flickr and guess what you get 1Tb of storage now... The photostream comes to life with the new look and feels great.

Before Google+ or 500px came flickr was the site where photographers could share their shots with everyone but in between it had lost its charm and was ignored, now with the revamped design and additional storage space I am sure it is going to wipe the dust off and kickstart again. This move by yahoo sure to kindle the interest again with the photographer community.

One more addition to the already exciting change is the android app for flickr now made available in google play. (http://goo.gl/fiY8h )

Top 10 Cloud Vendors

2011-08-17T06:01:00.001-07:00

I came across this blog post by Peter Laird (Blog link) which I found to be an interesting way to rank the cloud vendors but since this list had been prepared almost 2 years before, I decided to give it a shot now to see how the ranking had changed over time.

Based on the methodology used by Peter I did the following :

Cleared all browser cookies
Ensured I was logged out of Google (to avoid personalized results)
Navigated to the www.google.com search page
Typed “cloud computing” in the search box

However unlike Peter I did not browse through all the pages but restricted my ranking until I found 10 vendors. The result is as follows.

From the search results scrubbed off all non vendors and then collected the first occurrence of each of the following vendors.

Page	Rank	Vendor	URL
1	1	Salesforce	http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/
	2	IBM	http://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/
	3	Amazon EC2	http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/
2	4	Dell	http://content.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/cloud-computing.aspx
	5	Microsoft	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud/default.aspx
	6	VmWare	http://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-computing/index.html
3	7	F5	http://www.f5.com/solutions/cloud-computing/
	8	CloudVertex	http://www.cloudvertex.com/
	9	Novell	http://www.novell.com/cloud/
5	10	EMC	http://www.emc.com/microsites/cloud/cloud.htm

Congrats to Salesforce for being on the top of the list…

Technorati Tags: Cloud,Cloud computing,Cloud Vendors,Rank,2011

IITF Trade Fair , 2010

2010-11-20T10:22:00.001-08:00

The trade fair in Pragati Maidan for the year 2010 started on November 14th but was not open to public until 19th November. The experience I had the previous year has taught me not to go to IITF in a weekend and was planning to take a off some time in the weekday to visit the trade fair which I did not want to miss in any cost.

While I was still wondering when to take the leave I got to know that Interviewers were required in office this Sunday for some walk-ins my company had planned. I luckily made a deal with my senior colleague and convinced him that I will volunteer to be in office the following Sunday if I was allowed to take off the Friday. With my plans to visit Pragati maidan on a weekday coming in shape I was more than happy chalking the travel plans for the next day. Since I assumed it would be difficult to find parking nearby the Pragati Maidan I decided to use the Delhi Metro from Mayur Vihar. Although the initial plan was to wake up early and leave for the trade fair early morning, we were able to leave home only around 11 AM, but luckily got an auto till the nearest metro station, where I also bought the entry ticket for the Trade fair and in no time we were at the Pragati Maidan gate near the Metro Station.

Even though it was Friday morning there was a good crowd lined up in the entry for security checking. There were lines separate for Ladies and Gentlemen and one dedicated line for those who did not carry and bags with them. Since this was a very small line and there was no point that me and my wife carrying a bag each wait in line, I asked my wife to hand over her hand-purse to me and quickly use the third line but at last moment it was known that the no bags line was only for Men. Even thought dissapointed I handed over the bag and hand-purse now to my wife and I quickly completed my security check and started waiting for my wife for whom it almost took half an hour in the long line and limited security equipments.

As soon as we entered we were able to get into stall number 8,9,10,11 which housed the cosmetics, CSIR technology hall (Psst do not miss the DNA identification stall here). Hall number 12 is home appliances good to see stalls from Toshiba, BSA (some nice tread mills & Cycles), Singer sewing machine, Prestige etc., A lot of these brands were offering great discounts to woo customers. Even though I was enjoying all these my wife was in the lookout for the Khadi stall where she would get some nice sarees. We soon exited the Stall 12 and reached the Khadi stall which is near the Maharashtra hall.

The Khadi Gramudyog stall is the place where you could find the handicraft or hand-woven cloths from all over India. Do lookout for the nice bamboo and cane furniture's here. While my wife was still on the lookout for the sarees I spotted a interesting object. A small motorcycle totally made out of bamboo parts. Even the wheel of the bike is a bamboo diagonally cut piece. There is no plastic/metal part in the mobike but all bamboo. This was from the Nagaland Stall and It was so catchy that it will surely interest anyone. This guys had very less stock and have no plans to get more from Nagaland. The motorcycle was priced at Rs.1500 which at the first may seem slightly more but in a second thought the delicate work surely is worth of it. There was also a Glider/Airplane that was also made using only bamboo. This was a bit lesser in price (Rs.300) owing to the less amount of effort involved in this. I was able to bargain and strike a deal of Rs.1500 for both the bike and the airplane which I felt was a fair deal. My wife still around the saree stall was able to spot a beautiful Kantha work saree which she bought for Rs.4500 and a suit material with Kashmiri work over that.

Check the link for the picture of the bike

Finally tired walking till now we took a snacks break and again resumed visiting the remaining stalls. The Hall no 6 which is having the international stalls from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Korea, Indonesia. (Do checkout the marble works from Pakistan and stone pendants and ornaments from Afghanistan)

Locked outside

2010-10-16T07:39:00.001-07:00

I was very happy when I bought this Godrej Ultra twin bolt lock (“India’s first unpick able Locking System) and installed in the main entrance of my rented apartment which happens to be in the second floor. Great lock with those computerized dimpled keys and did not require a key to lock just shut the doors and feel safe.. But least did I realize that this great feature will become a curse.

A friend of my wife had visited us along with her husband and child after half a day long conversation and get together when it was time for them to leave myself and my wife walked them out of the door leaving my father-in-law at home. We walked all the way down the stairs to their car, our talks continued a little more before they got seated themselves in their car. It was when I noticed that my Father-in-law too had come just behind us to see them off and inadvertently slamming the door on the way out.. Great news… none had carried the keys while coming out … Just that we all realize that we are all now locked outside our house at 8.00 PM.

The doors in the balcony facing the road was open but there was no way that it could be accessed easily. I do always have an extra set of key in my car but guess what the car keys too are locked in the house.. So looking into the situation the options left were.. Break the wooden door (Not possible with the landlord living in the first floor), Break one of the side glass of the car and get the house keys( this would certainly dent my wallet), Or ask the neighbors to let me in and since their balcony and ours is side by side I can try sling shot my self into our floor (But problem is this is to occur in the second floor and would be highly risky to be doing out in the dark). After analyzing all the pros and cons the last option of me dangling out of the neighbors balcony seemed to the one with no direct monetary impact as long as i do not fall off and break my bones.

I walked up to my neighbors door and apologetically enquired if they would permit me do what I had thought of doing.. They agreed to that immediately and I know they too would have wanted to watch me fall that's why they agreed to it so easily… Clinging to their balcony wall carefully I managed to reach out my balcony and finally jumped in safely to retrieve the keys which were inside and in no time opened the door from inside to everyone's relief…

But not much days have gone by after this incident that it happened again. Me and my wife had a tussle and being angry and show it she walked out of the door and sat in the step in front of the door and acting as if she was crying.. A little while later I came out and finding her sitting out there covering her face I wanted to make some noise.. How stupid of me .. I slammed the door close to make her realize I was standing behind her.. Guess what no keys this time as well…

There I was sheepishly standing at my neighbors doors requesting them to allow me do my stunt once more…

Technorati Tags: Godrej,locks,unpickable,locked out,stupid,keys

Nothing Succeeds like Success

2010-09-27T07:56:00.001-07:00

“Nothing Succeeds like a Success” is the favorite quote of my Wife and I am glad it suits the following incident.

I have always been an average child. My marks in my school were barely enough to fetch me a decent rank somewhere ranging between 15 – 25 in a class of 45. I was not a popular student but neither a trouble maker, I was the average timid guy. I’ve often wondered how poor my luck was. I did not have skills like singing or dancing but I did fairly well in sketching. However in my school days I rarely won any competition.

I could still remember the day I joined my engineering college which was a newly opened college and we were first batch. The college being a new one did not have a logo/emblem of its own and it was announced that the college would give opportunity to its new students to showcase their talent and allow them to design the college logo/emblem. Although I knew how good my stars were I thought I should give it a shot. In the evening when I returned back to my room, I started sketching out a logo in my college notebook and almost finished it in a couple of hours. As I did not want to tear this off my note I decided I would photocopy it and submit the following as my entry.

The centre of the logo was the famous Rock Fort of Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), and the four sides were symbols to represent four streams Computer Science, Communication, Electrical and Mechanical. Since I probably submitted to early and the deadline was still on I almost forgot about this competition. A couple of days later when I entered our class room a group of my classmates informed me that My Logo had been selected to be the college logo. It truly was a new beginning and I could sense my luck changing already. My Joy knew no bounds and within the first few days I was already popular in my college and everyone in my college (roughly 140 students) and the faculty seemed to know me now. I received a cash award or Rs.500 from the director of my College Dr.Shanmuganathan.

This incident certainly changed me from an average timid guy to a confident person which I am now.

Haemophobia

2010-09-17T07:07:00.001-07:00

I still remember the day I first donated blood. I have been having this fear of seeing blood (Haemophobia) since birth but I first identified this condition of mine while I had to do a blood test in school. This is the time when they prick you with a needle, collect a drop of blood and smear it in a glass plate. Everything went normal so far… even the pricking but when the nurse starts to squeeze the finger and a drop of blood emerges that's when I felt some what like missing a heart beat and with minutes I found myself flat on ground… (Obviously I had fainted).

Being aware of this particular weakness in me I usually avoid watching blood but there are times when I try to be bold and take the first step to try and see if this still happens and mostly the result is same as the first time. Once while I was in college there was some requirement of blood and there was a peon who enquired in every class if someone was willing to donate. Since it had been a while when I had fainted I thought I would give it a try. I volunteered and we were all to reach a nearby hospital where it was actually required. After the initial formalities the hospital staff over there enquired who would like to have it done first.. Being the scared one I thought it would be better if its quick and I go first so that I need not see others and get scared more embarrassing all others and my self. I was asked to lay down in one of those beds and in a while the nurse was nearby with a cotton and needle in hand wiping the upper part of my forearm just in the elbow joint. Even before I realized she had already pierced the needle and the job was started. I thought it would be better if I avoid seeing the sachet where the blood was filled up. To my amazement in few minutes the pouch was full and needle removed from my hand and after wiping it off with cotton a band-aid was applied over the spot. I felt greatly relieved as there was no drama involved in this encounter. One by one all those who volunteered had donated blood and we were provided some coupons so that we can have some fresh fruit juice from canteen. We drank the juice and as it was already time in the evening when all our classes were over we decided to return back home. I boarded the public transport bus which was already full with no vacant seats. Just as I continued the journey towards home I thought what if my parents see the band-aid and enquire about it … It would really be awkward that I had to explain all those things. I decided I should peel off the band-aid and removed it in a jerk. This is when I spotted the needle mark and silently a small drop of blood peeked through it.

Bham !!! The next thing I remember was I was seated in the bus with few of the passengers fanning me and wiping the sweat off my forehead.

Monsoon Trip to Manali

2010-09-10T02:17:00.001-07:00

After having created a great deal of hype in the office and at home of going to Leh even after the disaster had struck I finally had to call it off in the last moment much to the relief of many but to a great personal disappointment. Our trip to Leh was planned well in advance and the preparation was also in full swing. Even though we knew that Leh was battered after the cloud burst in first week of August, 2010 we were expecting to get some positive news before our planned departure day(3rd Sept). But there was no positive signs till the last moment and finally we had to call off the trip. However as the leaves were already applied and cancelling them off was not a good idea we started scouting for probable places (Shimla, Jaisalmer, Manali…)where we may now visit we finally chose Manali.

Day 1 (5th September 2010):

I love driving very early morning when there is no one in the road and its easy to cross cities so we started our move around 2 AM in the morning but just as we reached the Delhi border go struck in a Jam caused by some accident, finally able to continue our move after an hour. As expected the rest of the drive was smooth and we sailed across Panipat, Ambala and Bye passing Chandigarh made our way through panchkula where we started to see rough roads all damaged in rains. Just as I was thinking this was worse there was something even more challenging waiting for us ahead. Due to the continuous rains the road ahead had been washed away by a seasonal river and the river was crossing right between the road.

There were some Truck and Jeeps waiting in both ends not sure whether they should take the risk of crossing the river or wait. I could see from the motorcyclist who were trying to cross how deep the water was and the force of the river was also too much. Since waiting here was not one of the option. We took the lead of trying to cross which although felt heroic at that time but now realize how stupid it would have been if we had been washed away or if the engine stopped in midway. With Adrenaline pumping and taking guidance from my instincts I kept to the left side of the road where the water was just gushing out back into deep nowhere. When we were right in the middle at times it seemed as though it was too much for the car to take and it might just stop midway and would have been a nightmare to us and funny scene to those waiting truck drivers who certainly would have felt “Were we stupid to be waiting in the shores”. But luckily after a few minutes we were on the other side of the road. No sooner did we cross giving inspiration to the larger vehicles they followed us.

Only after crossing we realized what we had done.. As we could see the trucks and jeeps struggling their way through the water which almost was till 3/4 of their large tyre and can imagine our small car could have been half way inside this river when we were crossing the same. I could already see adventure written all over in this trip. Later on I came to know that this place was Nalagarh (Aptly named I guess). With the sense of achievement in our hearts we continued this journey towards Manali. The road now starts winding and climbing and we could feel the increase in altitude by feel of pressure in the ear building up by a peek at the sides where in we could see the valley in one side going deeper with every few meter or road travelled. Already in early mornings now we could feel the need for a cup of tea.

We reached a place called Swarghat which looked like a tiny village in the mountains and just as the road side shop keeper started making tea it started with a drizzle and converted into a rainfall. What else could one ask for in such a superb whether a hot sip of Chai… After this the road keeps on winding Gaining/loosing altitude as we proceed further till Mandi where we take the turn towards Kullu. The road towards Kullu is nice and mostly has the river Beas on one side throughout the journey. You could enjoy the great view on both sides of the river. As we all know its not the destination that matters in a trip but the journey itself.

The way to Kullu is very scenic with some great views along side river Beas. On the way you could see a waterfall. Tourist usually stop to take some snaps in this place. Next comes a 2 Km long tunnel crossing which we reach the Kullu Valley via Bhunter. The Kullu Manali airport is in Bhunter and this is where the roads to Kullu/Manali and Manikaran splits. Once you reach Kullu which is roughly 7 Kms from Bhunter, there are two ways from Kullu to Manali on either side of Beas. We took the Highway which we soon realized was in bad shape as repairing work was in full swing. The Trip on this road was a spine breaker with pot holes and rough rodes till the last mile to Manali.

Reaching Manali roughly at 4 PM we were on the look for a nice hotel which would have some great view. The government hotel rooms were not so well kept and stink of moisture due to the continuous rains. Since this was of-season the first thought was to look out for bigger names (Holiday Inn, Sterling Resort) which would be available in discounted rates. We checked out the rooms of Holiday Inn and Sterling but the rooms with good views were already booked and the ones available were not so nice.

We came across this nice hotel (Hotel Lords Residency) on one side of Beas. The gentleman at the reception was kind enough to show all the available rooms and the best part was it was available in almost 50% discounted rates. The hotel was scantily occupied and we also came to know that it was just renovated a few months before which we could see from the new furnishings, LCD TV and clean bathrooms. The room was some kind of Large suite with large glass windows in two sides providing a great view of Beas in one side and mountains in the other. Being tired after almost a 12 hour drive we chose to retire for the day. The plan for next day was to check if visiting Rohtang(Pass) was possible and do local site seeing.

Day 2 (6th September 2010):

We came to know from the Hotel staff that road to Rohtang was badly damaged and there was no snow fall to see over there but if we still were interested we could rent a cab rather than go in our car with low ground clearance. Still confused we decided to do the local site seeing first before finalizing Rohtang. Among the places to visit locally are Hidimba Temple, Manu Temple, Vashisht Temple.

Hidimba Devi Temple

Almost hidden by giant deodars on the outskirts of the village Dungri stands this wooden temple dedicated to goddess Hidimba. This temple is supposed to be build around 1553 by Raja Bahadur Singh. Manali is a famous spot for honeymooners and around the temple you could find peddlers urging you to buy Saffron(believed it will enhance the color of the baby if consumed by pregnant women) , Shilajit(very well-known for its aphrodisiacal properties in both men and women). During winters this temple is mostly covered with snow. People here are very particular about Photography of their deity and it is not welcome. So think twice before you compose your shot.

You can get dressed up in traditional dress available here for rent (50 – 100 bucks) Also around the temple you could find Yaks or large white rabbits available to take a photograph with them for some money.

Manu Temple

Manu Temple has remained as one of the primary Manali tourist attractions, since times immemorial. It is believed to be the place where sage Manu meditated after stepping on earth. Manali has a distinct historical background that is appealing to most people who visit the pilgrim spot. According to Hindu mythology, Manu sage is the divine creator of the human race in the world. It was in this region that the sage dwelt and meditated. Whenever you visit Manali, make sure to see the temple too.

The Mall Road

The Mall road is a great hit during the Honeymoon season when you could see mostly newly wed couples who come out for a stroll. The mall has shops that are mostly eateries, or sell Shawls. The hand made shawls are mostly from the nearby villages made of Lambs wool, Yak wool, Pashmina or Angora (Rabbit hair). If you really wish to get some souvenir make sure that you land in genuine shops (Bhuttico). Also beware of cheats who try to Sell Chingu (Google for details).

Day 3 (7th September 2010)

Vashisht Temple

The Vashisht temple is yet another must see place when you visit Manali. This places houses the famous hot sulphur spring known for its healing power. The Hindu sage Vashisht is said to have prayed in this location for 1000 years. The path to this temple is a steep ride and then a breath taking walk for the last 500 mts.

The temple is a beauty to watch and do not miss to take a bath in this sacred hot water spring. You can buy towels in the nearby shop for a hefty price in case you forgot to take yours.

You could again find people trying to lure you to buy or see/hear about chingu here. its best that you ignored them and keep walking.

After giving much thought we finally decided to drop Rohtang /Solang Valley during this trip. We vacated the room and started on our way back to Delhi. But we already started to feel how short this trip till now has been considering the amount of effort it had consumed till now. Unable to make our mind we continued our drive back to Kullu now via Naggar. This road was far better than the highway and had apple trees on the both the side of the road. All the way we could see people carrying basket full of apples ready to be sorted and boxed. We stopped at one such place where apples were being packed in boxes and asked how much for a few kilos as we did not want a whole box, the person out there said they would not be able to sell in fewer quantities as he had nothing to weigh but he was kind enough to hand us over 5 big apples (atleast 2 Kilos) for free. Upon having a bite we realized the difference, These fresh apples were so juicy and tasty unlike the ones we used to buy in the cities.

In a spur of thought we decided not to return back directly but to continue our journey and to reach McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala.

(… To be continued)

100 Things in my Life

2010-09-03T03:25:00.001-07:00

100 is just figuratively speaking but the following are the things which I have already done or wish to do someday.

Things I have already done :

Started my own blog
Had chicken pox
Visited Amarnath
Had a Camel ride
Walked in Times Square
Seen Snow fall
Seen a frozen Lake
Donated Blood
Got Drunk and passed out
Seen a Glacier
Fell from bike
Held a praying mantis
Taken a sick day when not ill
Watched Sun rise and sun set in sea the same day
Watched from the top of Empire State building
Bus ride in Manhattan
Swim in Sea
Done a public speech
Posted an article in local newspaper
Built a sand castle
Won a prize
Fall off a running Bus
White water Rafting
Jumped off a cliff into a river
Spent a whole day in an airport
Collected hail
Spent a night in Tent
Bathed in a frozen River
Felt an Earthquake
Bribed someone
Got pick pocketed
Travelled without ticket in a bus and got caught
Forged Signed fathers signature in school report card
Proposed some one
Ride an Elephant
Driven car in 160 km/hr (roughly 100 miles/hr)
Lost a loved one
Own a cell phone
Own a DSLR
Kissed in a plane
Visited ground zero
Drink a tequila shot
Talked to a stranger
Walked on beach in moonlight
Played in a Casino
Bathed in a waterfall
Swim in a well and almost drowned and saved
Watched movie in open air theater
Stayed in a shikara (Boat house)
Watched from the top of Burj Khalifa
Went to Ladakh
Bought an SUV
Bath in a hot spring
Drive a car in a foreign country

Things I Wish to do some day

Drive a huge Truck
Trek alone in some distant mountains
Go on a Cruise
Visit Niagara Falls
Bungee jump
Ride an Ostrich
Buy a Royal Enfield
Save someone’s life
Walk in Africa
See an active Volcano
Ride on the top or a train
Write a book and get published
Fly in an Helicopter
Start a Business
Go to a drive-in Cinema
Drive a Harley
Buy a home near sea shore
Go Skiing

Wish this Never Happens

Struck by a lightening
Broken a bone
Watched someone die
Bitten by a snake/stung by a scorpion
Been to Jail

Better late than Never

2010-08-05T03:59:00.001-07:00

Apocalypse that is to finish off the earth by 21/12/2012 comes at a very short notice that leaves us with little chance for some great plans but I would say its “Better late than Never”

We all would agree that life is already screwed up beyond the chance of any revival and instead of turning our face away or ignoring all the warnings why not accept it and think about some positive things that could be done. I am not going to give the details on how The world is going to end or numerous signs that point to sure end by 2012 but rather would like provoke your thoughts on how we can plan to approach the inevitable Apocalypse and live life.

Planning for an apocalypse can be something new to all of us and since we may not know what may come and what we need to face it would be touch to plan something so instead of starting with how to survive an apocalypse lets start with an simpler task of how to spend our time worthwhile until the apocalypse. By the time I am posting this we are almost left with only 868 Days, my suggestion would be plan to work hard for a few more months 8 to 10 months the goal here is to accumulate as much money as you can within this time and then be well placed for the remaining year and a half. Many of us might have already have started certain saving plans, insurances etc., check how many of those can be en-cashed when an immediate need arises.

Postpone long term planning to post 2012.. (like buying an home, saving plans..) Instead of thinking about long term savings, plan to have more cash in hand and start thinking about those things you always dreamt of doing but just set them aside as you assumed it was not feasible now. (like going on a Trek, A long planned vacation, Buying your dream Car/Bike). This is not the time to buy home and end up locking your hard earned money but to invest in an SUV which may help you drive around and visit places. I would like to mostly travel during 2012. A RV could be a good bet, but am not sure how much I would require to buy one in India. I can certainly take a loan which I probably may not have to return.

So instead of ignoring or complaining about what is to come pull your self together and start thinking of what you want to do and how you plan to do the same.

(To be continued… )

Aspiring Writer

2010-06-23T11:39:00.001-07:00

One of the goals that I would like to achieve in my life is to write a book. I have not thought of whether it would be a Fiction, something Technical or an autobiography. Leave alone writing I have been not much into reading as well. But my instincts do say that one day I will surely fulfill this dream of mine. I am not sure about the future of novels or books in coming few years owing to the way in which technology is changing and how internet, communication and mobile is changing every minute.

My first thought in this direction is to start reading books. I came across this important link with mention of some 75 must read books for aspiring writers which I felt I could share with. Some really nice books mentioned out here a very large list though with the rate at which I read I am not sure I would be able to complete reading them all before I could start writing my self.

A few of the examples listed out there:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King:
The Best Writing on Writing by Jack Heffron:
Keys to Great Writing by Stephen Wilbers:

Entrepreneur by Accident

2010-06-12T03:55:00.001-07:00

I accidently came across a few articles(Bread King Professor, An entrepreneur by accident) about some successful entrepreneur via links shared through Twitter. Reading through the articles you tend to remain amazed how these people were successful in their business and were able to set up an empire.

Last year during the slow down a lot of us would have thought of an own venture of opening a small business a few might have tried starting and a very few might now be chuckling in success but if you try to look into the history of these entrepreneur you would note how they did not mind to start it with a very small scale. People at our level who are in their mid 30’s have already reached a spot where returning back and starting up afresh is considered cheap. Its not those Birla’s , Tata’s and Ambani’s that we have to choose our role models but these Entrepreneur by accident who did not succumb to all odds and wrote their own success stories.

Although the sequences of events when read through the article writers eyes zoom past in fast forward the fact is they have really put in a huge effort and time spanning for almost one to two decades before they could actually reap the fame of success.

Do pen your responses in comments or write to me @twivtr

Technorati Tags: Entrepreneur by accident,Entrepreneur,accident,success

On the wrong side of the Cage…

2010-06-09T10:23:00.001-07:00

Had a very weird dream last night which I would like to share…

It started with me and a bunch of people scrambling through some rugged mountain terrain and just as we were nearing the foot hills we come to know that there is a zoo. Curiously and cautiously I rush through to reach a barbed fence like thing and try to peek to see if get to see some glimpse of any wild animal just when I hear a roar behind me. I turn around only to see a lion standing a few meters away from me when I realize I have been in the wrong side of the barbed wire along with the lion all the way and was expecting it to be at the other side. I try to run and climb some structure to avoid the grasp of the lion just then my phone rings (Actually my morning Alarm) I wake up sweating in the air conditioned room…

Cant figure out what exactly this means but being a person who believes in sign I want to think this is some indication of things to come..

Online Document sharing

2010-06-02T10:39:00.001-07:00

Technorati Tags: box,scribd,google,zoho,windows live,online document sharing,collaboration

A few useful online document management sites which I personally find very useful

1. Box.net (www.box.net)

This is a cool online utility with a lot of features that not only allow you to upload and share a lot of documents but also is integrated with gmail, twitter, linkedin etc., also allows you to convert the files to pdf versions, allows to send fax and convert the text to speech if you have ispeech account.

2. Scribd (www.scribd.com)

Scribd is one more famous utility of which most of us already know. Scribd allows sharing of documents online.

3. Google Docs (http://docs.google.com)

I would consider google doc as the pioneer at least for me for it was google docs with which i started sharing documents in the beginning. Google docs did some active changes in the beginning but somehow has lost its luster now..

4. Zoho Docs (http://writer.zoho.com)

Zoho writer one more in the crowd that offers online document sharing and collaborations. Ideal for a team working in a single document.

5. Windows live workspaces (http://workspace.office.live.com/)

Last but not the least windows live certainly emerges as a winner with lots of new features a huge storage space (25G) and a very intuitive document sharing with a variety of documents in its clout.

I almost use all of the above .. I would surely believe there are lot more out there which others use do mention those in the comments section if you think it could be useful for others who are unaware of it till now.

Cup of life

2010-05-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old University of Notre Dame lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."

"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change."

"Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

Have a lovely day and enjoy life to its fullest.
(Source unknown)

Amarnath Yatra to be Taxed…

2010-05-29T08:16:00.001-07:00

With no offense to any religion we in India have always been boasting of being a secular nation where Ramzaan and Diwali is celebrated with equal zeal.

Unlike any other nation the India government provides a Haj subsidy to aid the haj pilgrims have free ride, but its really a pity to hear that the dark ages of Islamic domination seem to be slowly seeping back into independent India. First was the Kashmiri Muslim hegemony of not allowing land and infrastructure for Hindu yatris; and now Jazia has been levied on the pilgrims and langars for the revered Amarnath Yatra.(Read more …)

The pilgrimage to Amarnath is considered to be one of the toughest next to the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. Pilgrims from various part of the country walk an arduous 2-3 days walk to reach the sacred caves where the lord Shiva, the Destroyer once recited the amar katha to his wife Parvati.

The Amarnath yatra is tough for the poor not so for the wealthy who could opt to take a Chopper ride from Baltal and land directly just before the steps that lead to the main cave. So having a Jazia on those poor pilgrims is an injustice and needs the attention of the government.

While we all raise our voices for petty incidences when the media popularizes it. Feel victorious when you stomp the release of MNIK (My Name is Khan) but we all rail to realize that while we dedicate our time to those petty things we leave bigger issues slip through. Taxing a pilgrimage was even condemned and abolished by emperor Akbar shame on our able politicians who turn a blind eye to such atrocity..

Technorati Tags: Amarnath yatra,pilgrimage,lord shiva,kashmir,Jazia,Tax

why keep mum.