Had been to Rampachodavaram – 100 km from Rajahmundry.
The place is not only serene in nature but is also a jaw dropping beauty!!! Yes- more beautiful than the beauty showcased by the oomph factor’d babes in holly and bollywood! The road way to this place takes 2 hours and the roads are also fairly good conditioned.
We set out early in the morning at 5.30 on Sunday 7th of September. The planning was done a week before but could not be executed as none of us were free and this week it materialized………
The day before
At night 10pm I reached Rajahmundry from Kakinada in an hour chasing a maruti swift which zipped past us ….. 4th gear, 80 speedometer and zoom! That’s the way we crossed him and reached Rajahmundry in an hour time (generally it takes 1.5 hours to travel from Kakinada to Rajahmundry or vice versa)
Went to Ramu’s house, RK joined us there and all three of us went to the apartment T/2,3rd floor-the haunted house!!!! (Don’t ask me the story of this original script now…..I can’t even tell u the trailer as RGV would)
Slept happily.
But the sleep that was supposed to mesmerize me did not come as the eyes refused to close with the fear of missing the trip because once closed they would definitely travel into the wonderland and I would have to miss the real wonderland…so I tried not to sleep. How ever, I lost here after a couple of hours and sleep said “I would rather try to relax you till the time you are with me …… and seems that the fairy did some magic and let me sleep….but honest to her words….she woke me up at 5 am and went away blowing me a kiss of freshness and vitality for the days tour!
The day!
Finally the moment arrived when my mobile rang the alarm!! Cukdu coo!!!!!
Others at that point of time were sleeping so I shut my Cukdu coo to silence and tiptoed to get ready! Once ready for the adventure, I woke the remaining participants…… a bit late…. A bit beyond schedule…but that’s the way bachelors and Indians work and we are bachelors and Indians!!!! (Take nothing personally- even I love my country!)
Ready to leave I called up Ramu and went to the place he was waiting along with Nagaveera sir. Wooooo! The Scorpio was also ready…..only the travelers weren’t.By the time everyone joined it was around 6 am- the sun also woke up early today
The trip-on the way!
Enroute our destination, in the Scorpio, it was a chaotic yet jolly atmosphere built.
We all started talking about different topics –quite youthful in nature!
I will be a guide for you for sometime telling you all that I know about these temples as I have visited them earlier also with Ramu. In this trip we could not make it happen as we were short of time.
On the way the first temple that we came across was Shiridi Sai’s temple in Bhurugupudi which is said to be the replica of Dwarkamayee Shiridi and it indeed is. The deity seems to be the replica of the one in Shiridi and it was wonderful.
A little ahead of that was a small town known as Korukonda, famous for the KORUKONDA VARAHA LAXMI NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE (see the pic.in the next page). The uniqueness about the temple is that it has 600 steps which will just fit half our foot or say the foot of a five year old baby will happily fit in. they are quite polished and any mishap could see us rolling down like Jack and Jill! Up above, in the temple, much to our surprise the deity was not bigger than the size of the palm!!! For darshan we have to kneel down and almost sleep half to have a view of the Idol.
The next in the line was Dwarka Tirumala on Thantikonda, the hill. History says that Lord Balaji, the lord of seven hills while wandering around wanted to take rest on this hill. It is said that the moment he set his foot on the hill, unable to bear the pressure, it caved in and Lord Balaji went away. The imprint of his foot can be found in the temple premises.
I have not been to Kashmir and have not seen the heaven there but what ever I have come across here in East Godavari has nothing less than that!
After this the next in line is but a route full of trees and greenery. Welcome to Gokavaram! This would be the route way to naxalite prone areas and a path way to heavenly beauty yet to unfold!
Gokavaram as a town has nothing much to offer and 10 km from there we stop near a temple- Kota sattama temple, the temple of Adishakti Mata where people and devotees from across the district come to give animal sacrifices to appease the Goddess. It’s a scenic beauty here as the temple is enveloped by the mountains and dense forest which at once reminded me of the Jurassic park!
There we all had a darshan of the goddess and after that had brunch before we moved ahead to the forest areas of Maredumilli
On the way, there were some scenic beauties which we could not afford to pass through without having it captured in our cameras. It was a brook by the mountains which attracted our attention-the destination was still afar but in between it was a jhalak dikhla ja!
The road way as such was a ghati (deep ravine on one side) as we proceeded further and the beauty enhanced with every kilometer that our vehicle covered & neared our destination.
well...there is a lot more coming in the next post,journey abhi baaki hai mere dost!.... happy weekend till then...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
how can I....
Every beat beats for you
Every ring seeks for your voice
Every moment is spent for you
Every day is a dream of time spent
With you……
But every tear that trickles asks
“how can I live with out you?”
Every ring seeks for your voice
Every moment is spent for you
Every day is a dream of time spent
With you……
But every tear that trickles asks
“how can I live with out you?”
my first day in hyderabad,reporting and a warm welcome
27th march, 2007
6.30 am. The bus reached Ameerpet stop and I got down with all my belongings and searched for the phone booth to give a call to Ryan, my colleague at Hyderabad with who I was at induction program in Mumbai. Back in Mumbai, Ryan assured me that he would pick me up at ameerpet. I was absolutely new to this city and knew no one other than my own. I called him a couple of times and no response. I called his mother and she gave me an address. I went there. Thanks to the auto driver who was with me all the while. The roads which were wearing a sleepy look when I boarded down looked busy by 7.30 and there was no sign of him. Tension started creeping into my nerves and I was running out of the limited cash that I had. All that I had was some 50 bucks which got over on calls to Ryan and my home. More worst was the situation I was in. with the entire luggage and no where to go, wandering in the streets, my nose started to bleed-icing over the cake!
“Last try”, I thought at around 8.00 am and once again dialed Ryan’s number. It rang and this time he responded. He was asleep and here my sleep went for a toss! Finally he came and I went with him to his friend’s room at Punjagutta .I decided to rest for a while before we moved to office which we did not do. I took rest for the whole day and was ready for the next day.
The next day, I woke up early and got ready. I did not know the route to office and waited for Ryan to pick me up. Again late. However we went and the day started. We met Mahesh Natrajan, the regional head for AP region. Had interaction with him and then were introduced to the team- Arnab, Pathik, Sunil, Sharath, Shirram,Vamshi,Raghavan,Lakshmi,Vani,Praveen,Sharad jr. and the other new joiners- Rupali,Nithin,Aman.
The first day went making enquiries about the operational issues and by interacting with all the staff members. Mahesh sir was not there and in the evening at 5.30pm, I and Ryan decided to sign off for the day and informed Vani and moved out.
The next day however we were given a warm welcome by Mahesh sir for not being in office till the closing hours and were warned against such activities again.
6.30 am. The bus reached Ameerpet stop and I got down with all my belongings and searched for the phone booth to give a call to Ryan, my colleague at Hyderabad with who I was at induction program in Mumbai. Back in Mumbai, Ryan assured me that he would pick me up at ameerpet. I was absolutely new to this city and knew no one other than my own. I called him a couple of times and no response. I called his mother and she gave me an address. I went there. Thanks to the auto driver who was with me all the while. The roads which were wearing a sleepy look when I boarded down looked busy by 7.30 and there was no sign of him. Tension started creeping into my nerves and I was running out of the limited cash that I had. All that I had was some 50 bucks which got over on calls to Ryan and my home. More worst was the situation I was in. with the entire luggage and no where to go, wandering in the streets, my nose started to bleed-icing over the cake!
“Last try”, I thought at around 8.00 am and once again dialed Ryan’s number. It rang and this time he responded. He was asleep and here my sleep went for a toss! Finally he came and I went with him to his friend’s room at Punjagutta .I decided to rest for a while before we moved to office which we did not do. I took rest for the whole day and was ready for the next day.
The next day, I woke up early and got ready. I did not know the route to office and waited for Ryan to pick me up. Again late. However we went and the day started. We met Mahesh Natrajan, the regional head for AP region. Had interaction with him and then were introduced to the team- Arnab, Pathik, Sunil, Sharath, Shirram,Vamshi,Raghavan,Lakshmi,Vani,Praveen,Sharad jr. and the other new joiners- Rupali,Nithin,Aman.
The first day went making enquiries about the operational issues and by interacting with all the staff members. Mahesh sir was not there and in the evening at 5.30pm, I and Ryan decided to sign off for the day and informed Vani and moved out.
The next day however we were given a warm welcome by Mahesh sir for not being in office till the closing hours and were warned against such activities again.
induction program,mumbai and the flight miss
March 20th, 2007
This was the day when I joined Reliance mutual fund.
It was in Mumbai that the induction program was being conducted for a week from that day. I reached Mumbai via bus and that was the second time I had stepped on Mumbai soil.
The first time I went there was to appear for NSE certification exam which I flunked but saw what the high skiers in Mumbai were. That day I went to BKC-Bandra Kurla complex.
When the abbreviation ended in “complex”, I presumed it to be a building but what I came across was not a building but, an array of buildings! Woo!!!! I became breathless for a while looking at those titanic size concrete beauties. At best I had seen them on screen, either in TV or in movies but this was the first time I saw them directly. Walking down the roads not asphalted but cemented, I reached the venue for the exam- NSE. There is nothing to boast about the exam which I could not get through, but have a lot to talk about the first day in Mumbai.
After the exam was over I made my way out to the station nearby. Nearby the station, I thought it would be better boarding a bus- a double Decker which again I had seen in movies when I was a child. However I dropped the idea when I came to know it would be way round by bus and better a journey by train-local trains! Once again it reminded me the scenes which I would see day in and day out in TV serials and movies…. Thousands rushing in and out, running hurriedly to catch a foothold of the ever moving trains which seemed to stop only for a micro second.
I took my ticket at Mahalaxmi and waited for the local to come. Meanwhile I ordered a tea and by the time I started sipping it, the train arrived and in a rush I had to leave it half and chance a comfort standing inside. I observed that I did not board rather the waves of people who were boarding had put me up in one of the bogies-great! It was not a compartment to sit but a luggage van where in I was accompanied by some fisher men, milk men, local masons,dabba wala’s and some old people talking in Marathi. I decided to stand on the foot hold so that I don’t get lost in the crowd and go Sholapur instead of Pune!
On the way there were tunnels and some wonderful scenic beauties of the hills of Khandala and deep gorges which had a blanket of greenery camouflaging the dangerous depths of the gorges that lay below them.
That was the first hand experience of being in a local train in Mumbai as a management student.
The second time was different.
Now I was no more a student but a relationship manager with a reputed company. I boarded a taxi after getting down some where I don’t recollect and went straight to hotel Rang Sharda where our stay and induction program were to be conducted. The hotel overlooked a very majestic building which till sometime I did not know was the famous “Leelavati hospital”. On the other side it was the river which gave a wonderful view of the Mumbai on the other side of the waters.
The training started the next day. 20th was the day for all the new joiners to break the ice. Some were known faces and the rest needed introduction. In the evening, I went out with our batch mates to Juhu beach, yet another tourist attraction. It was one of the worst beaches I had ever seen. Compared to the beach at Puri in Orissa and the one in Chennai, this one was as if the whole city had its garbage dumping being done here.
Life goes like that. No problem for the couple which was very romantically involved at the backdrop of a setting sun or for the children who were enjoying playing cricket on the beach side. Walking a few steps ahead we all came across the chat, bhel puri, vada pav and Pani Puri centre at Chowpati. Very famous again and mouth watering too.
From there we walked a few miles before we stopped in front of a very big iron gate which seemed to me like the gate of central jail which I see very often in the old Hindi movies. It was the mansion of the Bollywood heart throb shah rukh khan, named Mannat! I and my friend sat on the rocks outside, which overlooked the beach looking at the gates hoping that a car would zoom out and that we could catch a glimpse of him or may be Gauri khan, his better half! Nay!
That street housed many other film stars but none were as appealing as his. Well where was the millionaire of ADAG staying?
The week long induction program was wonderful and on the last day we were all given the details of who we were to report and the locations. I expected it either to be in Mumbai/Pune/Bhubaneshwar but, it was a googly for me-Hyderabad!
There was only a day in between to go back to Pune and from there to move to Hyderabad by the flight-all expenses paid by the company. I was very excited and was a bit sad too. Two years in Pune with many experiences and memories came to an end. I knew that once out of this place it would not be a possibility for me to come back ever in leisure and today after being a part of the organisation for 1.8 years, I am still trying to find time to go to meet my friends and more importantly bring back my belongings which stay there despite me traveling down south.
In the excitement to board the flight, I saw the time when the flight would arrive and depart in reverse. By the time I reached the airport and checked in, the flight was gone!!!!
Shock and disbelief grounded me more than the thought of not being able to report on time on day 1. I did not know what to do. Going back to hostel would mean nothing but waste of money, rather it would be better for me to go to my grandfathers house nearby and I went. I had no option but to cook a story and did so to avoid the wrath of my father.
Then I called up the office at Hyderabad and came to know that no further arrangements would be made by them. It was now completely messy. I had no other option left than book a Volvo to Hyderabad from Pune. I hurried to the nearest point and did the reservation-Night 8.30.
I was at the boarding point an hour before to avoid missing the bus and during that one hour my memory raced back to the days spent in hostel. And by the time I boarded the bus and it started moving, hot tears rolled down my cheeks as a farewell to the place which fulfilled my dream-MBA and gave me my first break. Bad as it was, I was not even able to meet my friends properly for the last time and bid them bye as I thought I would do.
This was the day when I joined Reliance mutual fund.
It was in Mumbai that the induction program was being conducted for a week from that day. I reached Mumbai via bus and that was the second time I had stepped on Mumbai soil.
The first time I went there was to appear for NSE certification exam which I flunked but saw what the high skiers in Mumbai were. That day I went to BKC-Bandra Kurla complex.
When the abbreviation ended in “complex”, I presumed it to be a building but what I came across was not a building but, an array of buildings! Woo!!!! I became breathless for a while looking at those titanic size concrete beauties. At best I had seen them on screen, either in TV or in movies but this was the first time I saw them directly. Walking down the roads not asphalted but cemented, I reached the venue for the exam- NSE. There is nothing to boast about the exam which I could not get through, but have a lot to talk about the first day in Mumbai.
After the exam was over I made my way out to the station nearby. Nearby the station, I thought it would be better boarding a bus- a double Decker which again I had seen in movies when I was a child. However I dropped the idea when I came to know it would be way round by bus and better a journey by train-local trains! Once again it reminded me the scenes which I would see day in and day out in TV serials and movies…. Thousands rushing in and out, running hurriedly to catch a foothold of the ever moving trains which seemed to stop only for a micro second.
I took my ticket at Mahalaxmi and waited for the local to come. Meanwhile I ordered a tea and by the time I started sipping it, the train arrived and in a rush I had to leave it half and chance a comfort standing inside. I observed that I did not board rather the waves of people who were boarding had put me up in one of the bogies-great! It was not a compartment to sit but a luggage van where in I was accompanied by some fisher men, milk men, local masons,dabba wala’s and some old people talking in Marathi. I decided to stand on the foot hold so that I don’t get lost in the crowd and go Sholapur instead of Pune!
On the way there were tunnels and some wonderful scenic beauties of the hills of Khandala and deep gorges which had a blanket of greenery camouflaging the dangerous depths of the gorges that lay below them.
That was the first hand experience of being in a local train in Mumbai as a management student.
The second time was different.
Now I was no more a student but a relationship manager with a reputed company. I boarded a taxi after getting down some where I don’t recollect and went straight to hotel Rang Sharda where our stay and induction program were to be conducted. The hotel overlooked a very majestic building which till sometime I did not know was the famous “Leelavati hospital”. On the other side it was the river which gave a wonderful view of the Mumbai on the other side of the waters.
The training started the next day. 20th was the day for all the new joiners to break the ice. Some were known faces and the rest needed introduction. In the evening, I went out with our batch mates to Juhu beach, yet another tourist attraction. It was one of the worst beaches I had ever seen. Compared to the beach at Puri in Orissa and the one in Chennai, this one was as if the whole city had its garbage dumping being done here.
Life goes like that. No problem for the couple which was very romantically involved at the backdrop of a setting sun or for the children who were enjoying playing cricket on the beach side. Walking a few steps ahead we all came across the chat, bhel puri, vada pav and Pani Puri centre at Chowpati. Very famous again and mouth watering too.
From there we walked a few miles before we stopped in front of a very big iron gate which seemed to me like the gate of central jail which I see very often in the old Hindi movies. It was the mansion of the Bollywood heart throb shah rukh khan, named Mannat! I and my friend sat on the rocks outside, which overlooked the beach looking at the gates hoping that a car would zoom out and that we could catch a glimpse of him or may be Gauri khan, his better half! Nay!
That street housed many other film stars but none were as appealing as his. Well where was the millionaire of ADAG staying?
The week long induction program was wonderful and on the last day we were all given the details of who we were to report and the locations. I expected it either to be in Mumbai/Pune/Bhubaneshwar but, it was a googly for me-Hyderabad!
There was only a day in between to go back to Pune and from there to move to Hyderabad by the flight-all expenses paid by the company. I was very excited and was a bit sad too. Two years in Pune with many experiences and memories came to an end. I knew that once out of this place it would not be a possibility for me to come back ever in leisure and today after being a part of the organisation for 1.8 years, I am still trying to find time to go to meet my friends and more importantly bring back my belongings which stay there despite me traveling down south.
In the excitement to board the flight, I saw the time when the flight would arrive and depart in reverse. By the time I reached the airport and checked in, the flight was gone!!!!
Shock and disbelief grounded me more than the thought of not being able to report on time on day 1. I did not know what to do. Going back to hostel would mean nothing but waste of money, rather it would be better for me to go to my grandfathers house nearby and I went. I had no option but to cook a story and did so to avoid the wrath of my father.
Then I called up the office at Hyderabad and came to know that no further arrangements would be made by them. It was now completely messy. I had no other option left than book a Volvo to Hyderabad from Pune. I hurried to the nearest point and did the reservation-Night 8.30.
I was at the boarding point an hour before to avoid missing the bus and during that one hour my memory raced back to the days spent in hostel. And by the time I boarded the bus and it started moving, hot tears rolled down my cheeks as a farewell to the place which fulfilled my dream-MBA and gave me my first break. Bad as it was, I was not even able to meet my friends properly for the last time and bid them bye as I thought I would do.
painful soul....
Eyes shed tears, lips curve for a smile
Heart beats slower, thoughts run fast.
Steps get heavier, hands refuse to move
Nay!
Not a stroke of heart or lymph
It’s a break! A break in heart of love…..
A shock greater than the quake
Devastation greater than the war’s
A pain much sharper than the wound
Of a shrapnel or a knife stab into heart.
Aye!
It’s the pain of the soul.
It’s the pain of being sole
The song of a painful soul
Left to the mercy of memories
With moments to smile
And days to shed the tears
In loneliness…in solitude.
Which I shall live
For years to come with a smile
And pain in the loved corner of my heart!
Heart beats slower, thoughts run fast.
Steps get heavier, hands refuse to move
Nay!
Not a stroke of heart or lymph
It’s a break! A break in heart of love…..
A shock greater than the quake
Devastation greater than the war’s
A pain much sharper than the wound
Of a shrapnel or a knife stab into heart.
Aye!
It’s the pain of the soul.
It’s the pain of being sole
The song of a painful soul
Left to the mercy of memories
With moments to smile
And days to shed the tears
In loneliness…in solitude.
Which I shall live
For years to come with a smile
And pain in the loved corner of my heart!
homage to the warriors of mumbai catastrophe
It has been a very cruel week for the Mumbaikars as well as for all the Indians. This is not a time for us sitting cushioned in our rooms either watching TV or browsing net and blaming the responsible ones by pointing out this should have been done and this should not have been ......
There is a lot we have to learn and do and infact lot to "change". If it is not now it is never.
the people and the officers on duty who have lost their lives are the ones who have felt and undergone the real horror. the one's who have cme out of the situation will have to live with it.
no matter how much they be compensated or how much we condole.... the damage has been done.
Lets pray that our country doesnot bleed again like this to the horror and gory acts of someone who dont even know what it means to love and die for one's country. Lets all pray for a second everyday that there be no wars and no bloodsheding,that there be peace and love everywhere.
There is a lot we have to learn and do and infact lot to "change". If it is not now it is never.
the people and the officers on duty who have lost their lives are the ones who have felt and undergone the real horror. the one's who have cme out of the situation will have to live with it.
no matter how much they be compensated or how much we condole.... the damage has been done.
Lets pray that our country doesnot bleed again like this to the horror and gory acts of someone who dont even know what it means to love and die for one's country. Lets all pray for a second everyday that there be no wars and no bloodsheding,that there be peace and love everywhere.
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