Morning Drives

Weekends tend to be a snore unless you plan something in advance. And I am the kind of person who tends to go into a real bad mood by the end of the weekend if we have not done something more than the customary grocery shopping. Planning a weekend takes effort and when it involves more than your family, they really have to be the same kind of people.

A friend asked us to join them for a picnic and we were so thrilled at doing something different, we were up at 6:30am ( well in reality, T woke us up). We were off to Nandi hills, a mere 70kms from where we stay, but the idea of packing up food and eating it there was enough to have us cooking till 7:30 am, and then setting off. 2 couples and 2 kids all packed into the car, and happy to be off on a road trip, if I may call it so!

A welcome back to Nandi hills

Having been to Nandi hills many a times, it was just the pleasure of the drive and the conversation which was so great, but for our friends, it was their first trip up there. And, boy, has the place changed! I realized that I was headed up the hill, after 3 years, which means T has never been there even. They have lookouts set up and lots of picnic spots, which were all occupied. And along with the people, were so many monkeys, something which I have not seen in all the times I have been there prior to 2011.

There are monkeys everywhere!

The wind which blows at the top of the hill is something all the bikers and trekkers come for, and that was something which was still very much there. T was in fact a little cold, and I did not carry a jacket, which was quite irresponsible, but then I think a 3 year hiatus can affect the memory of the chill. ;)

The wind blown lovelies

The eateries have not become any more in number, and the same ol' tea shop served the ice cream and tea. It is still that early morning tea place, or else a picnic spot offering you the snacks and drinks supply all through. But, I think its one of the places from where you see Bangalore in a very different light, especially if you head up there at 6am, when the gates open, and watch the sunrise!

Chillly but so much fun!

As you can see I had clearly forgotten how chilly Nandi hills can get, but the company made it all worthwhile!

3 days.

In 3 days, will be a milestone for me after a really long time.

Turning 30 is something which felt far away a few years back, and today it is right here.

I have been thinking what is it that I can do to keep this year special. When I came across Orange jammies Turning Five, Birthday giveaway, I felt this is what I would love to do to remember this year too. Last year, on my birthday I made a contribution to Save the Children and the year before that I made a contribution to CRY India. Those two contributions felt more of only a monetary help which I was extending, but this time I thought I would like to make the effort and do something different.

Shishu Mandir, was a children's home which I recently visited to drop off some of T's clothes, toys and other things. I was awed at the work they were doing and the one feeling which I got was the individuals involved with them were doing in true spirit and they deserve all the help they can get. So, for this birthday I have decided that I shall add Rs.100 for every comment on this post to a base amount which I have decided to contribute to them. And as its a children's home, I intend to coordinate with them and order a host of item which they need. This way I can ensure that they get it at the best possible rates and they get these items at the earliest. They are not located very centrally, so many items might prove difficult for them to procure elsewhere. Apart from all this, I think I would feel wonderful that I could do something rather than making another x amount contribution.

So, as I said, for every comment on this post till midnight (IST), August 10, 2013, I shall be contributing Rs. 100 to the kitty which shall go towards buying necessary items for Shishu Mandir.

Now, go ahead, leave that comment! Play your part :)

[CONTEST] Winners Announced !

I would like to take the pleasure of announcing the winners of the Contest which I had conducted in November on my blog for the Four Fountain Spa.

All participants had to answer the the statement

What do you think - Healthy makes you Wealthy or Wealthy makes you Healthy

The winners will be receiving spa vouchers from Four Fountain Spa.

CONGRATULATIONS to the two winners of this contest.

1. Rani: She wins a Full body massage voucher.

She blogs at www.aquarianlady.blogspot.com and has been a follower of my blog since quite awhile.

Her answer to the question was:

Healthy definitely makes one wealthy as the old saying goes, health is wealth! 

Health is more than just physical wellbeing. To me, health is all about a balance. Physical, emotional, mental, they are all interlinked. I wouldn’t call a physically fit man with a stressful job, healthy. Neither would a woman be termed healthy if she was eating well, working out but having little sleep at nights. Someone else could be wealthy for that matter, with a well paying job, but if he was having difficult relationships that was converting to stress, at the end of the day, he’d only be wealthy, not healthy.

True wealth is an assimilation of many things. The primary contributor is health. Health could be looked at as a culmination of all things in balance- a good, nutritious diet, a illness-free body, a tension-free mind, regular and peaceful sleep and nourishing relationships. That is when we are healthy in the true sense. That, and a well paying job would be the icing on the cake! :)

2. Pooja: She wins a partial body massage voucher.

Her answer was:

We live in a super-fast age. The Internet has shrunk the world dramatically and people are connected 24×7. Multitasking is the order of the day as we struggle to fulfill our responsibilities to everyone in our lives. In this melee, too often we forget to spare time for ourselves.The stress levels continue to build up until one day a major collapse may make us aware that in all this frenzied activity, we have forgotten to take care of one important thing - our health. As we spend days shuttling between hospital and home, subjecting our body to one test after another trying to find out what has gone wrong, we are forced to remember that Health is indeed Wealth. la vraie richesse, c'est la santé .... :)

The winners will be intimated on the next steps to receive the vouchers over email from a representative from Four Fountain Spa.

Happy Spoiling yourself :)

Image Source: http://i3.sdlcdn.com/img/deals/main/P_FourFountainSpa_M_3.jpg

[CONTEST] An hour of bliss

An hour of bliss, that was what the Four Fountain Spa offered me a few days back. It was lovely to get a chance to go and experience their treatment. I had seen a few times that their new spa had opened up recently and when I got a chance to go and check out their services, I jumped at it. I visited the Koramangala branch and here I host a contest for you to win some vouchers with them. The contest is open till December 15 and the winner will be notified on the blog itself following the 15th.

My Experience:
As I stepped into the spa, I liked their spiked door handles, gives one a soft massage in your palm and the reception area was simple yet elegant. I liked how they understood my daily routine and then went about suggesting what kind of a treatment would benefit my body. Once the treatment was decided upon ( an aromatherapy de-stressing massage), there was a questionnaire to understand any ailments and any detail which I would like to communicate to the masseuse prior to the start of the treatment.

The rooms were very clean, sparingly decorated, but it did not seem empty. the colors used were mute shades like cream and pale yellow and all the furniture were in shades of dark wood. Something which I liked particularly was the disposable clothes that they provided, something which I have not come across prior to this. Overall the massage was good, the masseuse checked at various intervals whether the pressure was right or if I would prefer anything to be done differently. Each room has a bath area sufficiently equipped. When you look at all the above and the price at which it comes for, I believe this would be one of my top suggestions for a spa in my experience.

Contest:
All you need to do is answer the question below by leaving your answer as a comment below. The top 3 winners will get vouchers which can be redeemed across any of their spa locations, pan India.

What do you think - Healthy makes you Wealthy or Wealthy makes you Healthy

A parent of today - 2

I had posted earlier about this incident at a apartment complex where our friends stay. Now there seems to be an update.

The guard who picked up the girl was taking her towards the lobby of the building, and the girl thought she was being carried towards the basement. But, he did pick her up. And why did he pick her up? Because she was standing there and picking on the flowers.

The father beat up the guard pretty bad... with bruises and also injury to his groins. There is a great deal of noise from the other residents on his behaviour and they are demanding that he re-think what he has done and if he thinks this was not the right behaviour, he should go and meet the guard and talk to him to put things in perspective.  There is a lot of question about how folks ill-treat those from a lower income background and they expect them to be fine with the ill-treatment as they need the money.

The guard is said to be traumatized, and shocked that he was not even allowed to speak what happened before he was humiliated in front of children, colleagues and all. He feels he can never work as a security and now will have to go back to his hometown. He is the sole bread winner for his family, so every penny counts and he is already thinking on what are his other options. He just wishes to leave Bangalore as soon as he can be discharged.

Was this father's behaviour rational? Was it in any way right? Was he just acting as a worried, shocked father of a daughter?

A parent of today

Recently there was an incident at a apartment complex where our friends stay ( and where we ourselves stayed for over 2 years) regarding a security guard misbehaving with 2 kids, a girl and a boy.

The girl (8 year old) was playing with her friends, and when her friends ran towards one direction, a guard who was on duty started asking her questions about which apartment she stays in and so on. Once her friends were out of sight, he tried to pick her up and carry her towards the basement car park.She started to scream and asked to be put down, on hearing which her friends came running back. The guard put her down and walked off. The girl went and told her parents, the guards were rounded up, and the culprit was identified by not only the girl, but her friends too. He was given a thrashing by the dad and handed over to the police and an FIR filed.

The boy (6 year old) was playing near the visitors parking, where he was trying to climb onto a parked motorcycle. The guard on duty, scolded him and not to repeat it. The boy repeated it, and the guard asked him to go and stand facing the main door of an empty apartment on the ground floor of a block. The boy went to his mother and told her that the guard took him into the empty apartment on the ground floor and he felt like he was being kidnapped. The father was promptly called back from work and he came and quizzed the boy more about how the guard got the key and what was he doing when the guard took him into the apartment etc. When the boy felt cornered, he told them the truth.

Now, there are folks questioning whether what the girl told them is true, and what if that is also a fabricated story?

I thought that was really sad... I agree kids might lie or more like twist the truth a bit, but then a girl who came home crying and scared should not be questioned whether she what she is saying is true.

But, I also feel maybe what the father did was also not right. Why did he beat up the guard? As B says... there is always that chance that his intention was not to hurt her, there might be a different explanation... right?

The Paan Waala

There is something about entrepreneurship which surely does feel good. And, saying that, I also know that it is not everyones' cup of tea. There are some who find it very difficult to break away from the norm and step up or out to the world unknown to them. And on the other hand, there are some who are more than willing to explore and venture into completely unknown territories just for the kick! 

This grit and fun is one of the many things which I love in B. How did I start writing all this? 

Well, yesterday, B happened to help a Paan waala who has his own small place, which B visits ever so often, to get a new deal and set a new shop in a much better and profitable location. There is a new pub which has opened up a few hundred metres away and that was close to a busy junction, which ensured better traffic and sales. B happened to casually ask the Paan waala why he was not interested in that location as it is very evident that it would be more profitable. The Paan waala was certainly interested, but did not know how to go about it, or whom to go and meet as the pub was just about to open. B made a few calls, and found out from some friends who is the owner, and went promptly along with the Paan waala to meet the owner. He spoke with the owner at length explaining the benefit of having a paan shop outside his pub, and also vouched for the quality of the paan. The owner not only understood that it was a good proposition, but he also agreed on a reasonable amount as deposit and rent to run the Paan shop just at the entrance to the pub. 

When B came back and narrated to me this incident, I was just awed. It was not because of his idea, but that he went ahead and spoke on behalf of the Paan wala and actually went through it the whole way. He not only took the effort to get in touch with the owner, but he also went along with the Paan waala and spoke on his behalf. This is a quality which I know I do not have, and immensely look up to in him. He did not think that this is too lowly a matter to interfere in, nor did he think what would the owner of the pub might think of him if he takes such a matter to him. His only thoughts were that it is a worthwhile venture, and something which might do good for the Paan waala. 

I would not have taken it up on me to go ahead and talk to a third person about a business opportunity for someone else. I would have had so many apprehensions, and felt I, as a person should not interfere in anothers' matters. I would not be the kind to go out of my way to help someone as in this case. I might have found out the name of the owner and given that piece of information to the Paan waala, but going with him and helping him in acquiring the deal is just not something I see myself doing. 

What would you have done?

Image Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=MMIR/2007/05/04/12/Img/Pc0120500.jpg

Day 49 - Bangalore

How I miss Bangalore... 

Day 43 - Log Huts

Log huts are said to be quite stable during earth quakes and natural calamities.

Day 36 - Twilight

Day 33 - Climbing Heights

Here is a goat which went up to a great height to catch a bit to bite!

Day 25 - Bangalore Rains

Day 17 - Idol

This is one of the biggest idols I have seen around in India.

Banerghatta National Park - Jungle Lodges

We decided to go on a one night trip to the Banerghatta National Park, and it being a holiday for the Republic day in the middle of the week also helped. We stayed at the Jungle lodges nature camp, in one of their swiss tents, which were very comfortable. There were deers, peacocks and monkeys all over the camp… and they were very used to human beings around them, to the extend that they did not have any issue if you went quite close by for a good photograph. The food was simple and tasty, the lunch especially, and all meals were served as a buffet. We wanted to leave early to get to office on time, and also to give a miss to the traffic, so they even gave us breakfast early in our tent itself. I think it was very good service from Jungle Lodges, all activities on-time, and there were always many folks around who were ready to give information on the animals, the places around and advice on not disturbing the animals too much. 

The national park as such was disappointing I would say, with small enclosures where the bears, lions, tigers and the white tigers were kept. The enclosure area being so small made it seem more like a zoo rather than a national park. And even in these enclosures, some animals were kept in cages and some were left in the open, which seemed more like a fair gimmick than a true practice. On wondering why such a park was being maintained, the only reason I could come up with was the fear of poaching, even within the premises of the national park. To ensure animal safety, I guess the cages and allocated outside time was the only method they could devise. 

We did not visit the zoo or the butterfly park, amongst which I have heard quite a rage about the butterfly park. One thing I would have loved to do was visit the butter fly park, and post a post card from there, as the postage seal would be of a butterfly when dropped in that specific post box. 

Here are some pictures for a better idea of the camp and also the animals.

A gorge-ful weekend

Now I know, a weekend filled with food and old friends is bound to be one of the greatest!

To elaborate, I met with three of my college friends, and I would say after long spells too. It was great to catch up and sit around talking. There is so much different that every person is doing that there is a great deal to understand from each of them. Some MBA stories, some research stories, and some stories of travel to places far and wide, they were great evenings of Saturday and Sunday.

With a far more than bad craving for seafood, the most probable place for us to head to was Coconut Groove on Church Street, Bangalore. The seafood is phenomenal, a great variety and all cooked in the amazing Kerala way! Gorged on Karimeen, Pearl spot, pork, chicken and mutton. I also realized their pork starter is excellent, was the first time I was trying it! This starter menu was followed with excellent idiyappam with mutton curry.

After all the seafood overdose, on Sunday, the food was to be all Afghani from up up north! Samarkhand it was. Galawti Kebabs have a way of melting in the mouth, and that is something one experiences here. Here too we tried the Prawns and grilled methi fish. The fish was excellent and the prawns was quite standard, just that the size of the prawns were appreciable. To top it, was the chicken dum biriyani, opened and served onto your plate.

Ahh... thats a weekend of bliss!

Almost Wonderful la la . . .

After a very long spell of being at home, and long weekends of work, decided its time for a change and need to get out and do something fun. Being a short weekend, the only possibility was the surrounding areas and going to Wonder La after a good one year in Bangalore is of utmost importance.

Wonder La was a good experience; they had 4 good water rides, and 3 good land rides. Now by the end of it, I was wondering whether it was a good idea to visit it in the first place. One deal that I do know is that I enjoyed Water Kingdom in Bombay much more than Wonder La. Maybe that’s because I happened to go with many friends, and also that it is Asia’s largest water theme park! The rides I felt were many more and some relaxing ones also. Here there were only thrill rides, fast and furious. The wave pool was fun, the waves were strong and the area was also large. All said and done, the site for Water Kingdom is completely useless where as Wonder La has a webpage which is not only functional, but also very informative from rates and rides to the kind of clothing expected to be worn.

Now the water ride thrashing is done with, lets move on to the land rides. Why do they all try to make you go 360 degrees and that too in two planes! I am sure the idea was wonderful for one ride, but why when it is the same for straight three rides. And there, on the park map, these are the rides which are called high thrill. I think the rides should have been called 360 rides.

Anyhow, the drive outside city was good, especially at 130kms/hr and followed by some one-time-good- then- boring rides. A day completely spend out-of-home and then an even more amazing dinner and at

dinner did the deal!