The Glistening Chennai!!

Chennai, the largest metropolitan in South India, is home to the largest number of two-wheelers in the world (not sure if that is true, but that is the word around and is visible too). Gifted with the longest beach sea shore by miles, Chennai offers a wide range of activities for people who don't fear to sweat it out. There are three climates in Chennai, hot - hotter - hottest. The sun beats down on to you for 11 out of the 12 months in more or less the same fashion. Heat, sand and sweat, the right mix for people who fancy the sand and the surf kind of life.

The MTC (metropolitan transport corporation, www.mtc.org) has introduced air conditioned Volvo busses on 40 important routes which encompass most of the city. The MRTS system at Chennai also is very effective so it is not a problem to get around economically. My personal advice to people is that they look at the Google maps (or any map of Chennai) and get a rough idea of the directions in Chennai before getting there. Getting around in taxis and autos can be really expensive if you do not know the language. However, you have pre-paid taxis available at the airport and the railway station.

There are a lot of things to do in Chennai, but my favorite was to hit the surf. Although Marina beach is the most famous beach in Chennai, Elliot's beach and the entire stretch of sand spanning along the ECR (East Coast Road) from Chennai to Mammallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is a treat. Luxury to budget resorts dot the coastline for all its 47 kms. You will also find these open air government run bars which serve most kinds of alcohol that you can imagine. The best places to visit thought would be 10 Downing Street in T Nagar, and the pubs in 5-star hotels. And yes, if you love the dosa, visit one of the many Sarvana Bhavan outlets in Chennai - including the one at Chennai Central station.

A tip to business travellers who would be working close to the IT highway in companies like HCL, TCS, CTS, Wipro, Infy et al, the shared autos that run on these routes are very safe and inexpensive - Sholinganallur to Adyar will cost you a mere 15 bucks in the day and 20 bucks in the night. You will also find accessibility to most parts of Chennai on the AC Volvos like 21H which goes from Kellambakam to Broadyway, 19B which transcends Kellambakam to T Nagar and 570 which travels from Kellambakam to CMBT. All these routes span the entire IT highway. Getting on to ECR is easy at Sholinganallur, a 2 kms chord road connects the IT highway (OMR) to the ECR. There are some really decent 3-4 star hotels on this way right from ITC Welcome Group's Fortune, Asiana and the Hotel Quality Sabari Classic from the Choice group of hotels.

People fond of eating can hit the ECR or head to Adyar, Boat House Road or T Nagar for a treat. Sea food joints across Marina beach serve inexpensive local varieties of squids, crabs, fish, octopus and muscles.

For now, I would end this here though there would be more soon on my subsequent trips to Chennai.

une goutte dans l'océan!

There have been times when all of us have been pushed to decide based on reasons not in our control. One such scenario was the fact when you embarked on the journey of making big in oceans of humans stereotyped to perform on the basis of an inferior superior who never made it big himslef!  I know this all sounds confusing, it did to me as well when I was thinking about what my superiors had made of me in the inferiority race. Yes we are fighting to be the worst :( !

Today, its a sea of qualified people who can take up to a task and deliver on another - I once thought that I needed to be writing code and designing applications - I did it but neither the code nor the design were mine :D ! So I tokk upon the task to search within, to see if I had something that could push me into changing this situations. In the process, I came a across a very simple being whose littleness just humbled me and I fell apart. This man had always done what he wanted to do, he had started 6 failures and then came out successful in penning his learnings. He never published it and that he terms as his final failure. In the last two years he has done things from selling cars to writing accounts to filling petrol and on to selling his company, which sold cosmetics!

He told me something which was very enlightening - work like a laborer and govern like a king - and then thats what he meant when he said that living your dreams is in your hands - you want to make it big somewhere - you be the worker, designer, marketer, salesmen, governer and owner - and take control of yourself. Once you become an icon - a sea that opens into the ocean - you will see a sea of people following you and you can leverage! 

This was good enough and I have started thinking on those lines - I wrote my first paper and I dreamt about it - now I can see more and more people wanting to follow my dreams. Awesome, I am no more a drop in the ocean!

Hamburg aus dem Auge die von meiner Liebe!

Es ist 2 Uhr in Bangalore und den drei von uns warten auf ihr Gepäck, um ihr Gewicht sortiert werden! Sie prüft in ihrem Gepäck und die beiden von uns zurück. Die jetzt 3.30 Uhr und ist fast Zeit für sie zu fliegen, wenn sie gibt mir einen Anruf zu tätigen. Ich bin sehr müde, aber ich will reden, als gut! Ich meine Augen offen für die nächsten 10 Minuten, wenn sie Angebote adieu zu den indischen Boden und fliegt in den Himmel. Sie landet in Frankfurt in -17 Grad Celsius. Ihre Worte sind Einfrieren. Die Zunge ist verdreht, und sie kennt keine endet mit der Kälte. Die drei Stunden in Frankfurt sind schrecklich und sie irgendwie gelingt, sich auf den Flug nach Hamburg, seine Lufthansa  ohnehin. 8 PM in Indien und ich ein Schlagwort, sie erreicht hat, sicher und hatte sich direkt in ihr Amt. Hamburg ist das Einfrieren auch. Die Straßen haben eine Schicht aus Eis!

Vor einigen Tagen sind die gleichen Einfrieren für ihre bis sie beschließt, um einen Freund über das Wochenende. Sie besucht Einkaufszentren, isst indische Küche Chutney, kauft Tom Yam Gung für eine colleage, Reisen in die U-Bahn ohne Ticket und vergisst, um eine Erinnerung zu wecken auf Zeit für die Arbeit! Sie gilt für einen Spaziergang zu einem riesigen See, der ist gefroren und hat Möwen Eislaufen auf sie, besucht sie eine riesige Bibliothek, wo die Halle ist in einem Café. Sie hält cribbing über fehlende Hause und ich. Ich sehe Hamburg durch ihre Augen. Das Wohnzimmer in einem Freunden, wo sie ist aufgemacht, sieht coz Enuff, nur bis zu dem Punkt, an dem ich mich im Chat mit ihrer Kamera auf, sonst Mango Chicken ist etwas, was niemand möchte zu essen!

Heute ist sie mit Abendessen in einem Haus, der Chef ist verheiratet mit einer Frau, so was ist neu - jeder Mann heiratet eine Frau. Ja, aber diese Frau selbst Chef ist verheiratet und hat eine Frau. Eine Erfahrung, um ein lesbisches Paar. Sie haben einen Hund und drei Katzen und sie leben am Rande eines Waldes in Hamburg. Das ist es, was ich weiß, und ich bin bis jetzt warten, um weitere spannende Dinge aus meiner Liebe zu füllen an dieser Stelle! Lesen.

Masak Kali or Masakalli?

Whatever it is Sonam Kapoor looks awesome in the song. She is so natural. Till 8 PM today, I hadn't even heard that Delhi 6  was doing promos on TV. A buddy just forwarded a YouTube link to me. I was engrossed, Rehman is awesome as usual - wonder if Slumdog Millionaire is a shot in the arm for this man. He delivers Masak Kali with such profanity. As the promo video scrolls forward Sonam gets better. I watch the song n-number of times on YouTube and finally get the full song from my friend.

Incidently I also had the same questions as many other Indians - what is masakalli or masak kali. The closest I reached was to find MASAK KALI PALAYAM, a locality in coimbatore. Surprisingly, I had seen A R Rehman in Coimbatore with Sivamani on Christmas eve. A bunch of us also went to see the all so proclaimed Ghajini - Aamir's wonder as some fans would like to believe. However I am not sure if Rehman, Coimbatore or the small dingy place Masak Kali Palyam has anything to do with the song. 

I leave it to all of you to decide for yourself whether its Masakalli or Masak Kali, but for the time being enjoy the video - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=sK0uDM9n8JE&NR=1

Munnar - the palce to be in winters

Munnar is located in the Western Ghats in the South Indian state of Kerela. In this God's own country, Munnar is the gateway to the hills. Located at 150 kms from Coimbatore, this hill station is a must see in south India. Once you are in Coimbatore, drive on the Pollachi Road towards Udumalpet. From Udumalpet, you will need to take a right diversion to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary which is situated on the foothills of Munnar. There on its a 39 kms uphill drive. The climb is not steep and the view of the tea estates is mesmerising. Dont get wary of the check posts as there are about 4 of them in total which are all hassle free. Normal checking happens to see if you are carrying any alcohol from Coimbatore into Munnar. My advice would be to avoid carrying any liquor.

Once you cross the checkpost in Marayoor, you enter into the tea estates, like the one I have shown in the picture. On the way, you will see the hills carpeted with tea plantations and the greenery will steal you hearts away. The sky is clean and blue as we read about it in text books. The waterfalls that zig zag the rock faces of the hills are a treat to see. And don't miss the carrots. Yes, all along the way you will find fresh carrots being sold - starting from the base of the Eravikulam National Park (15 kms from Munnar) - must see. Thats when you realise how close you are to Munnar.

During winters, it is a must that you book your stay well in advance. Munnar is relatively inexpensive as compared to other hill stations in India. A little ahead

from the Eravikulam National Park is a small valley with lush green grass and sparkling clean river stream flowing through. The sight is enthralling and is worth a stop. Once you reach Munnar, there is a lot you can do. There are three prominent directions where you can head out for your adventures - Coimbatore, Madupetty and Tekkady. On the Coimbatore road are Eravikulam National Park and the valley that I mentioned. Towards Madupetty, you have the Madupetty Dam, Elephant Point, and Top Station (you will need to walk a lot - but a worthwhile trip). Tekkady is unexplored for me and I would want to visit Munnar again for doing that bit of the journey.