Change !

Wondering why humans resist change, even after knowing that 'change is the only constant in the world'. Is it because they 'get used' to a certain way of life ? Is it because they should move from 'somebody' at the current place/situation to a 'anybody' who needs to start afresh again? No wonder that's why we see people or companies that are flexible and adaptable to change and open to experimenting with 'change' are the ones that create ripples and success stories.

Follow Your Dreams

Few days back i was reading Bruce Eckel's famous Thinking In Java and happened to visit his site and blog. One of his posts (Below link) regarding Po Bronson's "What Should I Do With My Life?" book made me think a lot? I think i agree with him definitely- Following one's dreams and may be not succeeding in it is far better than 'being practical' and not venturing at all. So this brings me to question myself - Do i have it in me to follow my dream and stop being Practical??

Bruce Eckel's Related Post - You Can't Do What You Want By Doing Something Else.

India -- Unity In Diversity

Below are my random thoughts after watching the incidents over the 'Telangana' episode :
Unity In Diversity -- I think i still remember reading this caption first time in my 6th standard Social Studies. It didnt make much sense to me at that young age. I am really wondering whether it makes any sense in current context in my great India. What 'really' binds India?? What is that invisible thread??
1. Is it our cash-rich BCCI's 'Team India' playing a cricket match ?
2. Is it the once-in-a-year Miss Universe & Miss World competition ?
3. Is it our 'Bollywood' ?
I am not sure of above things, but i know few things that the whole of India is united in-- fighting with each other on 'diverse' reasons, going on bandhs/strikes for 'diverse' reasons, burning government buses and vandalizing public property.

After our last general election results, i heard few experts on NEWS channels (both Indians & Foreigners) saying that since this government got a clear mandate, they can be free of coalition shackles and go all-out for economic reforms and better governance. But never underestimate the power of Indians in creating fresh problems for themselves. Now this issue of 'separate states' is going to be a serious head-ache for the central government.

Liberhan Commission's Report

Watched Barkha's 2 hour 'Buck Stops Here' show today about the leakage of Liberhan Commission's report. Few things i felt:
1. A 'sordid joke' (the term used by a guest on the show in a different context) from me on 'Commissions in India' --only the IAS aspirants read about different commission's and chairpersons and no one else really gives a damn..
2. Ravi Shankar Prasad was very correct in levelling a charge against Bakha Dutt in the way she/NDTV is biased against Hindus. Obviously i too feel so, as they always champion the minority causes and never care for any Hindu Cause. This i feel just after returning from Srinagar trip where thousand's of Kashmiri pandits were kicked out and their temples were razed...
3. Hats off to Salman Khurshid, for the way he is so honest in his acceptance of the blame by the then ruling government.
4. Watching Uma Bharti, i & Anish felt that BJP is missing her badly and they should get her back...
5. There is this guy called 'Anupam Gupta' who was a counsel to Justice Liberhan for few years who's so upright in his assessment and impeccable. Heard him before also on the Manu Sharma's Parole..
6. Barkha asks in the end - what is the significance of the report -- Swapnil Das Gupta jokes that "its not even worth the leak". I guess NDTV should do a retrospection of wasting 1 day on this when the whole countly moved on.. Why showing those inflammatory images & speeches and revisiting the old wounds.. Anyway no one is going to get punished...
"Move On" Barkha Dutt/NDTV....

London Dreams - Awesome Lyrics

The last post is about the stupid movie, i thought of writing another post about some of the awesome lyrics/songs of this movie.

1. Khwaab Ko

Jo tujhe jagayee, Neendein teri udayein, Khwaab hai Sacha wahi.
Neendon mein jo aaye, Jise to bhool jaaye, Khwaab woh sacha nahi.
Khwaab ko Raag de, Neend ko Aag de.

Angaaron ko jagaaye, Koyalo sa jo gaaye, Khwaab hai sachcha wohi.
Leharein jo uthaaye (2) Paaniyo ko hilaaye , Khwaab hai sachcha wohi
Khwaab ko raag de, Neend ko Aag de

Manjilon pe tyuahaar hai, Lekin woh haar hai, Kya khusi apano ke bin,
Hai adhuri har jeet bhi, sargam sangeet bhi, adhura hai apano ke bin.
Khaabon ke baadal chhaane do lekin, rishton ki lau ko bachaake barasna.
Kehati hai hawaayein choom le gagan ko, Pankho ko khol tu chhod na tarasna
Khwaab ko raag de, neend ko aag de
na na na na na ra ra ra ra ra la ra ra la la la ra ra

2. Yaari Bina

Yeh duniya jab leke taraju, tera thol ke bhav bataye,
Yaar kahe aa seene se lag ja, duniya baad mein jaaye.

Do kahan hai, ek hi hai, yaari mein do hote hi nahi
usko kaato dard isko, yaari mein do hote hi nahi
o kache gud si yaari yaari o meethe pani se pyaari
To aaja jashn mana le yaara ve, yaar botle laga le
dil ke andhero ko woh tatole, man ko pilothe de math kaale khole

yaara yari bina hai besuri meri jindagi
yaara yari bina hai besuri hai besuri besuri jingadi (2)

Meri hichkio mein hai woh shamil, mere khawabon mein
meri mausamo mein titliyon ko chhode woh.
o mere aasunon ko motiyon si shan bakshe woh, meri baasuri mein aake saaasein jode woh
o kache gud si yaari yaari, o meethe pani se pyaari
To aaja jash mana le yaara ve, yaar botle laga le
Dil ke andhero ko woh tatole, man ko pilothe de math kaale khole

yaara yari bina hai besuri meri jindagi
yaara yari bina hai besuri hai besuri besuri jingadi (2)

For translations, i found this site to be good: http://forum.hindilyrics.net

Watching London Dreams' - Nightmare For Audience

After a long time i went to watch a movie in theatre and that too on the first day ! The movie is no where close to reality. Its ridiculous and falls in the genre of 'leave your brains at home' movie. I just couldnt wonder how these people can believe in such a stupid story and go ahead and throw 80 crores in executing a dumb, senseless movie. I mean how you can even think of casting 'Ajay Devgn' (its not my spelling mistake, he changed his name and removed 'a' from it) as a rock star. C'mon no way this decision can be justified. And do you think the audience are dumb to see 'goras & goris' swinging, screaming and going mad for a soft sufi hindi song being sung in London, Paris etc & a hindi band filling stadiums? I think just because of Vipul Shah's 'fetish' for London/foreign locations screwed up half of the movie. The hindi rock band in London and touring Europe seems so out of place.

Now coming to the music of the movie - i guess because of the senseless script i couldnt enjoy the music at all in theatre. But if you just listen to songs outside, they are awesome. Fantastic lyrics by Prasoon Joshi, good music by Shankar, Ehsasn & Loy and there's Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Roop Kumar Rathod. I liked the lyrics very much (after getting correct meaning from translations :)). But from the movie point of view, you wonder how Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy gave this music to a rock band. Anyhow though the movie is crap, atleast because of it i downloaded the best songs and enjoyed listening to them a lot.

Kinnaur Travelogue

Planning.
Day-0-Delhi-Shimla.
Day-1- Shimla-Sarahan.
Day-2- Sarahan- Kamru-Sangla.
Day-2- Sangla- Chitkul
Day -3- Chitkul- Sangla-Chandigarh-Gurgaon.

Pics- Picasa Link

Miscellaneous:
1. We were lucky not to face any land-slides. Land slides can throw plans into dis-array. Therefore keep atleast 1 day as buffer in your plan.
2. Below are some contact numbers i gathered for stay, though i didnt use them much.

Place	Hotel Name	Contact No
Kalpa, H.P	Parvati Guest House	Govind Sharma- 9805375215
Kalpa, H.P	Hotel Shivalik	9418342999
Kalpa, H.P	Hotel Ashoka	9418696177, 9418707077
Kalpa, H.P	Hotel Royal Voyages	9418051773
Kalpa, H.P	Monal Residency	01786 226117, 98169 59989
Sangla, H.P	Madhu Guest house	9418423842
Sangla, H.P	Prakash Guest House	9418275062, 01786-242218
Chitkul	Thakur Guest House	01786-244320, 244275, 9418274192

I think i gave enough details in this blog for a newbie to plan his Kinnaur trip. As they say, Happy Kinnauring..

Day 3 & Day4-Chitkul- Rakcham-Sangla-Chandigarh-Gurgaon

Next day we woke up around 9:00 A.M and had our breakfast at the Thakur Guest House/Dhaba. Aloo parantha was good. Then we had the option of waiting till 01:00 P.M for the bus to Sangla. After some discussion, we decided that we will start trekking with our bags and go as much as possible and then when we are down, get into a jeep or the bus that comes by. This decision proved to be very good as we had amazing views of Baspa valley while trekking down from Chitkul to Rakcham. By the way dont confuse Karcham and Rakcham. Karcham is a place where JP is building dam that comes between Jeori-Sangla. Rakcham is a place midway between Sangla and Chitkul. Some people stay at Rakcham also instead of staying in Sangla or Chitkul.
We walked around 7-8 kms and were tried. Then we got into the back of a jeep and for the next 20-30 minutes we were standing on the back of a jeep which was travelling at a height of 3400 metres. Its an amazing ride almost equivalent to getting a helicopter view of the Baspa valley. We got down at Sangla and i was suprised by the driver who refused to take any money from us. I wondered to myself thinking - Who Say's You Need Money To Travel? All You Need Is A Desire, Some Guts & The Humanity Still Left In The World :).
We had momo's as our lunch in Sangla and then we found out that there is a bus to Chandigarh at evening 5:30. I cancelled my Shimla-Delhi volvo bus ticket online. There is only one net-cafe in Sangla that charges Rs.40/- per hour :). We got into the bus and were lucky to get seats. Travelling night in a bus in hills has its advantage - since you cant see much outside you will not get frightened by the dangerous roads you are going through :). We reached Chandigarh at 7:00 A.M next day and then caught another bus and i reached Gurgaon by 2:00 P.M. Thus my first trip to Kinnaur was completed on a high.

Sangla-Chitkul

After getting down at Sangla, we found that the last bus to Chitkul left. So we tried to check with the jeep guys and they were quoting Rs.250/ and also it started to rain. Since we were damn hungry, we thought we will have lunch first and then decide if we should go to Chitkul or stay in Sangla itself for that day.We were having lunch at a small restaurant in Sangla and then again i was lucky to hear someone telling our restaurant hostess that 'he is going to chitkul'. I ran to him and asked if he could take us also. Bingo, he agreed and he also waited till we finished our lunch.

The jeep ride to Chitkul was amazing with some beautiful views. From his conversation, we kind of guessed that the guy is some government engineer responsible for that area. Our guess was confirmed when he took us to Chitkul PWD Guest house and arranged our accomodation in Chitkul.
The PWD Guest house is just at the entrance of Chitkul village only. Its a nice place to stay. Also there are few other stay options in Chitkul like Thakur Guest house etc. Since it was off-season, i think we were the only travellers who stayed in Chitkul that night. The PWD Guest house has 2 normal rooms and 1 VIP room. For non-himachalis, the normal room rent is Rs.200/- + Geyser - Rs.10/- + Blankets - Rs.10/- and electricity charges - Rs.2/- :)
Though it was getting late (around 5:30 P.M), we thought of doing the walk to the last check-post. This is not a trek and is just a plain walk. It took around one and half hour to and fro as i was taking my time clicking pics. While returning i chatted with village women who were in groups. They told that they were returning from some temple/place where they offered prayers as its a 'Janmashtami'. After coming back, our care-taker told that he cannot arrange dinner in PWD house and advised us to try a new restaurant in Chitkul. I think its name is some 'seeshmahal'. We got wet while coming back in the rain and also i dared to put my bare feet in the small stream that's coming from the melting snow. The feet were numb in just 3-4 seconds. We returned back to the room and slept after shivering for some time.

Day-2: Sarahan-Kamru-Sangla

I read in the book 'The Secret' that the Universe will set up things for you, if you wish something very much. Got an experience of this! Last night at the hotel we ran into a conversation with a German Couple regarding the best place to go - Is it Kalpa or Sangla/Chitkul? When we told that we need to go by bus, they were gracious enough to offer that we can travel with them. This gesture from them made our trip less hectic and also we reached Delhi ahead of our plan. They were going to Kalpa and we decided to go to Chitkul, so they told that they can drop us at Sangla as they planned to visit Kamru Fort also which is just near Sangla.

The reasons we chose Chitkul/Sangla over Kalpa are- A local in Sarahan advised that Kalpa is also similar to Sarahan with views of a different mountain range, Kinner Kailash where as Sangla/Chitkul is a 'valley'. Also 'Chitkul' has this tag of last village on Indo-Tibet border and if we do a trip to Lahaul & Spiti (my next target :)) it will be via Kalpa only. We left Sarahan at 9:00 A.M. and the ride was awesome. After around 15 kms from Jeori, Shimla district ends and Kinnaur starts. The road will definitely test your guts. Luckily there were no land slides and we reached Sangla with no issues. The Karcham, Wangto road is in a very bad condition due to the ongoining JP Hydro Dam construction and power plants. Below are some pictures. You can see the Sutlez river in full flow.



Our German host, Dr.Hermann is a Geography professor whose area of work is South-East Asia. We had an excellent conversation with him during our journey. We were a little bit embarrassed at times with his knowledge of India. He told that he visited India almost 25 times till now and he visited the mountains of Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan also. We discussed about the ecological damage JP Hydro is causing and about the locals fight against it. I too felt bad that the Sangla Valley is being spoiled so that some one in Gurgaon or Delhi can run his Air Conditioner. No wonder our P.M. is right regarding the N-Deal, we need clean energy badly.

Around 01:00 P.M we reached Sangla and we headed for Kamru Fort. It is at a height of 2600m and the fort is one of the oldest forts in Himachal. Kamru was the centre of kings of Bushar. The location of this fort is breathtaking. As per local tradition we need to cover our head and tie a thread/knot around waist to enter into the temple. The temple houses Lord Buddha and Kamakhya. Its said that the Kamakhya idol is brought from Kamakhya temple, Guwahati. Below are some pics of this amazing place:


After coming down from Kamru, we got off at Sangla and the German couple proceeded to Kalpa.

Day -1 - Shimla-Sarahan

The Volvo reached Shimla on time at around 6'o clock in the morning. We got freshened at the bus-stand and thought of having a chai, but heard that the bus to Kalpa is leaving. We didnt want to waste any time as its better to travel in morning when its pleasant. So got into the bus and took tickets till Jeori. Below is the bus which proves that - No (Back) Pain, No Gain. The bus stopped at a place near Narkanda for Tea. After that it reached Rampur by around 11:00 am, i.e around 5 hours for Shimla-Rampur. Below are some pics we clicked near Rampur bus-stand. After that by around 12:00 we reached Jeori.





At Jeori we had to wait for around 1 hour for another bus. The auto guys were asking for around 250/, but again we didnt feel like spending money. The bus was completely packed and i just dozed off, dont know how i fell asleep with so much sweat.

Sarahan:
1. As we enter the village, all the pain is gone with the sight of the 800 year old Bhimkali temple. Its just amazing. We checked into the HPTDC hotel - Srikhand which is just 100 metres from temple.
2. Finished our bath and then had our lunch at Srikhand. Tasted their special dessert - Srikhand Kheer made from Corn, Cashew, Bread, biscuits and milk.
3. Started trekking to the Bird Pheasantry (Chidiya Ghar) which is on a small hill. Not only we get amazing views of the temple from this place, but we can see the beautiful bird 'Monal', which is Himachal's state bird. Dont think its just another chidiya ghar and give it a miss. The trek is very simple and to and fro you can do in 1 hour along with plenty of time for photography.
4. After coming back, we went into the temple and i soaked myself in the temple surroundings and savoured it to the fullest. The next day is Janmasthami and there was decoration going on. Its an amazing feeling climbing those stairs of the temple. We attended the Aarti also and then had Momo, Thumpka at the small Tibetan eatery near the temple. Below are the beautiful pics of Bhimkali temple and the HPTDC Srikhand hotel.

Day-0-Delhi-Shimla

Boarded the Volvo from Himachal Bhawan, near CP. Finding Himachal bhawan near Mandi house is a little bit tricky. Thanks to Subodh's father, we found it easily. The Volvo's to Shimla are maintained very well. We had very good Aloo-Puri as our dinner, Courtesy- Subodh's mother. But i couldnt sleep well because of the blaring of movie played in the bus. The movie is -Kambhakht Ishq - A high budget 3rd rated crap movie- similar to other Akshay movies-i.e. leave your brains at home. Hero & Heroine calling each other 'bastard' and 'bitch' is not comedy for someone like me!
All the stunts Mr. Akshay does in this movie are showed everyday 4-5 times in the Universal Studios, L.A. I saw them in the one day Universal Studio tour in L.A. After Chandigarh the movie was stopped, thanks to those who complained.

Planning Of Kinnaur Trip

In August, 2009 i was planning to go somewhere during my birthday as i was getting 4 days holidays. The state i zeroed-in on was Himachal Pradesh. As i have been to Shimla last year, this time i wanted to explore something interior of Himachal which is less travelled by Indians and thus a little bit less crowded. I remember pradeep's pics of 'chitkul', which is the last village on Indo-Tibet border. After browsing 'indiamike.com', i found that i can club this place along with 'Sarahan'. For more than 6 months i was in awe of the pics of 'Sarahan' Bhimkali temple and now atlast here i go.

So now coming to the trip planning. The below sites were of immense help:
1. IndiaMike
2. Srinivasan's Blog
3. Himachal Tourism Site - For booking of accomodation in Sarahan.
4. HRTC website - For detailed list of bus timings. Though the site may not be up-to-date, it helps in just getting a feel of the bus timings. As we are not travelling in a big group, we didnt want to splurge money on a private vehicle for the whole trip.

Few people on Indiamike advised me for a one night stop at Narkanda, but as per the suggestion of one of my colleagues i didnt. The reason is -dont waste one night in Narkanda and spoil the 4 day trip. Instead go to Narkanda in a weekend if you want, more over there is nothing in Narkanda in no-snow season.

Now this is the itinerary i planned (though it changed pleasantly later)
Day 0- Delhi - Shimla Volvo.
Day 1- Reach Shimla early in the morning. Catch a bus to Sarahan from Shimla Bus stand. This will be the regular bus and be prepared for a bumpy roller coaster ride in the hills. For Sarahan, we need to go via Rampur, Jeori. We can take any bus to Kalpa, Sangla or ReckengPeo and get down at Jeori and take another bus. Sarahan is around 170 kms from Shimla.
Do the trek to Bird Pheasantry, Attend arti in temple, spend time in and around temple.
Day 2- Check out and leave to Sangla or Kalpa. Most of the day in travel. Night stay.
Day 3 - Explore Sangla/Chitkul or Kalpa. Night stay.
Day 4 - Leave for Delhi. A very long journey.
Day 5 - Back to Office :(

From Swanky Hyderabad Airport

Back after a long long hiatus. I remember writing a post on my blog from the Denver Airport in October, 2008. At that time i wrote (about hopes and dreams) of Indian Airports also becoming sophisticated and Indians also getting that kind of infrastructure. Now i see things moving in that direction. I am posting this from the swanky airport of Hyderabad. I am very much pleased and happy to see the way Hyderabad's airport is managed and even the road that leads to the airport is getting improved on a day-by-day basis. I dont mean this just because of the 45 minutes free wi-fi internet we get, but its about Bose Speakers in which they announce instructions, the way airport interiors are done and cute things like pictures of the tourist places of Andhra, writing Tamil or Telugu Script letters on few boarding gates. Also i am noticing some change in the etiquette of the staff who handle passenger services.
Another little thing of interest - One of my colleagues asked me about Karachi biscuits of Hyderabad and he told me that they are famous. (Surprisingly i never cared before :)). He told me to bring those biscuits when i go to home. As usual all these kind of things start hitting me only in the last minute and therefore i couldnt buy. And to my surprise i noticed these biscuits being sold in nice packs at the airport. Not just these but even the famous PullaReddy Sweets also. This confirms what we always hear that developing airports or infrastructure will definitely develop the economy and improve the quality of life. Without this airport can a small, insignificant bakery like 'karachi bakery' think of doing this kind of business or getting this kind of exposure ? Way to go India...

Awesome IPL-2 Ad

Inkaar To 'Car'

Those who follow business news might be aware that Car Sales increased in India in the month of February. Incidentally 3 of my colleagues also bought their 'dream' cars in this month. Below are few reasons i feel why i should not join them:
1. Even now i had a hangover of the book 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' which says - 'Buy Assests First Before Buying Liabilities'. It says anything that you need to spend money for its maintenance is a liability and i agree that Car will be a liability for me as of now. I dont want to get in this 'rat race' of buying liabilities and then slogging to maintain them.
2. I always feel buying car is easy, but maintaining it is expensive.
3. Compared to a car, i can easily be fast by 5-10 minutes with my 2-wheeler.
4. Pollution & Traffic - One day i was trying to enter into my office in the evening hours when everyone is leaving office. And to my surprise i found that there is no way i can enter the office in those hours. I just cant, i need to park my vehicle somewhere on the road and walk. When i was about to curse the infrastructure of this 'millenium city' called Gurgaon, i noticed that 90% of the cars have only 1 person in it. Why cant they try 'Car Pooling' ?
5. One more reason i dont want to buy a car is just for the sake of 'peer pressure'. Everyone else got a car, so should i ! I am not falling in this trap.
6. Once my sister joked that i dont need a 'car', but i need a 'cycle' so that i can be 'fit'. I think she has a point.
7. Its a fancy for some people to buy a car and just hit the road. I dont know why i am not that 'into' the 'buying' or 'owning' part though i love travelling.

I dont mean that i will not buy car forever, but i will definitely buy when there is a need and hopefully an 'asset' which can take care of its maintenance on a regular basis. As of now, I am thinking of buying a 'cool' bicycle. Lets see..

Donating The Tax

Its 'March', the month-end of the financial year in India. Most of the salaried individuals must be busy in their eleventh hour efforts to save ( actually avoid) tax. Investing in the government prescribed tax rebate schemes, trying to find and use all the possible clauses and sections and trying to get the possible fake receipts. :) Like everyone in the office i also took part in this exercise. Last year i made a donation to 'CRY' and later realized that i can claim tax rebate on that. This year also i thought of doing this and actually wanted to do this every year from now. I am not sure myself why exactly i wanted to do this! Is this for personal gratitude or feel-good or for tax rebate or because i really 'care'. I think i do care and wanted to give back something for the society. I always feel that i am privileged to have the benefits i have today. One day definitely i will volunteer in some NGO activities. I am disappointed there is no response from 'Teach India' till now for my registration.
During this donation one interesting thought came to my mind -- What is the average money spent/donated by a person for betterment of society per year from his earnings? Will it be at least 0.5% ? I honestly hope its more that.
While trying to donate online, there seems to be a broken link in 'CRY' website and at that time, the website showed the below page. I couldnt but appreciate the creativity used in driving their message. Way to go,,, If not online i am going to donate through cheque.


When i saw pictures of my friend running in Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, i decided that i will run in one Marathon this year or next year supporting Cry. Relax, not in the full or half marathon, but the 7km 'Dream Run' kind of event. I should target the next Delhi Marathon...:) Wondering how i can start a post with tax and end with a marathon...!:)

Hampi - Every Stone Has A Story To Tell

I always dreamt of going to Hampi when i read about that place as a kid in history books. I could visit that place at last now. Courtesty - Recession. :) Like all other companies that are doing cost-cutting in these times of recession, my company made it mandatory to take 5 earned leaves before this financial year. Everytime i have to chase manager for leaves (if they are for more than 2 days), but this time he kept chasing us. So there i have my 5 days of leave and i went to Hampi with my parents. And then i realized i havent gone anywhere with my parents after joining in my job. Thats damn 3.5 years. All this made my Hampi trip more special and memorable.

Before posting this entry i thought for a while what's the use of posting one more travelogue when there is already Giga bytes of information on the web. I thought it serves 2 purposes:
1. Good way for me to recollect about the trip at a later date.
2. I can consolidate and provide the necessary details so that any of my friends can refer directly and save time.

Hampi is one of the 2 UNESCO declared heritage sites in Karnataka. The other one in Karnataka is 'Pattadakal'. (I will be posting that travelogue too) Total there are 27 UNESCO heritage sites in India. Below are wonderful links that give good information if you are planning to go to Hampi:

Mind-blowing 360 degree view of the Hampi monuments:
http://www.world-heritage-tour.org/asia/south-asia/india/hampi/map.html
Beautiful Travelogue:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/39200-hampi-visiting-forgotten-empire-vijayanagara.html
Also refer to the information present in both 'wikipedia' and 'wikitravel'. Below i summarise regarding stay, transport and food.

Stay:
1. If you are very much fascinated about these beautiful places and want to take your time and see them at your pace, you should stay in Hampi only. The possibilities are: staying as a back-packer in some of the local guest houses in Hampi (with very minimal facilities) or the only one available Hotel - Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneshwari. This hotel is run by Karnataka Tourism. The website doesnt allow online booking. You can call them and send DD to book this hotel. In peak season going without a booking is not suggested.
2. You can stay in Hospet and use it as a hub to go to Hampi, Pattadakal, Badami and other places. Hampi is around 17Kms from Hospet and you should take care of your transport.

Local Transport:
Autos (3-wheelers/Indian Tuk-tuks) are the best option. Hospet Railway station to Hampi may cost around Rs.120/- Hospet station to any of the hotels in Hospet costs around Rs.20 to 30. Hampi day tour from Hospet (to and fro and within Hampi ) costs around Rs.800/-. The hotel guys can also arrange a car for 1-day hampi tour and they charge around Rs.1200/-
I observed that the auto guys here are very reasonable and they dont cheat normally.

Eat:
1. In Hospet there are many local restaurants to find easily. But its mostly South-Indian food.
2. Some restaurants can serve so-called North-Indian food or American breakfast etc. But dont expect anything close to their original taste.
3. In Hampi, dont miss the lunch buffet in 'Mayura Bhuvaneshwari' hotel. They serve an excellent South-Indian buffer for 60 bucks.

And now coming to the beautiful places in Hampi. No amount of words or pictures are sufficient to describe the places in Hampi. You have to see them in real and feel it. But make sure that you dont miss the below places:
1. Virupaksha temple.
2. Two Huge ganesh statues.
3. Beautiful mono-lithic 'Narasimha' statue.
4. Krishna temple.
5. Lotus Mahal & Elephant Stables.
6. Vittala temple ( the famous musical pillars and the chariot).

Its 2 years since the government has taken measures to stop people from bashing these musical pillars. I heard that these are tapped only during VIP visits. Its really sad that government has neglected all this while and now this wonder cannot be experienced by people. They should have taken care of it from the beginning and should have a prescribed time (once in a day) where only the authorized persons tap. Hope atleast they take care of the things from now and even common people realize the importance of these national treasures. Hope Aamir Khan's 'Incredible India' campaign helps regarding this. And as they say, really in Hampi every stone has a story to tell and you will fall in love with stones definitely. Below are some pics:

Oscar For Slum Dog - Its Written

Slum Dog -The Under Dog became the top dog in the 81st academy awards. In my last post i wrote that i am expecting 3 or 4 awards from the 10 nominations. Soon after posting that i thought may be i just went overboard with joy and with some kind of jingoistic feeling and predicting 3 or 4 oscars without even knowing about or watching the other nominations. Wow, wow, so its not just me, its the whole world felt the same way after watching the movie. A.R. Rahman won 2 oscars and Resul Pookutty won another. 2 Indians getting 3 oscars on a single day. Only 2 other Indians got in the last 61 years of Indian Independence. Isnt it a great feeling? I was really happy.

And then there are people who say - Why India or Indians should be happy about this'? This is not an Indian film, its made by Britishers, So whats so much hulla-baloo in India? Well below are my answers to them:
1. First of all -Whats wrong in feeling a little bit happy about anything, celebrating fellow Indians success?
2. Ofcourse i agree its not an Indian movie but you cant deny that many Indians were involved and part of making this movie and above all its an Indian story written by an Indian.
3. Doesnt this bring Hindi movie technicians, actors etc on to the world stage? I hear some people saying Oscars are not 'everything'. But Oscars are the only awards recoginsed worldwide and which recoginises talent from worldwide. I think whoever says that they dont care for Oscars are like the 'fox who hates the sour grapes' or just the 'frog' in the well who doesn't know the world outside the well.

So ignoring all those naysayers i am happy and i did celebrate Slum Dog's Success. India won its first gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and kicked off 2009 with 3 Oscars. Whats next in store for India?? A grand-slam in men's or women's tennis (singles) !! Billion Dreams ! India is destined to regain its deserved place in the world. Its Written !!

Salud (Cheers) To SlumDog Millionaire

Well, after a long gap! But it doesnt get bigger than this topic to write about - Success of SlumDog Millionaire. Watched it First Day, First Show- Yes, morning 8:15 A.M. Its amazing and spellbound. Its a beautiful love story, a rags-to-riches story, a story of hope ! I came to know what exactly 'screenplay' means and its significance from this movie.

I want to discuss a few things about what critics of this movie are saying:
1. It gives very bad impression about India to the whole world as it shows slums and poverty.
My Arguments:
i. First of all, does it atleast make the whole of India realize its own condition? Yes we are a third-world country. Mathew Hayden using it in a derogatory way offends us definitely, but we shouldnt be ashamed to agree the fact for ourselves. Lets agree and if possible try to work to eradicate it.
ii. In this world of Internet and Live TV, doesnt the world already know about India's slums. I know how my colleagues feel when they visit India and what impression/stories they take home back. Few days back one of my U.S colleagues want to take the picture of cow on the street to show to his wife.
iii. And in this garb of spoiling image, do we ourselves want to forget the reality and boast about 7-8% of GDP etc? Do we ourselves want to be indifferent towards solving the problem? Are we getting too lazy to address or just recognize the issue and started accepting it as a way of life?
iv. Come to Mumbai or for that matter any Metro and prove that the things shown in the movie are not real. (Except the shitty 'shit' scene). The moment you land in any Metro in India, this is the hard reality that smacks you in the face. Doesnt the plight of child beggars hit you everyday while going to office? Doesnt it make you feel yourself less worthy for not being able to change anything?
2. Danny Boyle is another westener who wants to milk Indian poverty etc.?
My Arguments:
1. Its written by an Indian diplomat, so its not Danny Boyle's imagination, but reality as seen by an Indian diplomat.
2. Few Indian filmmakers also approached the author for making this movie. So anyhow it would have been made a movie. But see the positive, Danny catapulted bollywood/Indian talent to the Oscars.

So i feel its a worth watch movie and please dont feel bad that it shows India in badlight. Feel bad for the state of India and if possible think something about that.

There are some heart-touching moments and dialogues in the movie. Some of the dialogues that haunted me are:
1. When the little Jamal was beaten by a driver, he says to the American tourist couple - 'Want to see some real India, this is it'.
2. During interrogation, Jamal says - If it wasn't Ram and Allah i would have a mother today.
3. Salim to Jamal - India is at the centre of the world bhai, and i am at the centre of the centre.

Music Feedback: (As just a plain music lover, with no knowledge of intricacies)
1. Jai Ho is obviously the best song. Its amazing.
2. Mausam & Escape Instrumental is very very good. This is the background music during some of the peak scenes in the movie.
3. Paper Planes has some funny lyrics. I am trying to understand what they mean exactly. The beat 'All i wanna do is take your money' with gunshots in between is cool..
4. O saaya is OK.

So they got 4 Golden Globes and 10 Oscar nominations. But how many Oscars they can get?? I think a minimum of 3 or 4 for sure. Best Movie, Direction, Screenplay and Rahman! Lets see....

For the time being ' Ahora conmigo, tu baila para hoy' (Now with me, you dance for today).