Welcome 2018 !

Goodbye 2017

As this year comes to a close, I want to thank everyone and everything that has been a part of me this year. Life will not always offer you opportunities, its wat you make out of it. When this year began, I knew that this wasnt gonna be another one that just goes by, and it wasnt. Have faith, be kind, and believe in yourself. One step is all it takes.. one step at a time.

That was one hell of a ride !!
Welcome 2018 !

Mom

Came across something beautiful on facebook the other day, so thought of sharing with you all...

 Dedicated to the most beautiful woman in your life...

 Your mom carried u in her womb for 9 months.

 She felt sick 4 months with nausea, She watched her feet swell & her skin stretch & tear,

 She struggled 2 climb stairs, she got breathless quick,

She suffered many sleepless nights,

 She then went through excruciating pain 2 bring u into this world.

Then, she became ur nurse, ur chef, ur maid, ur chauffeur, ur biggest fan, ur teacher, & ur best friend. 

She's struggled 4 u, cried over u, hoped d best 4 u, & prayed 4 u.

Most of us take our mom 4 granted. 

But there are people who have lost or never even seen theirs...

 Appreciate her...

iMAX !

So finally I planned a trip to Hyderabad to visit my sis and also got tickets to watch The Dark Knight Rises at Prasad's iMAX :) Yaay !

 I had seen TDKR on the first day at a normal theater, but now I really wanted to see it on iMAX. I only knew that iMAX had the biggest screens, but never knew too much technicalities of it. So then I did some research and found that iMAX experience was totally different - with twice the size of a regular film at 70mm, it was bigger, better, brighter and louder. Prasad's is pretty good, the seating was so inclined that nothing comes in your way while watching. The rows were horizontally curved like an arc, the screen was so huge that it fills your entire peripheral vision. TDKR had around 72 mins of iMAX footage which was pretty good. The proportion is so awesome that when you see a person conversing on screen, it felt that you are standing next to that person in the conversation. It just feels that you are in it. Imagine you are travelling in a flight and when you look out of the window, you can see small cars moving, lamp posts, and sometimes people also ! It was the same experience while watching an aerial view of Gotham city :) There was so much of detail in every frame, it just felt so real! Truly, hats off to the people who invented this technology and have taken movie making to a whole new level. For all those out there who have not yet had an iMAX experience, just go and watch it.

It's A.W.E.S.O.M.E !

Bangalore - Kolli hills - Yercaud - Bangalore

23rd June saturday morning 3 bikers, or the 'Cruising Sultans' I must say, started off to kolli hills. Okay, first let me intoduce ourselves. Manas owns a Machismo 350, and Pramod, a Thunderbird and both avid bikers. I was meeting both of them for the first time that day. After completing some preliminary checks, we started from Electronic city, Bangalore to Kolli hills, somewhere between Salem and Namakkal, around 270km from Bangalore.
View Larger Map We started at around 6:30 in the morning, enjoying the cool, fresh morning thundering through the highways towards Hosur. Came across another group of around 15 - 20 bikers who called themselves as 'Knight Riders'. Stopped near Dharmapuri for breakfast at a roadside joint (aah ! I just love the idly dosas there :), and continued our way to Salem where we stopped for fuel. We continued on NH7 south of Salem towards Namakkal for another 35 kms and then took a left a few kms after 'Paravasa Ulagam' which can be seen on the left of the highway. Took a left after reaching Senthimangalam, and then asked the locals and found our way to the ghats. The way up consisted of 70 hairpin bends and it was an awesome ride. The bends were not very steep, and with considerably large curves and covered with trees all the way through. Finally we reached Semmedu, had some pineapple slices, and then continued our way another 3 kms to Nallathambi resort. Kept our bags n stuff over there, had lunch and moved to agaya gangai falls. Agaya gangai falls is around 10 km from nallathambi resort, and we had to climb down around 1000 stairs. There was not much water at the time we went, but it was beautiful. There was a pool of water which we had to cross to go to the other side where the water was falling from above. After a nice bath, we headed to a viewpoint, where the whole village of Semmedu and Rasipuram was visible below. Met some bikers there, and the first thing they asked us was, "Three people on three bikes? no pillion?" we smiled :) They were saying some stories about their expeditions in a 1986 Yezdi. Returned back to our resorts after that, had some nice dinner, and went to sleep talking about ghost stories :P Next day we left for Salem after having a buffet breakfast at the resort. Stopped for fuel at Salem, and then left for Yercaud. With around 20 hairpin bends, the climb was amazing ! The curvy roads were just a delight :) After reaching the top, we headed straight for lunch at Shevaroy's. Visited thendral view point and pagoda view point, and then started our way back home. That was when the adventure started :) We saw a map at a park near the lake which showed a way to 'bangalore new link'. So we decided to try that out, and as we went for about 5 kms, my bike decided not to start. The acid from the battery had corroded the clamps connecting to the battery. It took us a while to figure out the problem, meanwhile a sadhu who was standing nearby was kind enough to give us the number of a mechanic in Yercaud. Brought him and problem 1 solved. Resuming our journey, we went north of yercaud, through the winding roads that went around coffee estates. The roads were so beautiful that we forgot to even notice that we were heading the wrong way. After about 20 kms, it struck me that we were not climbing down the hills, but just going around. We found out that we were on the wrong way and instead of going and joining at dharmapuri, we were heading towards Arcot and then Salem again. Turned back, and went till Nagaloor, took the deviation and climbed down. Witnessed an amazing sunset on the way, and just as things were going the right way, we hit some really bad roads. A few kms from Danishpet the road was under construction. The hairpin bends were only stones which would give way if we braked, we were in for some off-roading. Manas had a small fall and luckily nothing happened other than a broken right mirror and leaking carb. A few taps on the carb's dislodged needle and we were back on track winding through the villages and finally reaching Dharmapuri at around 9. Had dinner at a roadside joint, and continued our way back to Bangalore.

A thought !

Sometimes in life, you are put in a situation where you have to make a decision. Decisions that can change the entire course of your life and make you who you are today. When everybody tells you to take the well laid path, you say 'NO', follow your gut, instinct, or whatever you call it, and take the other one instead. And then when you look back, everyone else is amazed how this guy got there to the point where he is now. Trust your gut. Beleive in your instincts. Listen to your heart. Live life. - Austin Perez

The day the elephant charged at us !

It was a 4 day trip to God's Own Country - Munnar in Kerala. It was the second day in our trip that we decided to go for a night safari. A safari jeep with no doors, and no guns for safety :) We started at around 10pm, and a couple of jeeps had left before us. The first jeep had informed our driver that a notorious single male elephant, commonly known as 'padayappa' by the locals was spotted on the way and so we should watch out. The night safari covered a distance of around 70-80 km one way and comes to around 150 - 160 km in total. We started from Munnar and travelled through Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, and towards Udumalaipet. The whole route is around hills going up and down, where we reach the jungle and elephant crossing point after an hour and a half. As we were going, our driver kept us busy by sharing his experiences about night safaris and the famous 'padayappa'. This particular guy he said has killed around 20 people and damaged numerous vehicles during the day at echo point, another tourist spot in Munnar. This gave us the chills !!

After about 20-30 mins, we spotted a vehicle at a distance in front of us about half a km, waiting there at the spot. Our driver guessed that the guy in front of us may have spotted an elephant and he's waiting for it to pass. Our guy was right. As we neared the other jeep, they signaled with their torches telling us to back off in case we need to take reverse. It was a left turn sloping uphill and both our jeeps were at the start of the turn. There was a huge rock to the left of us at the corner and the elephant was on the other side hiding behind the rock, eating something from the small building nearby, only its head partially visible. After a few mins, the guy in front of us made his way through. It was our turn next.

We made our way forward slightly to get a better view of the elephant. His head and eyes were visible and our driver told us to shine the torch on his eyes so that he will get distracted and move away. As we hit the torch on his eyes, he turned and moved on to the road and that was when we got a full view of the guy. Man, he was a huge tusker. There was another vehicle on the other side of the turning and we saw a silhoutte of the mighty beast in the darkness

This shot is all I could get in such low light.



After that, the guy turned and went towards the other side. Our driver alerted us that he is gonna take us through, and not to make any sounds and to hold on tight. He switched to 1st gear, and roared the engine. As we were making our way half way during the turn, and padayappa turned towards us. That was one moment I will not forget the rest of my life. We saw this huge powerful beast charging towards us, dust flying under his feet, ears fanned out. As our jeep picked up speed, we were out of sight. The guys at the back of our jeep said the elephant pierced his tusks into the sand and threw up dust and dirt in anger. Whew ! that was close :)

As we moved on, we had a tea break in one of the villages and went deeper into the jungle where we spotted a couple of deer, peacock, rabbit, and more elephants.





Took a U-turn at the end and made our way back to Munnar at 4:00 in the morning.

Went to the regular tourist spots on the metupatty dam road, took this from top station viewpoint







A panaroma of metupatty dam

Jog falls, Kemmangundi, Mullayangiri, Agumbe, Sirumanai, Kundadri

"There he is ! Lets go" said Mohan. I looked outside the hotel and saw a well built six foot guy coming towards me. "Hi, Im Kris" he said as we shook hands. We were waiting at Majestic, bangalore bus stand to go to Shimoga,our destination for the long weekend. It was friday night, and we were getting ready for the next three days which was to be filled with adventure. After winding our way thorough the buses, we finally found our bus and settled down. We started at around 11 in the night and after a terrible bumpy jouney, landed in Shimoga at 5:30am. Found a lodge near the bus stand, and crashed :)

Day 1:
Our Indica arrived at around 7am. Our first destination for the day was Jog falls around 100km from Shimoga. The driver took us to another place on the way to Jog, a small deviation from Sagara. A place called Sikandur. Its a temple on an island at the centre of a lake. A barge carries people and vehicles to the island. After a thought, we thought of skipping going to the island as it would steal some of our time. We continued to Jog falls, the highest waterfalls in India. The climate was just wonderful. Drizzling when it wanted, and staying cool otherwise, it kept us in a good mood :)







Day 2:
Sunday morning, we decided to go to Kemmannugundi, a hill station 70 km from Shimoga. The journey was just awesome, complete green fields spreading like carpets on both sides of the highway upto Tarikere, and then the winding our way through the mountains with huge trees on either sides, it was just amazing.





Tried a shot on one of the streams nearby, and thought of a small poem to follow..


There she is gently unfolding her silky body
Coiling through the rocks and pebbles
And anything that comes her way
I don't know where she comes from
But she goes so gracefully with a gentle sound
So sweet, that I lay mesmerized in her beauty
Mother Nature, I love you !

After reaching a point, our cab was not allowed further as road repair work was going on. We took a pack of salt for leeches and started.


There was a cement road for a short distance and then the beaten path started. Huge thick trees on either side of the path, and small streams of water flowing from the side of the path onto the tracks. And then as we walked further, the beautiful landscape unfolded before us in the clearing.
We crossed a beautiful waterfall where I took this shot.



After crossing the thick and tall trees, the whole landscape was visible to us.
The landscape was similar to a windows wallpaper that we all see on our desktops :)
It was a very beautiful sight ! We then continued our way to z-point which is another neighbouring peak which is about 20 - 30 min walk from the peak. After taking some shortcuts, we then reached the base.


After Kemmanagundi, we continued to Mullayangiri, the highest peak in Karnataka with an elevation of 1930m. The peak is accessible by road till the top. Our Indica went till the top, and stopped just a km before the peak as we didnt want to get caught in a traffic jam. Large vehicles had some trouble crossing the on coming vehicles. The sides of the roads were steep where the valley was visible and a slight slip of a tyre would cause a vehicle plummeting down. After a short walk, we reached the steps which lead to the peak. Fog started to set in, and visibility was so poor that we couldnt see people standing a few meters away from us.



After seeing the temple on top, we made our way back down to the car. There was this beautiful part of the hill with lush green grass and lovely flowers scattered all over. With milky white mist and fog all around us, it was literally heaven on earth !



Day 3:
We started off to Agumbe, 90km from Shimoga. Went through a wildlife sanctuary, saw a couple of peacocks. Agumbe is a rainforest and filled with snakes and other dangerous stuff. We didn't have any idea of playing around with snakes. Went to a viewpoint in Agumbe, and then proceeded to sirumanai falls. There was awesome water here and the flow was quite heavy. Took a few shots from a good vantage point.





After sirumanai falls, we continued to our last destination, kundadri. This is a small mountain with an elevation of 800m above sea level. There is a jain temple on the top and provides a good view point. Relaxed our feet a bit, enjoyed the beautiful view from the top, and finally made our way down. Three days of adventure has come to a happy end.

Wynaad

Wynaad – this was a trip of a lifetime!! We were nearing the end of our training in mysore…. About a week and a half from our final extended training compre…. Our wynaad gang included Renga, Deepak, Subu, Anu, Vasu, Shree, Sivaranjani, and Susi. 5th December morning 7:00am after our usual baggage check at gate2 and stepping out of the gates of our mysore campus, our brownish golden tavera thundered down the mysore highways at the break of dawn towards Gods own country (or Kerela) as it is better known as… Stopped at a fuel station, then had breakfast on the way, and then our way towards kerela. As we neared the kerela border, we had to cross mutthanga wildlife sanctuary. It was then we started to get a taste of kerela…..



Deers and bisons near the road !!! the surroundings were just breathtaking !!! We stopped our tavera to get a better look at the deer.... took a little snaps and then continued our way. After a while, we reached the kerela border. When our driver went to complete the formalities, we took a small break into the dense woods just beside the road. The toll gate was a very small place with two or three shops nearby on the left and on the right was a small path that went into the woods. After taking a few snaps in the woods, we came back to our tavera..... Then suddenly a small monkey grabbed a bun hanging in one of the shops and ran away... we had a gud laugh seeing the shopkeeper chasing and cursing the monkey... :D Then we continued our way to Sulthan Bathery, the main town centre of wynaad. From sulthan, we went to edakkal caves which was about an hour's drive... We parked our tavera about a kilometer from the base and we had to walk uphill towards the base of the caves. The path was well laid and there is also a jeep service to the base. We really enjoyed our uphill walk, taking rest , and again continuing our walk, and finally we reached the base of the caves. There was a huge crowd over there as a school had come on tour and also there were lots of fellow infoscions accompanying us. After taking the ticket, we waited for some time and then began our climb into the caves.



The climb took a long time since it was a one way path in most of the places and through rocks and boulders and iron steps laid at some places. After about half an hour, we reached the cave. There was only one opening which was the entry and the exit, and the cave was surrounded by massive rocks with an opening on top allowing the light to enter inside. It was amazing !!



Sanskrit scriptures engraved in the walls of the cave and covered by a layer of algae of various shades of green. At the end of the cave was a 3-4 feet slit illuminated by light from the outside which seperated the massive rocks. Then we began our descent toward the base and then to our tavera.



Our next destination - Meenmutty waterfalls. It was a one-kilometer trek down toward the falls. We hired a guide and began our trek. This was a place completely surrounded by tea and coffee plantations. There was a small shop with bamboo benches and roof with dried palm leaves, provided refreshments like tea, coffee, buttermilk to the trekkers. As we passed this shop, there were a few people sitting inside. There were a few men aged around 40 and two women. They smiled at us and said "All the best !!" We suddenly started to wonder why are these people saying this to us.... Then after asking them, they said "The trek is a bit challenging .... the guyz will make it... the ladies - a bit difficult... " Anyway, we started our trek towards the falls. The trek was simply amazing !!!



There were ropes tied to trees to guide us in our way through.... we reached a small stream of water falls where renga, subbu, and me climbed up and went to have a shower...... the water was so cold !!! but it was a refreshing break :) after about 30 - 45 mins, we reached the falls. It was a huge falls water was flowing with tremendous force.... The locals said that it was the second largest falls in india. Then after viewing the falls, we went even further down to take a closer look. Since it had rained the previous week, we couldnt have bath as the water was flowing with too much force and the water was not clear... It was mixed with sand and moss... Then we began our ascent.... after a tiring hike, we reached a place which was truly beautiful... green tea estates covered the entire area on one side and coffee and spices on the other side..

behind the coffee plantations was the entire view of the valley shrouded in mist and fog..... It was a really amazing place.... then after taking a few pics in the tea estates, we returned to the trekker's refreshment shop and had a few glasses full of buttermilk. That was an amazing trek !!! Then we returned to our cab and to our next destination.



Our next destination - Karapuzha dam. We reached karapuzha dam pretty late in the evening. It was around 6:15.... so it was getting dark... parked our tavera on the road, we just took a long walk along the road leading to the dam. On our right was a huge lake and on the left of the road was the empty space where water flowed when the dam was open. After reaching the dam, we couldnt see anything... all we saw was a milky white sheet of water flowing along the slope of the dam. Then we returned back to our cab and to our dwelling - Issac resort. All of us were pretty tired that day... Renga, subbu and me went out and bought 4 packs of cards, and a music dvd, had a good dinner at Issac resorts, watched some tv, and had a good night's sleep. Next morning, we woke up early, had good kerela breakfast, and left for our 1st location of day 2.



Our first destination of day 2 - jain temple. This was in sulthan bathery, jst about 10 mins from Issac resorts. This was a pretty small stone temple. As we entered the gate, beautiful flowers welcomed us on both sides of the pathway leading to the temple. There was a small stone platform on the left of the temple about 3 feet high on which 4 stone pillars around 7 feet high stood up. Just opposite this was the entrance to the temple..... inside was a statue of Mahavira... The temple was surrounded by a grass pathway. Then we left the temple after spending a short while and to our next destination.



Pookot lake was our next destination. We reached the lake at around 10:30..... The lake was very beautiful and had a small children's park, a mirror house, and an aquarium beside it. As we entered the gates of the lake, all of us started playing in the childrens park. Then saw some beautiful flowers, took some pics, and then went to the mirror house. The mirror house was a small iron hut inside were mirrors of different shapes and sizes. Our reflections gave us a pretty gud laugh :D Then after playing in the merry-go-round, we went for boating. 9 of us took 3 boats - susi, vasu, and me went in the first boat followed by renga, subbu, and anu ..... then finally muthu, shree, and siva. The lake was huge, with lotuses in the water.... the scenery was beautiful with hills surrounding the lake, we were enjoying our ride circling the lake, with 2 peddalers and 1 person to steer the boat.



After boating, we had some banana bajji in a shop nearby, and then went to the aquarium. The aquarium had a no. of glass fishtanks well maintained with beautiful fishes of all varities.... after the aquarium, we visited the small shop which sold wooden articles, bought some stuff there, (anu bought a big spoon to beat me) and finally left pookot lake to our next destination.



Our next destination was a bit of a confusion but anyway we decided to go to lakkidi viewpoint. Lakkidi viewpoint is about 3 km from pookot lake and is a must - see place. It is a bend on the road on top of the mountain from where the entire city is visible. We parked our tavera on the side of the road and went to the edge of the road on the cement barriers and saw an amazing view of the valley and the city below. Since we went in the afternoon, we didnt have any fog or mist covering the valley. The entire valley was visible below.... After around half and hour in lakkidi, we had to move to our next destination.



We had a little confusion about the next place to go..... we were not sure whether to go to soochipura waterfalls coz the water may be like the meenmutty falls dat we went the previous day. Also, some people said that the way to the falls is pretty far and difficult to approach..... but we met the same group who had told us "All the best". They told us that soochipura is a gr8 place to enjoy and the falls is pretty safe for bathing..... so we stuck on with soochipura.... it was about an hour from lakkidi view point.... The route was superb, the roads winding between hills covered with tea plantations and beetle nut trees..... We reached soochipura in the mid - afternoon, parked our tavera and continued the walk towards the falls.... The stone path was well laid and pretty comfortable for a 1 km downhill walk...... The falls was beautiful with water falling and creating a 4 feet deep pool of water surrounding it..... steps were made by cutting the rocks that lead to the waterfall.... This pool of water was surrounded by huge boulders on which many people were resting after bath.... As we decided to get in the water, renga and me went first to inspect the depth and water force.... We met a guy in the water who started giving us tips and advice as to how to approach the falls.... One final sentence he said made us laugh... "Down current strong . You playing - no . serious. serious. " :D ...... The water was sooo chill !!!........ one of the coldest I’ve ever experienced..... Then after we went inside, the rest of the gang followed..... we couldn’t go till the point where the water was falling.... the force was too much there... so we stood near and enjoyed the white spray of water..... it was an amazing experience.... We didn’t have the heart to leave the water.... but anyway....we had to go… as we began our way back uphill we stopped at a guy selling buttermilk, and some raw mangoes…. After having some glassfuls of buttermilk and some ‘manga’ and chilli powder, we continued our way to our cab…. After reaching our cab, changed, bought some steaming hot bread omlette, and jam and continued our journey back munching away the bread sandwich.



We had to cross the kerela border before 6:30 since they close the tollgate. Anyway, we made it and had our dinner on the way back….. We came back to mysore DC at 10:30, all tired , went to our hostels…… Another unforgettable day in our lives !!!

Coorg

7th November 09 – the day we set out to conquer coorg……. A place famous for its coffee…. Our gang included Deepak (a.k.a Muthu Raja)(CMED) , Sivaranjani (EUSX) , Anushya (CMED) , Subashree (CMED), Subramani (BCMD), Sidda Ranjani (a.k.a terror) (RETL), Renga Prasad(RETL), Mangleswari (a.k.a madhu) (CMED) and Vasumathy (EUSX). 06:15 am…. renga and me left building no. 86 and reached the reception where our tempo traveler was waiting for us…. 7:00 am all of us inside and our tempo started moving towards gate no.2 …. It was while our bag checking that I realized that I had brought the “Infosys” towel (which I was not supposed to)…. J the security at the gate said dat it was “company offence” and sent me back with ma towel L…….. Then we left MysoreDC and stopped at around 8:30 for breakfast…. It was when we met some of our friends from crescent college…. They were going to coorg the second time….. The road was just amazing… Our first stop – Buddhist monastery….. It was a Tibetan settlement…. We had the experience of entering a whole new place….. everything was in their culture… Tibetans everywhere…. The Buddhist monastery was just amazing….



Our tempo stood just outside the entrance of the monastery. As we went through the entrance, we saw small monks playing around in the open space just before the monastery.... as we passed them, we came to a huge building with a picture of buddhist on it, next to the building was a another temple where we entered and found three massive golden statues of Buddha, a huge gong, and the atmosphere was so serene and silent. Then we took a walk around the gardens near the temple, saw a bit of the hostels where the monks stay, took a few gud pics, took a peep into the shops outside the temple campus near the tempo. I bought a small laughing buddha souvenir. Then we boarded our tempo and to our next destination - Nisargadhama.

Nisargadhama was a beautiful place.... we reached at around 10:15 or so.... there is a suspended bridge at the entrance which terror loved a lot :) ..... after crossing the bridge the location was simply superb.... It was like an entrance to a forest.... a few shops and a rabbit park welcomed the tourists.... we then started to walk into the woods... the woods was sprawling with bamboo and teak.... clicking some shots as we went, saw a river nearby n decieded to get into it as it was not very deep and had rocks all over.... The water was so coool and as we went near the middle of the river, fishes started tickling our legs!!! :D



Then after having some fun in the water, we came out and again started our walk through the woods.... then after about half and hour we found a tree house.... a house made of bamboo about 20-25 feet high up within the trees.... climbed through the ladder and went inside.... had a nice time over there...... then we reached our starting point... went to the rabbit park, saw some beautiful cute white baby rabbits with red eyes, took some pics on a suspended platform, then on our way back through the suspended bridge and to our tempo.

Our next destination - dubbare. We reached dubbare at around 12:40. Dubbare is a place famous for rafting - white water n still water. There is a river which we have to cross and on the other side are the elephants. We just missed the elephant ride as the elephant ride closes at 12:30... :( but anyway, we got to see some elephants real close while they were grazing and the mahouts with them. After coming back by boat, we went for rafting – this was the best part….. all of us padded up in life jackets with an oar in hand looking like warriors ready for battle!!! :D



rafting was simply superb…. Our raft guide took our raft under the tree branches which leaned from the banks of the river….. after we rowed for about half an hour, it was time for swimming !!! we had a gr8 time in the water….. Then Anushya and terror got into the boat after a while in the water….. after that wat happened was simply hilarious…. Terror pushed anu into the water from the boat and said “aiii jaali !!! “ the next second, we all had a gud laugh seeing terror falling head-first into the water (our guide of course….) and all of us started laughing and said “aiii jaali !!!!” :D



Then all of us came out of the water after a gud swim. had a gud lunch in the nearby restaurant… It started raining heavily by that time…. At around 5:00, we left dubbare

Our next destination – Iruppu falls… This is one falls that nobody will forget… It was dark already… we had only half n hour to return to the tempo…. It was a long walk to the waterfall….. we reachd the waterfall but cudnt have a bath since it was very dark n couldn’t see anything. The rocks were also a bit slippery. So we deceided to turn back…. It was while coming that Vasumathy felt something bite on her leg…. As it was absolutely dark, nobody cud see anything and she jst threw the insect away n continued walking. We used the light from the mobiles as our source and only guide to reach the tempo. After coming to our tempo, we checked vasu’s leg and found it bleeding…. Then all others checked their feet and found leeches stuck all over them….. then we stopped at a medical shop, bought some dettol, cotton, n cleaned it a bit….. we cudnt keep our legs on the floor of the van since the leeches may climb up our legs….. so we were sitting on the seats…. And then suddenly we saw a leech crawling on the tv !!!! then we stopped at a small hotel on the way back, had a gud dinner , n bak to our mysore DC at 10:30…… it was a 1 day trip still unforgettable….

Wonderla

October 17th 2009… just three weeks into our extended training. The tata sumo from BIT travels was waiting near the reception. We were about to experience the most amazing theme parks in our lives !!! This time our gang included Renga, Deepak, Shree, Vasu, Madhu, Arun, Sivaranjani and myself. After the usual routine checks at the gates, we continued our way on the bangalore- mysore highway. Stopped for breakfast, did some small shopping at the shop near the hotel, and then continued our way towards wonderla. The 2 ½ hr drive was a total entertainment as we played dumb sharads all along… As we neared wonderla, the first glimpse caught our eye. The giant wheel on top of the tower !! we reached wonderla at around 10:15. After clicking a few snaps outside the gate, we finally entered the park.




We were immediately welcomed by the mascots at the entrance J Then after keeping our bags in the locker rooms, we rushed to the rides !! The first two rides were good (I don’t remember the names of the rides J ) after that we continued to the haunted castle ride.. (we really missed u Siddha ).



Then we continued to the little more violent rides (the upside down kinda stuff). Then the inevitable happened to me. ***censored*** . After finishing with the dry rides, we had a small change and then went into the wave pool !! It was then I had a small accident. As I was going for an underwater swim, I didn’t notice the wall ahead of me and banged straight head-on (ouch) !! Nothing much happened ( I thought the wall might be cracked but thank God :D ) My head started bleeding slightly J then after cleaning it and then enjoying the waves, we continued to the rain dance !! (I just cant forget ur dance Vasu ). Went on to the lazy river, tossing everybody off their floats, the boomerang water slide, screaming our guts out, and the other water slides, the mat – ride where I overtook vasu (hope u remember that), and the guy didn’t allow madhu to come on the mat slide coz she was a but underweight L, the water games were just amazing !!! Then again we went to the wave pool, had some fun and then continued to the smaller childrens pool. The childrens pool had a small platform on which water was showering from everywhere and there was a bucket which gets filled every 5 mins… Everytime the bucket gets filled, all of us rush to stand under the bucket J After playing in the small slides, we finally made our way out of the water.



After a small change, we went to the giant wheel on the tower. The tower is about 15 storey’s high and the view from the top is just breathtaking !! It was very dark to see anything outside, but the city lights in the dark were beautiful !! then after playing with the “kissing fish” , we made our way outside. Tired and hungry, our sumo stopped at lemon grass restaurant on the way where we had some spicy food, we were back to mysore DC . Another unforgettable day in our lives !!

Sivanasamudra waterfalls

It all began when a gang of six infoscions set out to conquer the unknown. Our destination – Sivanasamudra waterfalls (a.k.a Barachukki). Our gang included Deepak (CMED) , Sivaranjani (EUSX) , Anushya (CMED) , Subashree (CMED), and Vasumathy (EUSX). It was 31st October 7:00 am when we left Mysore DC and started our journey towards Sivanasamudra falls. We took a bus to Malavalli and then from Malavalli to barachukki. It was a very small village and there was no proper conveyance to the falls. So we hopped in an auto winding through the villages and after 12 km we reached the first waterfall. It was a beautiful waterfall with an amazing height but the locals said that it was too dangerous to have a dip. So we decided to have a closer look and began our trek down toward the base of the falls.



The path was very rocky with sharp rocks studded all over. The water was flowing with tremendous force and in an hour we reached the edge of a large rock after which we could not proceed. The rock was about 50 feet high and water was flowing down from the place we were standing. When I peeped from the large rock and saw below, there was something that surprised me!!! We saw hundreds of butterflies flying around and coming from below.



I don’t know from where the butterflies came or why they were flying around the water that was flowing with so much force, but it was really a beautiful sight.



Then after making our way upwards, we went to the second falls which was a kilometer or two from the first.



The second falls was again a small trek downwards and we reached the base pretty fast. This one was a really nice place. We went for boating in a “parisal” as it is known. The parisal is a small circular vessel made of bamboo and palm leaves which can accommodate around 4-5 people. The boatman took our parisal under the waterfalls which was so cool!!!



After the boating we had to cross a small stream with the help of tree branches and rocks that were under the water. It was quite a difficult task since we did not have anything to catch hold of. After crossing the stream, we had a small dip in the waterfalls. This place was truly refreshing and there was about 4-5 feet water and water falling from above. It was a really nice place. We did not have the heart to leave the water but we had to after enjoying about an hour in the water. Actress Charmi had come for a shooting. Took a couple of snaps with her ;)



At dusk we left the place and returned in the auto. The day ended as all of us tired and hungry, made our way back to Infosys Mysore with those happy moments still lingering in our hearts.

Balmurri lake

10th October ‘09 – It was during our stream training. We left on a Saturday evening to balmurri…. Which was on the way from mysore city bustand to kr dam. It was about half an hour from city bus stand. A guy in the bus told us that after getting down, take a right and go for a kilometer or two… and there is the lake over there… so after getting down, and finally finding the road leading to the lake, we were not sure how to go there. The locals said that there was no conveyance to the lake… Luckily, we found an auto which was open at the back usually used to carry loads n stuff… somewhat like a “kutty yaanai” .



The auto driver also obliged to take us there to the lake and back… All of us hopped in the back and began our jolly auto ride towards the lake. After a kilometer and a half, we reached the lake.. The driver also said that there is a falls nearby another kilometer from the lake… so we decided to see the falls first and then while returning see the lake… It was nice sight on both sides of the road… coconut trees, green fields illuminated by the evening sun, and water flowing on one side… the road was pretty narrow and was enough only for one vehicle to pass… so when a santro came opposite, our auto had to wait at the side of the road until the car passed by… and we reached edumurri falls in about 10 mins… we were surprised to see a pretty large crowd hanging around there… it was not actually like a “waterfalls” that we had expected… It was an area of water amidst the green fields surrounding it… and there was somewat a dam like sort of wall made of rocks and cement about 15 feet high and length of 2 trailers standing end to end… and the sheet of water was flowing from the upper level to the lower level over this wall and the rocks. The lower level was a lot of huge rocks all over submerged underwater and some part of it visible over the surface…. All of us then crossed the water and then sat on a rock partially visible over the surface. Then after that we went to the side, climbed over the wall and walked on the wall over which the water was flowing down… It was an amazing experience to feel the water moving silkily over our feet :)



Then after having a good time there, we climbed down and back to our auto to balmurri lake. After reaching balmurri lake, we bought some fried fish from one of the carts just outside the lake, and then started on our parisals… A parisal is a small circular vessel made of bamboo which can accommodate about 4 people… Muthu, siva, shree, madhu, and vasu took the first one… and in the second one, renga, terror, anu, susi, and me. The boatman took our parisals near a temple, and a small circle around the lake, and then suddenly, he turned the parisal extremely fast… both parisals rotating like tops in the middle of the lake… all of us yelling and screaming !!!



it was a nice experience… then after having the fried fish in the parisal, we returned back to land… then after a short while were back on our auto and back to the main road… yelling and shouting on the way back….. This was one of our first trips from mysore…. A very memorable first trip which is unforgettable till today :’-)

Mysore Infosys - The Summer of 2009

June 7th, 2009 – The day we started our journey in Infosys. It was a Sunday morning… all students straight out of their college. It was about 2 weeks after the last day in college. The 2 weeks was just enough time for finishing the formalities required before joining. After finishing the bag check and getting our pink ids(that’s the temporary ID card) with colored tags, we were put in a sumo followed by a small auto – tempo kind of vehicle which had our bags towards our respective hostels. That was when we first got a glimpse of the Mysore DC.



It was truly breathtaking !!! Believe me.. ive not seen any place like that in India !!! The hostel rooms were just amazing.. each room equipped with a LCD tv, AC, tea bags, coffee powder, sugar cubes, electric water heater, housekeeper to clean the room daily, …. It was like a 5 star hotel. We had an induction program which usually takes place at the multiplex where all the company policies, do’s and don’ts, and formal introduction takes place for about a week or two. After that we moved on to our training. The first two months is intermediate training where the modules consists of all the basic stuff like programming, rdbms, java, etc. Intermediate is in the GEC 1. The class rooms are simply amazing… each classroom is 100 seater with individual systems, and a projector. The first two modules are crucial since only after that we get to know the hang of studying. The modules were not very easy… After every module there is a test and it takes place every week or sometimes even two tests in a week. The tests are the most important part since if u fail in 3, you are out. Pass in all and fail in compre (the final test), you are out. Pass in all with cgpa less than 4(failing in 1 unfortunately), exit. With all these in mind, talent doesn’t matter. Only hard work and luck matters in infy training. The intermediate went on well, after which we had some ILI sessions(which is the fun part) and then into stream.



Stream takes place for another 2 months in GEC 2. We were lucky to get into Java (as they said that it was the easiest ). GEC 2 was opened by Sonia Gandhi while we were in our stream. Our batch was 13 fm CS & IT . 11 of us made it though the training. After the stream, we had another 2 months of extended training. This was where the fun started. There was no exit in extended training. So we didn’t have to worry about passing. And we were in Open Systems (the most difficult streams as they say ). But somehow we passed. This was the time when we went for tours to all the surrounding places. Whenever we think of Mysore, the first thing that comes to our mind is Mysore DC. In our batch, though we came from the same class, we hadn’t spoken to everybody till we joined here. But after life in mysore, everything has changed. We became more like a family, eating, studying, playing together.



Things that we cant forget in Mysore- RRR hotel, the Punjabi dhaba outside the campus, the food courts, the hostel rooms, Proctor login, it goes on…. There were nights when we used to study till 12 and till the wachman chased us out of the classrooms, nights we went walking on the roads with ur best pals, celebrated birthdays in food courts, hitting cream on the b’day baby, getting shouting from the security, consoling friendz when they cried for flunking a test,…. etc.



Made lots of new friendz from lots of places, saw the tears of many who were told to leave, and the smiles of others when they saw more than 65 on their test screens. Though we may be in different places rite now, bzy with our projects and deadlines, mysore was a place that no trainee will ever forget in life… Those were the best days of my life !!