Travel Bag Contains

After a few travels, thanks to Nirvana, the company which pays me, I have come up with several DOs and DONTs when it comes to what (not) to carry when you are traveling. The list is composed, by and for me, but might come in handy, if you are like me, like a Desi!

So, bhaiyon and behno, here it is:


DOs:

• Buy a really good quality Winter Jacket. This comes in handy when you are on the flight; it might get really chilly. I used to be brave and didn't use to carry one, until I was on the ariport grounds at Paris, where I was transiting, and had to walk several meters at -7degrees.
  
• Buy a leather pouch for your passport. Always keep this in the Winter Jacket, you just bought. This will surely, help you to not lose your passport at the innumerable security Checks.
• Buy an Universal Adapter, so that you can stay connected to your IPOD, no matter where you go.
  
• Being a desi, it never hurts to carry - Peanuts, Pickle, Papad, Soups, Upma Mix, and Maggi Noodles. Use the above only as side items, and do not survive on "Maggi", please.
• Carry a medicine pouch, along with a prescription. May you never use it, but always does helps.
• Carry a pair of slippers. Walking to the breakfast table, in shorts and formal shoes, don't match up!
  
• Buy a 25ft (7.6m approx) long ehternet cable. This cable is to connect your laptop to the wall socket, located several meters away. Chatting with friends, never felt better when you are still, on the bed.
  
• Load your laptop with a lot of Hindi Movies and Songs. I was never a big fan, but when you are on a trip for several days, these movies and songs, make you feel at home. This is the first thing I do, before I even install all my softwares.
• Carry a big empty back pack in your check-in baggage. This ensures that, if you get on a shopping spree, it will carry the stuff for you, without having you to buy a new bag.
  
• Wear loose clothing, while traveling on the plane. If you are comfortable in your jogging track-suit, go for it! Doesn't matter. I met this guy in his 3/4ths and a loose t-shirt wearing slippers.
• The most important of all - 7 underpants and socks! They smell!
  

DONTs:

• MTR, Aashirwaad Ready to Eats taste really bad, they are pathetic. Never carried them after my first trip. Instead buy milk, juice, bread and chocolate, after reaching your destination.
  
• Never Carry Oil/Butter/Ghee or any semi-liquid stuff for that matter. It will spill, and will be a nightmare, when you could smell the Desi Ghee on each of your shirts! Happened with one of my colleague though.
  
• Never carry TOWELS. There are plently out there in any hotel room, where you stay!
  

I am halfway, and still want to enhance this post, but its time for my office, so I'd better leave! You could always.... bbye tc gn sd.

All but 3 Idiots!

"3 Idiots: India's biggest hit. Rs. 315 crores in 18 days. "
The film's success comes at a time when the middle class is tightening due to food prices. Last week, when the movie shattered all records, food inflation was on a 11-year high.

Source: Hindustan Times.

Have you tried buying vegetables? Or Dal? Its really expensive these days. I don't bother much about fruits, as they seem to be a luxury already! Even the daily vada-paav costs 8 bucks already!
And then, I read the above news!

What's the trend with the "Spending Power" of the public? Has it increased over the recent years? Rs. 450/- for the 3 Idiots (just referring to the movie name; stop getting judgemental)?

Help me with the delusional statements below. I am still recovering, from the after sh0cks.

• I think watching a movie today, is not enough! Where you watched the movie, and where you had the dinner after the movie, is equally important. Yeah, the dinner; if you watched a MATINEE show, you are a moron.
  
• This comes at a time, when Piracy is at its peak. Every movie, is available on the internet, on the very second day. A good quality pirated DVDRip, is available, probably in the next week. But, could we ever wait, that long?
  
• "All our arithmetic, all our calculations have been proved wrong" said veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh. All such researchers, are going jobless, very soon! The Math is all random now.
• We could really use up some money off the Rs. 315 crore mark, to fight off the 11-year high food inflation. If people get food today, they'll live more, and they'll go to more films, and eventually pay back to the film fraternity. Vicious circle, eh?
  
• From last what I've heard, Bipasha Basu got Rs. 13.5 lakh per minute, to dance on the new year's eve. If she probably danced for 5 minutes, hey, she could buy a flat in Bandra! Which, if I happen to buy, will spend my entire life paying the loan back.
  
• This movie, is generating Rs. 315 crore, when the 22 of India's top hockey players have rejected to play for the Asian Games, lined up next month, due to lack of incentives that they get. "Its a struggle for survival" says Balbir Singh, who got a bronze in the 1968 Mexican Olympics.
  
• I wonder, what will happen to the economists today, as they cannot add up any numbers! They have the dilemma of reviving the dead economy, while watching getting Bips paid several crores for a few minutes, and Indian International Hockey team getting dissolved, due to lack of funds!
  

Well, I reckon that there are only a few family-watchable-worthful films, and if you've spent Rs. 450/- per head already watching the 3 Idiots, may be its a (read PAUSE) thing... but please stop calling them the "3 Idiots" !

Interesting Things That I did in 2010

Hi All,

This post is dedicated to all the interesting things, that I am, and would be doing in the new year - 2010. So, this post will keep updating itself, over the course of the year!


Dividing this post into two parts - Wish List Things and Been There, Done That things.

Wish List Things

- Eat at following places in Pune:

Panchavati - Bhandarkar Road
Sukanta - Deccan
Rasoi - Shanivaar Peth
Shreayas - Apte Road (DONE)
Mathura - J M Road (DONE)
Krishna Dining Hall - Law College Road
Baadshai - Tilak Road
Girija - Tilak Road (DONE)

- Learn well to drive a four wheeler (am currently good at two-wheeler).
- Learn well to swim.
- Cover a few trek points.
- Grow socially, and perform a few social activities.
- Want to visit the race course at Pune.

Been There, Done That things

• Jan 01 - Food@Shreyas, Apte Road (near JM Road), Pune

Want to have some authentic Maharashtrian thali? Well this is it! It is a great place, to have a thali, with your veggie friends and family! The ambience is quite good, and cleanliness is maintained really well. Be ready to spend around Rs. 150/- on a weekday, and be really hungry!

• Jan 04 - Pune to Sinhagad biked

One fine morning, just get up early, pack your bags, and get going! I hate to ask friends around, and keep co-ordinating, to plan out an event! On-the-spot plans are always a hit. So, there I was, alone, on my Unicorn, on the way to Sinhagad Fort (Yes, you can really go on the top, with your bike).
Start Time: 06:30 hrs (from Magarpatta, Pune)
End Time: 11:30 hrs (to Magarpatta, Pune).
Round Trip: 80kms
My breakfast@ Sinhagad: The Bhakris, Vaangi Bharit (brinjal curry), Kaanda Bhajji (onion pakodas), Taak (buttermilk). The best spicy food I've had in months!!! Only for the food factor, I would like to go there, all over again.

• Jan 24 - Skiing at Snoqualmie Pass, Seattle.
  

Well, Ski(ied) for the first time, and it was real fun. 80$, was ofcourse, heavy on the pockets, but was definitely worth it. Was really surprised, to see Snoqualmie, a place fully covered in snow, with my hotel, barely 20 miles away, to be so dry! Fell for innumerable times, but got my basics right, in the end. Now, this is a tiring sport!

Other Events... Coming Soon!

Dreamz!

P.S.: *No, its not magical. Others, were much much better.
* I rate, this post, as my best, till date.

*Foreword: Not a funny post. May represent my narrow/shallow mindset. Advertising to close friends only; unless someone accidentally visits here!

1.2 billion people... 28 different states... innumerable religions... how many of 'em you think know the name of the countries, that exist? Vietnam? Indonesia? Ireland? Cyprus, ever heard of it? But there's a country which the entire population would know... could relate with... people would dream of, just being there one day... which is synonymous to 'phoren'... whose people are called as "foreigners"... popularly known as the land of "Amricaa..."!

So, this is a story of one such fellow, who felt that way...

A middle class boy, studying in a school, dreamed to earn Rs. 1000 per day, and calculated all the riches in the world he could get, with that money! He wondered, until his college days, why people would travel into an auto, or car, for that matter, when bus/train was comparatively so cheap? He wondered, why people bought Air Conditioners, when fan is enough to cool down? He even looked up the word 'passport' in Oxfords, dreamed of sitting onto an aeroplane one day... yes, that was his dream! And he dreamed big, well, at least he thought so!

That is how life is! If you are small, your dreams are small too! If you are big, you've got big plans in life.

With those dreams, the boy gets into the college - Science Stream, as he liked Science more than Economics ... and that too in a college, when he could 've got better colleges... well, again, he dreamed of being there! Whilst in 11th Std, he sees his dear friend using a computer, clicking and navigating through the folders so quickly, that he starts believing his friend, is a true genius! And in 12th Std, he starts by "ASDFGF ;LKJHJ" at a friends place.He chooses Computer Engineering, just because he doesn't possess a computer! Finally, finds a computer lab to hang on in his Engineering days, starting his day with - #include.

The frightened, low self-esteemed guy, changes to a more confident person, the next year... reaches late, but is never disallowed in... does not write assignments but submits them first... lets say, his luck gets him through! Last year arrives, and he gets a campus recruitment at *at*i (well, ITians will surely decode it), and thinks that his dream is fulfilled, with Rs. 1.8l p.a. As he is asked to join late, within a gap of 3 months... gets a few offers, and finally selects the company - Nirvana (an imaginary name, which I just love), for the simple reason, that he might get to finally conquer his quest of an airplane travel, doesn't mind if he flies to somewhere within India, but deep inside, he wishes, again he dreams, that he lands in phoren... in Amricaa!

Within a few months, he finally steps up on an international plane... surprisingly looks at people around, on what to do, how to behave, buckles up this seat belt, and takes off! Phew, only if it could be a country, which his people could tell!!

3 years, 3months and 19days later... a book is wide opened in front of the reader, but his mind is somewhere else, his eyes calm and fearless, he rests on a bench, waiting; thinking about the past... his childhood days, his dreams then... of how he looked in his school days... about, the fun he had in the farewell party... the butterflies in his stomach, on the first day of his college... the canteen's masala-paav... the first day of workshop at his engineering college... his assignment of completing his assignments, to others... the fullstop at the last engineering paper... the joy, in his dad's eyes, when he got the job... first day at his office... the cubicle... the first Pseudo code that he wrote... the day finally he stepped on the plane... the first day, that he met the customer... the first production at the site... the first appreciation he got... the project trips that he planned... the opportunities that he got... the 7 countries that he visited... it was, indeed, a marvelous journey!
Today, things have changed, he is more confident... he has high aspirations... the wrongs are rights... he is more practical... he is a transformed man!

But deep, deep inside, he...err... I, still am the same little boy, that I once was... waiting impatiently, with my fingers crossed... am having goosebumps... am excited, after all, I am waiting for the Boeing 747... for my very first trip, to the magical land of Amricaa!

Re-living good old days!

Well, folks! Just yesterday, I took a vacation of 10 days from the IT life... so... Hooray! However, with no outing plans, am back to the city of Mumbai! So, am experimenting a bit, and would like to live, as I used to... 3.5 years back!!!

This experiment, lasts until Thursday, December 3, which marks the end of my vacation era! Why Dec 3? Well, its a honor to re-join your office on a Friday!

The experiment includes cutting down on many things:

• Cutting down on the use of internet!!! Damn! Believe me, the most difficult part! Used to work with DIAL-UP of MTNL - 56kbps and was patient enough for web to respond! This means:
  

- No logging into facebook (Today was Day no. 1, and I failed. But I just went there to post my experiment status on my activity :) Ok, no excuses! No facebook from now on).
- No blog hovering (God, please please please help me).
- No facebook (I left Orkutting ages ago; Twits don't interest me)
- No commenting on any of the forums.

• No TV at all, and no sleeping in the afternoons. It is only later, that I started to doze off, in the afternoon.
• Cooking (Not that I used to do it that frequently 3.5years back, but hey, should have something to do atleast). Girls, yes, I can cook! And I can cook, really well.
  
• Wise spending on food. That means Cutting down on Restaurants, and thriving on roadside food. And believe me, I am loving it. Mangesh Vada Paav, Aarey Lassi, Shri Raam Snacks, Chaar raste ka patis paav, Naarayan ka sev-puri; the list is endless.
• Just read something physical (news paper, book, etc) until the clock strikes 17:00 hrs, look at my mom, smile, and run out of my house to wander somewhere... Yeah! 17:00-19:30hrs, that's the time, I am waiting for while I write this post.
• Hmm... Studying, while we used to do it in our PL (Preparatory leave) days... can't do this, can we, after 3.5 long years?
  
• Poinsur Gymkhana - The best hangout place during the 4 years of engineering. Have to get my Table Tennis bat out of the rugs. Yeah, its really lying there. And I just met my (our) MENTOR there today. Need to defeat him, now that he's 68!!!
• Sit on my computer (located in the hall), with headphones in my ears! But my mom, has lately stopped watching all those K-Serials!
  
• Re-live those days, when I used to write my thoughts/experiences NOT on a blog, but on a notebook, with a pencil! And draw cartoons, that should come naturally; after all, am practicing it in all the boring meetings, from last 3 years :)
• Meet/Talk_to many old friends.
  
• Watching movies, should be on the list. But cannot do it, with not many friends around.

Will I be able to do it? Hmm... that's why i call it an experiment, of Re-Living Good Old Days!

The Knight Riders' Diwali 2009

*Foreword: The post is to be enriched by pictures. It can be done only when the virus on our group photographers' computer, will decide to migrate! Currently, the virus is enjoying the Diwali, but sending out 'Happy Valentine's day' to all.

17th Oct 2009... 23:00hrs... It was time to leave from 'Albela', a local Chinese outlet, when we observed that Ravi is blessed with a baby bike (Honda Unicorn - 150 cc - Jet Black color). My Pulsar and his Unicorn, both black, were going side by side, and the photographer (a.k.a. Aarti Iyer, in the real world) exclaimed - "It just seems like an excerpt from the Goa Trip".

My crazy head spun at this remark, and I said (while we are still on 45kmph speed - well thats what Ravi's bike limit is, for the first 1000km) - "You know what. This will be a crazy thing, that you'll remember we'd done together. Lets go to Juhu Beach". At this remark, the bike speed decreased exponentially to 0 mark. After convincing our Jerry (Chin2) [We missed you Tom] to join us, he needed 30minutes to do his needful - eat, after having Diwali snacks, sweets, a cola, and a soup!

30 minutes then, two bikers with plain shorts, two helmets head-on together, and a snap started our celebration. Here was the plan, that we came up with:

• Its 00:00hrs already, and we need to find a few fuljharis on the way.
  
• Lets get to Juhu Beach, and celebrate Diwali by lighting the fuljharis.
  
• On our way back, hit Anna's coffee (also known as 'tapri' coffee).

A simple, yet enjoyable plan it turned out to be indeed!

Hitting the highway, within a tolerable limit of 45kmph, we took snaps on the way with a snap that I'd rather delete! Chin2, I am going to kill you! We photographed Amitabh's two bungalows too, which was decorated quite well.

And at 01:00hrs, we found it! Just across the road, lied a fireworks shop. Of all the things that have been invented in the crackers world, we selected the good old fuljharis!

We reached Juhu beach @ around 01:05hrs, and were surprised to learn that it is indeed a crowded place! So, there we stood, in front of the waves, lighting fuljharis against the wind! (Chin2 was the matchbox man or the ignitor, and the matchbox was borrowed from some1, which we didn't return). I don't know whom more to thank, the camera, or the photographer, who made us look simply excellent. God bless them both. The fuljharis motion could be captured, and it will definitely look photoshopped, when I publish them. After several individual pics (one with Ravi's a** on fire), it was time for a group photo. And we were damn scared whom to hand over the precious camera to, and the situation worsened when I recalled an incident where in the street guy fled away with the camera! We finally got a person to do the job. Can you guess who could it be? The most trustworthy person - a lady cop! Yup! She had come us to shooo us away, when we politely handed over the camera, and snap! What a pic it was! Really memorable!

And on our way back, we hit Inorbit Mall at around 02:15hrs (Thank Chin2, the navigator), and we could find our best dinner place! Anna's cycle! Wanna know the menu items, that are sold on a cycle? Here it is:

• Idli Chutney
• Coffee, Tea, Boost
• (Boost + Coffee) --> Customized Menu, which we enjoyed --> We name it "Anna's Moccacino"

And believe me, it was the best food, that we had in months! Awesome taste!
We bade our good-byes, and were off to home..

Well, that's all folks, that was our Diwali 2009! A simple way of celebrating Diwali, in a special way!

Two fuljharis, friends, a nice place to celebrate, that's all we need, to celebrate the festival of light! Go ahead people, celebrate it!

P.S.:
Ajay, we missed you... rather... you missed it!

My trip to Bali!

Thanks, God!

I got to see Bali, and it was awesome!

I thought, I would roll out a blog on Bali.
So, I created many things:

1. Bali Travel Guide - Click Here to download it!
2. If you want to get to Bali, here is the Read me blog - http://culturalbaliblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/cultual-bali-readme-blog.html
3. Here are the pictures - http://picasaweb.google.com/reachmanav/TripToBaliOct200902#
4. Some very interesting things I came across are here - http://culturalbaliblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/interesting-things-at-bali.html

Its a paradise to be!