Go Rafa Go!!!

Rafael Nadal with the US Open Trophy

 Somewhere between Delhi and Hyderabad

Red HOT!!!
(Clicked at a road side dhaba on the way to Medak Church)

Road Trip to Medak Church

We got up one morning and decided to go for a drive. We packed up some snacks, some tea, some water and most importantly the camera and took off. After getting outside the city, we noticed a sign board that said "Medak Church - 77 KMs". Now, we did not know much about the church but knew that it is an attraction of sorts. It would have been a rather long drive but we said "why not". Seems we missed a turn and ended up taking a longer route, which increased the distance by a good 30-40 kms!!! As we did not have anything else to do that day, we did not mind that.

For most part, one will be driving on the national highway. So, the road is damn good. Driving over 120 kmph is pretty easy and comfortable and driving less than 100 kmph is a shame!!! The road has shops at regular distance and one can get fuel, get the car repaired (if need be) or make an emergency call (if required) without an issue. So it is pretty safe to take that road even without any sort of prior planning.

As I believe we missed a turn, we had to drive through a small village and then a not-so-wide road for around 30-40 kms. This road was a little scary as, for the most part, there was nothing on either side of the road. Since the road was not too wide, it is not too safe to drive fast as well.

The destination (Medak Church) is pretty nice and there were a lot of tourists. There is nothing much to do over there but what else would you expect from a church. We can safely say that the journey was better than the destination. You can try that if you love to drive, have a good companion and nothing else to do that day. Do not forget to carry some good music.

Pic @ the Chilkur Balaji Temple, Hyderabad

@ the Chilkur Balaji Temple, Hyderabad

Candid Camera!!!

Old pals spending time at the Osman Sagar
(I wish I had taken this pic in black and white!!!)

Sleepless Nights & Hectic Days

Have not slept much in last two days....<yawn>. Last night, I watched a late night movie. Came back home at around 1am. After that, I watched US open for a few hours. Slept at 4am and got up at 5am to watch Nadal - Verdasco match. Then drove close to 250 kms today (We went for a drive). Came back at 9pm and watched the opening match of the Champions League T-20. <yawn> Its over 1am and I have to get up at 3am to go to Chilkur Balaji Temple. <yawn> Feeling dead tired and sleepy. Good Night!!!
Sent from a mobile device

Movie Review: Piranha

Last night, we watched the movie, Piranha. It is a 3D movie about prehistoric breed of piranhas finding their way in a lake, thanks to an earthquake. The piranhas create a havoc among the hundreds of young women (ya, there were some men too) partying at the lake.

It is a typical "formula" movie targeted primarily at the male audience. Hundreds of wet, bikini-clad women, some horrific gory scenes.....typical entertainment stuff for men!!!

The film reminded me of the several similar formula movies that I have watched alone at Ranchi. English movies find not many takers in Ranchi. At least that was the scenario back in late 90s and earlier in this decade. Movies like Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, Lake Placid, Crocodile, Komodo are similar to Piranha. Of course, Anaconda was much better thanks to Jon Voight, huge snakes and Jennifer Lopez (not in that order). To an extent, movies like Deep Impact, Armageddon, 2012 etc are also similar formula movies.

In terms of goriness, Piranha is in the league of Final Destination....though Final Destination is 'class' apart in its genre.

Overall, Piranha is a one-time watch, if you have nothing better to do. Certainly not a movie for romatic dates. Do not watch it with your family as the party scenes are like soft porn (thats a friend's opinion, I do not know anything about porn!!!) And ya, do not watch the movie if you are planning to catch a meal immediately after the movie!!!

Corporate Arm-Twisting

When a person joins a new company, he/she checks out all the aspects regarding the company. The salary structure, the various policies, work culture are all taken into consideration by a candidate before making a decision to join a company. So, before joining a company, the person knows what he/she is stepping into.

Now, what if the company tweaks its policies without any prior notice after the person joins?? Isn't it unfair....or illegal? Isn't an employment a kind of "contract" between two parties. The roles and responsibilities of either parties (employer and employee) are defined. How can the "terms" of the contract be altered midway!!!?? If that has to happen, shouldn't both parties know about the likely change??? Shouldn't both parties know the exact date from which the change will come into existence??

I understand that in case of an employment, the employer has every right to change few things. That is the reason why some things are kept flexible. For example, the bonus component is flexible and the pay-out depends on several factors. However, there are some areas in which sudden change should not be allowed. An employer should not be allowed to suddenly lower the designation, salary etc of an employee. In the same manner, an employer should not be allowed to suddenly increase the notice period of an employee. If an employer wants to do that, enough notice should be given to the employee to choose the best course of action for him/her.

The organization that I work for has increased the notice period duration from 1 month to 3 months!!! And I was not given any prior notice. On 6th September, I was given a new contract which stated that starting 1 August, my notice period will be 3 months instead of 1 month that was told to me when I was joining the company. I was given two days to sign the contract!!! This change has been made for all senior employees. I understand that every company wants to retain its employees, especially the senior ones and wants to safeguard its interests. But at the same time, it has to be fair to its employees. In my books, it is nothing but arm-twisting and should not be allowed. I know that most people will tell me that if I do not like it, I should quit. Ya, that is an option but its still unfair.

Sent from a mobile device

Tip Tip Barsa Paani.......

Trip to Ooty

Last June, my wife and I went on a trip to Ooty. This trip was planned at the last minute as we were not sure whether we will be able to make the trip or not. I was waiting for a project to end and any delay would have made this trip impossible as my wife was about to enter a new, long-term project. Thankfully, things fell in place and we decided to have a 4 day trip to Ooty.

Through my research about Ooty, I found out that it is a fairly commercialized place and hotels for any kind of budget are available. Trouble was that it was a weekend and lots of people from Bangalore and Coimbatore were expected. We tried to book a hotel but found out that most “recommended” places were sold out for the weekend. Though cheaper options were available, we decided to stay at Taj Savoy Resort on the first day of our trip. We decided that we will stay at three different hotels during our four day trip at Ooty. The idea was to know more about the kind of hotels that are there in Ooty and also enjoy different view each day!!! Here is how the trip went;

Getting There

From Hyderabad, the best option for reaching Ooty is by air, especially if it is not a long trip. Train or road journey would have been much cheaper but they would have been time consuming. Moreover, they would have left the body tired which is not good for a short trip. In any case, there are no direct trains for Ooty from Hyderabad. So, we took a flight to Coimbatore. We took a morning flight on Saturday, June 19. It was a Spice Jet flight and though we made the booking at the last minute, we got a fairly good rate.

Before starting our journey, I arranged for a cab to take us from Coimbatore to Ooty. I made the booking through a travel agency called Rich Tours and Travels. The driver, Manoj was waiting for us at the Coimbatore airport. I do not really remember how much I paid for the trip from Coimbatore to Ooty but it was in the range of INR 1,500. The information is available on the website of Rich Tours and Travels. From Coimbatore, it takes around 3 hours to reach Ooty.

It is a nice journey from Coimbatore to Ooty. We went in June, which is not really the peak season, but the weather was pretty pleasant. The weather was hot at Coimbatore but as soon as we came out of the town and started the journey towards Ooty, the weather became extremely pleasant. The roads are not too wide, which is typical of roads in the hills. Driving on these roads is certainly not for the weak-hearted. However, we were in the experienced hands of Manoj, who is a resident of Ooty and has made this trip a zillion times. Manoj was pretty polite and was fairly talkative (but not cocky). Throughout the journey, he gave valuable suggestions of what to do at Ooty, Dos and Donts etc. At first, I was under the impression that he is only trying to get more business but later found out that it was not the case. He was just being helpful. The journey is especially great for the shutterbugs as the mountains, clouds, tea gardens and the monkeys give enough opportunities to click some great pictures. We stopped several times during our journey to do exactly that.

Day 1: Saturday, 19 June to Sunday, 20th June 2010

We reached Taj Savoy at around 11:30 in the morning. Though it was not a peak season, there was rush at the resort and all the rooms were booked. We had made prior bookings and had got a room at INR 9,500 (inclusive of three meals as well as taxes). It is not inexpensive but they charge much more in the peak season. In any case, we did not have much of an option as Taj Savoy was the only decent option left…thanks to the weekend rush.

Taj Savoy is a pretty nice property. The rooms are clean and comfortable, something you expect from Taj and for that matter any hotel/resort where you are shelling out 9,500 for a day’s stay!!! The rooms have a fireplace and the staff sets up the fire when asked. It has a good restaurant and pretty decent bar. Infact, Taj Savoy is the only option in Ooty for having good hard drinks. Most of the hotels/resorts in Ooty do not have a liquor license!!! (shameful!!!) Moreover, there are not many liquor shops in Ooty. In any case, the liquor shops in Ooty do not sell most branded liquor. In one shop, when I asked for Vodka the shopkeeper gave me a look as if I am asking about UFOs. So, if you are planning a trip to Ooty, please carry your liquor.

Coming back to the Taj Savoy resort, it has a lot of options for recreation. It has nice lawns, options of indoor games like table tennis, carrom, chess, outdoor games like cricket, football, volleyball, cycling etc. One can take a horse-ride as well.

Overall, one gets pretty nice service at the Taj Savoy resort but I will recommend this resort to only those people who are not planning to do much of sightseeing. If you are going just to relax, the resort is a great option. However, if you are planning to stay out for most of the time then what is the use of paying so much money? Another drawback that the resort has is that it does not have a great view. In fact, it does not have a view at all!!! From the rooms, you can only see the lawns of the resort, not any valley.

We spent most part of our stay at Taj Resort in the resort only. I had asked Manoj to arrange a bike during our stay at Ooty. He had discouraged the idea saying that rains are round the corner and the bike may not be used much. However, it is always better to have some sort of mobility and so I got the bike. In the evening, we did venture out for a while. It was mainly to find another hotel/resort for the next day's stay. While roaming around on the bike, I realized that Ooty is an extremely small place. The center of the town is fairly commercialized and the market area remains pretty crowded. While coming from Coimbatore, we had noticed a resort which was on the slope of a hill. The location was amazing and the view would have been great. After roaming around for a while, we managed to locate the resort. It is called “Sagar Resort”. The best part of the resort, as I have mentioned earlier, is the view. And the room tariffs are pretty low as well. I think it is in the range of around 2.5k per day. Ideally, we were looking for a hotel with low tariff as we were planning to spend the next 2-3 days roaming around places in and around Ooty. Before finalizing Sagar Resort, we decided to check the food in its restaurant. The ambience of the restaurant was average and the food was below average. Hence, we dumped the idea. There is another resort next to Sagar Resort and it is called Hill Country. In fact, Manoj had recommended the place. We checked out the rooms as well as the view from the room and quite liked it. The room charges are INR 4,500 per day….costlier than we had planned but what the heck……you do not come out for a vacation everyday and one has to pay something extra for the convenience. So we finalized and booked the room for the next day.

Taj Savoy: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Clean and Comfortable

b. Good food

c. Best beverages in town as other don’t offer alcoholic drinks

d. Lots of options for recreation

e. Great staff

f. Amitabh Bachchan stays here!!!

2. Negatives

a. No view

b. Low value for money

c. Not worth paying so much for the room if one is planning to spend a lot of time outside

Day 2: Sunday, 20th June 2010 to Monday 21st June 2010

I could not get good sleep in the night. I usually do not get good sleep at new places. Then the “extra comfortable” hotel mattresses are not for me. On top of that, there was no AC or fan in the room at Taj Savoy!!! After paying 9,500, I was feeling royally cheated. (I think I was the only one feeling hot. It was fairly cold outside, thanks to the rain. So noone really cared about fan or AC. But unlike me, they had not downed a beer and a few pegs of whiskey!!!) On top of that, my wife asked the staff to set up the fire in the fireplace!!! In the night, I had no option but to ask the housekeeping to bring a pedestal fan!!! Thanks to all this, I woke up pretty early on the Sunday morning. I used the time to get ready and try out the functionalities of my SLR camera.

We had a sumptuous breakfast at the Taj Savoy Resort. After that, we played table tennis for a while and then clicked some pictures to prove to the world that we stayed at Taj. I had asked Manoj to send across a vehicle around 12 pm to pick our stuff and take it to Hill Country Resort. We followed on the bike.

Hill Country is located on the slopes of a hill. You can have the view of the valley below and it becomes absolutely beautiful when its gets a little cloudy. Then you can have cloud right outside your window!!!!

After checking-in Hill Country, we relaxed for a while and then decided to hit the road (much to the agony of my lazy companion). Before starting from Hill Country, we booked a place called “Willow Hill” for our third day’s stay at Ooty. For lunch, we went to a resort called “Sherlock Holmes”. After reaching the place, we felt sorry for booking Willow Hill!!! Sherlock Holmes resort has the theme of Sherlock Holmes. It has lots of stuff related to Sherlock Holmes, which makes the resort fascinating. The food at Sherlock Holmes was splendid!!! We requested the staff to show us the rooms and found them to be pretty amazing. They are not too costly as well….INR 3,500 per day. They have a nice lawn with beautiful flowers. Since the resort is located on top of a hill, the view is pretty nice. The only trouble is that it is too far from the town and getting a transport (if you do not have one) will be an issue. Otherwise, it’s a great option for stay at Ooty.

Post lunch, we went to Ooty lake for boat riding. On the way, it started to rain and we took shelter in the restaurant of a resort near Ooty Lake. As a matter of fact, before starting from Hyderabad, we had considered this resort for staying at Ooty. The pics that have been posted on their site as well as some travel sites are truly misleading. I am glad that we did not stay over there.

Ooty lake is pretty calm and serene. I am sure a lot of movie songs have been shot over there. A motor boat ride costs around INR 350. Just when we finished boating, it started to rain pretty heavily but we decided that we will enjoy the ride in the rain. That was not really a very wise decision as soon we started to feel pretty cold. On our way back, I tried looking for some alcohol as that’s the best way to get rid of the cold (and every other problem in life!!!). It was only after trying several shops and riding for 45 minutes in heavy rain that I could find a branded drink…..Bagpiper!!! Not my kind of drink but anything is better than nothing, isn’t it?

We returned to the resort and had snacks and dinner in the room only. The staff helped us in drying the cloths and shoes. They put them in a dryer and arranged a room heater for the room. On our way back, we had bought a bottle of locally made eucalyptus oil. Due to the cold weather and the adventure of riding in the rain, my sinus had started to trouble me. But the oil acted as magic!!! I became absolutely fine in 30-45 minutes. If you have sinus, cold….apply Ooty-made eucalyptus oil…ting tong. Few pegs of Bagpiper helped too!!!

The next day, we checked out around 11:15. Willow Hill guys arranged an auto (they had promised a cab) to pick us from the Hill Country resort.

Hill Country: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Amazing view

2. Negatives

a. Limited facilities for recreation

b. Rooms are pretty average

c. Room service not up to the mark

d. Overall, low value for money

e. They do not serve liquor

Sherlock Holmes: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Great view

b. Great food – taste, variety…everything great

c. Great ambience

2. Negatives

a. Little too far. Approach road is pretty bad. Reaching there in the night would be a nightmare!!!

b. They do not serve liquor

Day 3: Monday 21st June 2010 to Tuesday 22nd June 2010

I must admit that I was not too eager to go to Willow Hill. We had booked the hotel as I had read nice comments about the hotel. I had read that it has the looks of English cabins and “Inns”. That is what had fascinated me. However, after having been to Sherlock Holmes, I was more interested in Sherlock Homes. Moreover, when Willow Hill sent an auto instead of a cab, I became even more disappointed. But I was in for a pleasant surprise!!!

Roshni and I at Willow Hill Resort, Ooty

Willow Hill is far from the city and is located on a hill, which has several hotels/resorts. It is a small resort with around 10-15 rooms. Several types of rooms are available but they are not too different from one another. The costliest room is on the ground floor and boasts of a small private garden. As it was raining and ground floor can invite reptiles, we opted for a room on the 2nd Floor. The room charge was 1800 per day!!! A comfortable room with TV, big bed, clean bathroom….what more can you ask for in 1,800. The food was decent. The staff was extremely responsive. The TV in our room was not working and they promptly changed our room. Overall, total value for money.

After checking-in, we went to King’s Cliff resort for lunch. The resort is right infront of the Willow Hill Resort. The place was recommended by Manoj as well as the Manager at Sherlock Holmes Resort. King’s Cliff is part of the same group as Sherlock Holmes resort. The resort is pretty nice and big. It has great ambience, beautiful lawn and grrrrreat food!!! I would definitely recommend the resort to anyone who is planning a trip to Ooty.

After lunch, we decided to visit the Pykara Lake. It is around 30 kms from Ooty. The ride is good; mountain roads are always a pleasure. However, Pykara Lake is nothing great. It is not worth the effort and I won’t recommend it to anyone. After returning from Pykara Lake, we went to the market and did some shopping. We bought some local specialties like oil, home-made chocolates, tea etc. My wife bought…..artificial jewellery!!! Not that Ooty is famous for that but do women need any excuse for buying such stuff?!!?

We had dinner at Willow Hill resort. The dinner was pretty okay but next morning, the breakfast disappointed me. Soon after breakfast, we started our journey back. From Ooty to Coonoor, we went in the toy train. Manoj dropped us at Ooty station and picked us from Coonoor station. Then we did some sightseeing in Coonoor, which included SIMS Park, Lambs Rock, some tea estates etc. After that, Manoj dropped us at Coimbatore airport. Then...we were back to the everyday grind :(

Willow Hill: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Decent room

b. Great staff

c. Decent view

d. Total value for money

2. Negatives

a. Okay okay food

b. They do not serve liquor

Kings Cliff Resort: Scorecard

1. Positives

a. Great food – taste, variety…everything great

b. Great ambience

2. Negatives

a. They do not serve liquor

If anyone is planning a trip to Ooty, you can get in touch with Manoj (+91 978 627 9297) or Mahar (+91 984 305 2696)

Another long weekend, another dilemma. Cannot sit at home for 3 days, so I will have to plan something. However, there is hardly any option...especially since I do not want to make it a costly affair.

Trains are not available. Everyone seems to have suddenly fallen in love with "Bhartiya Rail". Else I could have planned a trip to Vizag, Bangalore, Chennai etc. But that option has been ruled out now!!!!

Driving (Road Trip) is also not really an option!!! Every place is actually too far. Only option left is Nagarjuna Sagar, but we have already been there and there is not much to do!!!

I need to quickly identify a place to go to. Else I would be compelled to spend the weekend amidst Roshni's house-cleaning activities and other "things to do" that she has prepared.

Ideas, anyone????

Sent from a mobile device

@ Coonoor

An Old Forward......But Its Bang On!!!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A PURE BREED FAUJI KID IF:

1. You were born in a Military Hospital
2. Half your toddler years were spent being looked after by Bhaiyas ( no xplanation here) 
3. You went to school either on Bhaiya's cycle or in a Shaktiman 
4. You know what a shaktiman is. ( No! it isn’t the TV serial about half man and half machine starring AB lookalike) 
5. Jeeps & Jongas dont excite you - they were your regular mode of transport! 
6. The only alternative to the Central School was the Army School
7. You always called Kendriya Vidyalaya Central School. Gosh even today that sounds better! 
8. Your entire family could survive in one room temporary quarters with 25 trunks, wooden crates, the dog, the bedroll and two bhaiyas flitting around
9. The smell of Brasso & shoe polish was regular staple
10. Mess was not what you created in your room, it was where you went every Friday for the free "english" movie
11. The "English Movie" was very often a western and you couldnt follow a word! Sometimes you just went for the samosas and the local drink that they insisted was Cola
12. At the end of the month your dad had to pay for many pink slips showing how many samosas and local drinks that they insisted was Cola you had consumed. They never missed any!!!
13. You attended many May Queen Balls before you knew what Miss India was
14. Your mother regularly got dressed, perfumed and dissappeared for the Ladies Club
15. You knew towns like Mhow, Wellington, Deolali and Bhuj
16. You werent a millionaire but hey you had Swimming, Horse Riding, Squash, Tennis and Golf!!
17. You thought the main reason to have a Golf Course was to have a Holi Bash
18. You can still take one quick look at the epaulets and figure out the rank
19. You discussed wednesday's Chitrahaar in the Shaktiman
20. You can still recall the special & particular smell of the CSD canteen! A special prize for the correct concoction - mine is - it was a mix of Hamam Soap, Ponds Dreamflower Talc & Surf I think. In some corners it had overtures of Brooke Bond red Label as well
21. Your vacations were a package deal consisting of D-forms, Sharma Uncle Ka jonga and Arty Mess ka kamra

Why cannot parents listen....at least sometimes? Or is it the case only with my father!!! My father was recently taken to a hospital as he was complaining of chest pain. He was taken to a civil hospital to get the BP and ECG checked. As he is a hypertensive, doctors advised him to be under observation for 8 hours. As that may have costed him 8-10k, he decided to go to the Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi, which serves personnel of the armed forces. The only reason driving this decision was that my father was trying to avoid the "unnecessary" cost!!!

What did he get in bargain? I spent around 12k to fly down and be with my father. Good amount of money was spent on boarding, travel, food etc. But that is okay and am not complaining as it needed to be done. The things that are annoying me are dirty loos, rooms full of rubbish, food which has cockroach crawling in it...overall a totally unhealthy environment. To add to the woes, admitted patients are made to wait in queues for hours before they undergo any test. The reason is that there is no management. Can you believe that in this hospital a person cannot get discharged on a holiday!!! Then next day, he/she will have to wait for couple of hours before the duty clerk, who as expected is not efficient with computers types the records of all patients getting discharged on that day!!! After the agonizing wait, one finds that the Brigadier saab, who seems to be the sole authority to discharge patients is missing from his office. Everyone waits for him to return, which can take an hour or more!!! When all the papers are signed and are in place, the patient is asked to return to the ward and wait for the discharge slip to come to him/her. This is taking ages (This is the current status and me and my dad are waiting for the discharge slip to arrive). So a person who was recommended for discharge at around 10 am yesterday is still waiting for his discharge at 3pm today!!!

But nobody can blame the hospital. an officer cannot complain as he may be court martialed!!! In any case, the hospital is meant to (a) provide free of cost treatment to defence personnel (b) punish them for getting sick/injured (c) make them feel sorry for joining the armed forces. You want something better, go to a pay-for-service facility. Fair enough.

That brings us back to the issue that my father does not listen. I am not suggesting that he does not listen to others at all. But when it comes to such matters where he has to pick between comfort for himself at a cost and zero comfort for himself at zero cost, he always picks the later. Whats the use?? After that he sends his blood pressure soaring over all the bad points about the facility he chose for himself!!! Moreover, he will pick the best for me and my sister...wont worry about the cost at all. I just want to tell him that papa, we can afford it and.....nothing matters more than you. So going forward, please listen to me.