It's a beautiful day ...

Everyday is not same, not your feelings. Everyone has different thought process and encounters different emotional behavior in various circumstances. This story is about a moment in a girl's life when she doesn't know what to do with her life.

Things haven't been so good so far in my life.

Initially I thought that life is throwing challenges on my way. I accepted them and played along. Whenever I feel that life is trying to turn me down, I see Sun rise in the morning from the window of my room. Its calmness (you can keep watching it for long which is quite impossible to do at any other point of time of the day), its colorful surroundings, its fascinating mystery in the universe and its importance in everyone's life fills me with the positive energy.

I smile with this thought popping in my mind that this beautiful morning will give me sufficient courage to fight with any problem, today I am sure I will find a solution and my problems will end for ever. Although this never happens, yet I smile every morning with the arrival of same thought again.

I know doing this is tough and unrealistic. When my problems remains unsolved during the day, my pain starts increasing with the rising temperature of afternoon. My power and my energy burns like Sun.

I feel enormous pain in my whole body which becomes irresistible for me as the day progresses towards its end and this heated sun looses its brightness into complete darkness. My strength gives up with the thought that if the sun can loose who am I ? A simple girl, who has ever lived in her dream world and could never see life beyond her self-obsessed vision. Now, when its time to face the world, this society and people whom I never cared in my entire life, suddenly surrounds me with thousands of questions which I find myself unable to answer.

Sun dissolves completely into dark and I broke down with the fact that I am the cause for every problem that I am stuck into today. I want to hide myself somewhere in this dark so that no one would see me and I will not have to face anyone. In this comprehensive and hollow fear of mine, I think of every option which can trash my life and protect me from everything and everyone i am supposed to belong.

I simply do not find the courage to see beyond this depressing darkness and want to dissolve into it. but still to my surprise, there is something which never let my fear take any drastic step about my life. I try again but I am stopped every time. Something suppresses my fear and force me to walk in this endless road of life again. I could never understand this. I want to find it out. It could be the expectation of my family from me. It could be my love for my life because this is rarest thing on earth.

Every night I fight with all these thoughts and sleep. When I get up, I see this beautiful sun again and I smile. I smile with this thought that if sun can fight entire evening and night with darkness to lighten up the world in the next morning again, why can't I fight with my fear and overcome with my problems. I smile and move on.

Pirates of Grills Restaurant Review

Cuisine Type: Indian
Approximate Cost for 2: 1200
Location: MGF Mega City Mall

It was the first time, i have visited this restaurant. When i entered the restaurant i had a feeling that i have visited this place many times before. Obviously not in my previous life :-)

They have tried hard to replicate the concept of barbeque nation. Menu is almost similar including salsa and sweet potatoes, paneer tikka, grills including capsicum, pumpkin, mushroom etc. Variety was good for non-veg food as well. I missed the flag though.

Most unique barbecue which pulled my attention was grilled pineapple, One peeled, full pineapple on a skewer was brought to me by one of the attendant and he cut down some of the pieces for me which were palatable.

After having a plate full of starters, i often skip the main meal but this time, i thought to try a few dishes. Pasta were less boiled. Kadi kofta were good, overall food was Average. Not to forget to mention, they had a good variety in the main meal as well.

Finally, my favorite section, Desert :-) something i really can't resist. Combination of ice-cream and garma garam gulab jamun, though i like them individually too, but this deadly combination if properly made, steals my heart. Gulab Jamun had the proper amount of sugar, it should ideally have. I avoid taking sweets if it contains too much sugar. But overall, i like all the deserts here. Chocolate brownie and Moong dal halwa were really irresistible. 

Recommendation: Overall, it is more or less similar to barbeque nation but if you are bored of going there, then it is definitely a place to visit. Staff is polite. A visit to pirates of grills is worth for money you are playing. Although the service is little slow but this doesn't stop anything to visit this place.

Campus Placement ... First Interview of My Life

Campus placement is the dream of the hundred thousands student going through the various courses all over the India. I have also been one of them.

My story about the campus placement has been very interesting and full of events. Whenever someone ask about my campus placement, i usually smile and think about the chain of events that i went through on the day of my placement.

I know, till now, you have started thinking what exactly has happened that day which distinguishes my story from the rest of students :-) you will get to know soon.

It is the last exam of my fourth semester. Most of my friends are planning to stay in the hostel for preparation of the campus interviews, writing the technical and aptitude exams of the companies. They are very sure on this but i was still in the dilemma to go home or stay back in the hostel.

I have always been very confusing personality ... go or not go ... :-) Sometimes, i feel, there much be more options in life. Here is the perfect example.

Two months ago, HCL Tech came to the campus, i was hundred percent sure that i don't want to write exam for HCL but i did, and after the exam being so tough, i got selected for the group discussion, next round.

I had always been so shy to speak in the groups at that point of time of my life and on top of that, group discussions, omg. But somehow, i prepared myself to go through all this.

Unfortunately, i couldn't reach on time for group discussion and that's the reason, i was thrown out of the technical interview from the gate itself. My name was not in the list of the people for the next round. I was crying so much even when i was so sure that i don't want to work for HCL.

Hey, No need to think hard here.Reason was not that i couldn't be selected, in fact, i couldn't get a chance to make an attempt to go ahead and try my capabilities. One of my room mate told me that everyone gets their best and something else is waiting for me.

Back flash.... :-) Finally i decided i will go home. I took all the material to study in two months of vacations at home and prepare for the campus selection.

But mai to mai hun, i spent all my time taking tutions and doing other stuff than studying. Also, my mother was ill during whole of my vacations and i was left over with no choice than taking care of her. It was only 10 days remaining when the companies were beginning to start for the campus selection. My sister suggested me to go back to the campus and start preparing.

When i arrived to the hostel, what a view !!! Everyone was so seriously indulged in studies and most of them had spent their entire vacations at the hostel, i caught my nerve for few minutes by looking at everyone and myself.

I took a day to adjust myself at the hostel again and unpack all my stuff.

I was lying on my bed in night and in-spite of studying, i was still thinking. What ? How to start and what to study. It could be anything which the company may ask. How do i know what to prepare, it is definitely not going to be same like my regular exams ...

Imagine me ? I am crazy .. right ?

I was still not studying but getting inspired from everyone. I was helping others in various subjects i had expertise on. I didn't know what to prepare but I knew what i have studied in past 2 years and if anyone ask me anything related i can explain.

I revised few stuff from past 2 years of my regular course material.

TCS was supposed to be the first company at the campus in the coming days, girls had taken out the interview question set for the past few years and crammed it over days.

On 26th of June, TCS was expected to come, But, to our surprise, IBM arrived in the afternoon the same day and started conducting the written test. TCS arrived in the campus in the evening of same day. My Dean, Mrs. Rekha Govil, she was such a smart and intelligent lady, she didn't let any of the company know that there are one more company at the campus that day.

Written test was conducted in batches by IBM and i cleared the exam. Soon after results were declared for the written test, Technical interview had started in multiple panels. Name can also be helpful when process is alphabetically conducted. They had given us some form to fill up and soon after written test and my name was announced for the technical interview shortly.

Butterflies were flying in my stomach with a lot of excitement and nervousness at the same time.

I was standing outside the room where i was called up for the technical round, door was closed shut. I was felling nervous. I prayed to God to help me and give me strength to face the first interview of my life. I reminded myself that i want the offer letter, it has always been my dream and i have to get through the recruitment process, so i didn't have one single doubt about it.

I took a deep breath and went inside the room. I said hello to the interviewer and smiled, that smile itself gave me enough strength to stay there for another half an hour.

My stomach was bursting like a fireball in the empty space. I was asked to wait. I didn't know what to do, i was almost shivering with fear and excitement.

I was lucky enough to be called for the HR round as the first candidate in that particular interviewer panel. I was interviewed for approximately 45 minutes, including both technical and HR questions. I was quite relaxed and smiling in the interview as if i am talking to one of my friend. Wow !!! Results were not going to be announced until next morning, so i came back to the hostel and slept.

Interviews were held up to 2 AM in morning and results were declared around 4 AM. I got up by 6, it was raining so i asked the girls to check my results as well who were going to the institute till the time i get ready.

Few of them got selected and in their own placement excitement, they forgot to check my name in the list and when i asked them , they told me that i could not get through the interviews :-(

I was shocked, depressed with this announcement that i am not selected. There was many reasons to it. I couldn't get a job even after being interviewed more than 1 hr 15 minutes, how can it be ? If i wasn't supposed to select then they would have told me earlier, which can not be done, i know.

Now it is the last batch for the online exams of TCS starting from 9 A.M. and  i was not mentally prepared for giving any more interviews now or write any technical exams. But i have to, what other choice do i have ? Every minutes till 9 was passing so slow and with disappointment that i started loosing my nerve. For TCS i had left everything on destiny now.

I got ready and reached to the institute for the written test. There were few minutes left so i thought to give a glance on the list of students who have got selected in the IBM campus placement with the least interest. To my surprise, my name was listed there in the selected list of students. I couldn't believe this. There was no time to loose, everyone asked me to get my documents from the hostel.

aisa lagta hai story yahan khatam ho gayi, nahi.... :-)

I was the last student to enter the room where all the students who were placed in IBM were assembled. One person had a list in his hands and was annoucing the name of the selected students. And what ? He didn't announce my name. I almost started crying because now i had missed the TCS written test as well. I bowed my head with disappointment. I had lost the battel. When my friends had already told me that i could not get the placement in IBM , why i didnt believe them ?

I wanted to ask the interview panel about this confusion but i had to wait until the 49th student was announced. As soon as he was done with the list, i stood up and asked them, "my name is there in the list of selected students on the notice board but had not been announced so I am selected or not ?"

:-) they glanced through the list and smiled. "You are selected madam. "

Everyone in the room smiled at me and i felt so much relaxed on my achievement that finally i made it. :-)

Interview process itself was not difficult to attain but these 3 hours of my life were full of events and confusion . I was driving in 2 boats, IBM and TCS, ek baar idhar, ek baar udhar. I have never been in a more confusing situation that this in my life... :-)

Many of you may have more interesting story about your first interview or campus placement, views are welcome :-)

Independence Day 2013 Celebrations .. Azadi ka Jashn

For me, the meaning of Independence day has always been a holiday which starts with the speech of Prime Minister and followed by collection and distribution of Flags and badges in friends and family, apart from that khana peena aur sote rahna.

I have always been celebrating my independence day in office a day before, many a times with some quizzes which test my knowledge on history and i must tell you, it is below the poverty line. I have never been a good history student apart from the fact that my school teacher had selected me for a inter-school quiz competition on history subject which i lost because of obvious reasons.

Only thing which develops my interest in our past is archaeological department. I am very fond of the news about the historical artifacts found from different sources. I remember the day when treasure worth billions was found in Padmanabhaswamy temple in south India. I kept tracking that news and only thing i could think of the following days was to have a glimpse of the treasure once.

Lets get back to story of the independence day celebration, This is first Independence day in my sapient gurgaon history and i am really amazed to see the enthusiasm of the sapient employees like never before.

Sapient building was decorated so beautifully that anyone can tell about the friendliness of the company culture.

There was a competition for the Kite Flyers, employees good at drawing participated as Tattoo artist and set up a stall for making the tattoo's with water color. Bangles with tri-color of flag (green, saffron and white) were given to all girls that too free of cost. I got 2 dozen bangles and it really matched with my multi-colored suit today. I have always been fond of bangles and am really feeling nice and excited after wearing these metallic colorful bangles.

Food stalls for gol-gappe, chaat, kulfi, bhel poori were setup and everything was really delicious available on very cheap price. Sweets - Motichoor Ladoo were available in cafeteria free of cost for sapient employees.

Everything was going quite well until someone told me ... India haath me haath, 6 or 7 ... A poetic line but has very in-depth meaning which will force anyone to think about Indians and India. Indians, how many of us really use this word in our life. Movies like chak-de might be stressing on us to be Indian irrespective of the state we live in or religion we worship but this is nothing but mere a word for most of us. Even after 66 years of Independence, we are egoistic and self-centered to belong to a cast and a religion about which we might not be knowing anything but we are born with it. Perhaps, some day, all citizens of India will proud to be and call themselves as Indian and will be 'saath-saath' in real terms. Then India will become a secular country in real sense.

Let's continue celebrating Independence day !!! Happy Independence Day to all !!!

Will Jagya marry to sanchi or ganga ?

Answer this simple question, how many times it has happened to you that you are thinking something but it is not in sync with what you are actually feeling?

The difference lies in somewhere your sixth sense and the practical behavior. Your course of action here will define your future moves. Sometimes, it is hard to understand which way to go. Reason is obvious; we are brought in an environment where practical scenarios are given more importance than the psychological one's. Opting for one which is ideal, feasible or suitable and which will materialize in the existing society norms is the practical choice of yours. But, sometimes, you are in a dilemma which is based on your own predictions and speculations of your feelings. This universe sometimes gives you some hints or senses to look into the future but not the directions. What is going to happen remains hidden until you opt for this choice and unravel steps of the ladder one by one.

The same is happening with Jagya of serial Balika Vadhu right now. He is going to get married to sanchi pretty soon which he and his family thinks a practical decision. As a thumb rule, in our society, everyone has to marry some day, sooner or later, but yes, some day it will happen and to run away from situation is not an available option.

Jagya is not able to understand his feelings for Ganga. He has spent a lot of quality time with her and manu, son of ganga. He has always enjoyed her simple, modest and natural behavior. She has always been caring and available for his family and takes care of all the Nitty-Gritty in his daily life. He is attached to manu and her over a period now and is impressed by the straightforward and sophisticated behavior of hers. 

A sudden announcement of marriage of jagya with sanchi didn't give him enough time to understand what he is actually looking forward from his life partner. Sanchi has also worked hard to change her attitude to adjust herself in Jagya's family and won the heart of everyone there. 

Jagya is someway trying to avoid sanchi and his ceremony because he is indecisive if she would be a perfect partner for him as his past experiences have not been good so far, He keeps thinking about Ganga and his son Manu. Although, Ganga is in love with Jagya but she doesn't reveal her feeling as she underestimate herself for jagiya and his family. 

I reckon, Jagya will understand the situation and himself and soon realize that only ganga is worth to be his soul partner and not sanchi. Jagya's mother sumitra doesn't like ganga and may create some hassle in her life. 

Let's wait until the story of this serial reaches to a point where Jagya and Ganga will get married.

Anything and Everything can happen in TV Serials - Part II

Now, lets talk about the story of the serials, Most of the serials these days are inspired from some or other movie. Even when a serial is not started, you can completely guess the story by looking at the promotional advertisements.

Moreover, When the writer is not getting anything new, story from other serial is stolen :-)

I was watching a serial and the scene is "Lead Actress is going through some medical procedure to save her life, her family, I am referring to both the families here Mayka and Sasural because these complicated situation arises only when the lead actress of daily soap is married."

I realized that i have seen the same stuff in 2-3 other serials as well, Bade acchhe lagte hain, sasural genda phool and Ek hazzaron me meri bahna hai, all these were showing the same story at some point of time. Its more of repetition and monotonous but still the audience enjoy the same story being played by their favorite actors. Arre kuch to naya dikhao. 

In most of the romantic serials, the couple gets married and they don't accept each other at all as their partner. Both have to prove themselves to their partner as good husband or a ideal wife. In 99% of the serial, family, specially, Mother-in-law doesn't accept her daughter-in-law and her bechaari bahu keep proving herself throughout her life that she is an ideal girl for her son.

Mostly she would be non-working but in need, she will prove herself in the market so well. She eventually gets a job without any experience, knows computers, can give presentation with so much confidence. She performs well, i would say, not only well but she gets standing ovation from everyone. At the end, she gets a higher position in management and definitely, the CEO of the company falls in love with her in all cases. Real life me aisa hota hai kya, job that too without experience ?

Even being wretched and helpless, she is the superhero. She keeps doing stuff that no one expects her to do, not at least in first go. She has never cooked in her life but in the ceremony in which daughter-in-law has to cook first time in her In-Laws home, she will outperform everyone. Pahle baar me sirf jalaa hua khana ban sakta hai :-)

In serials, no one ever dies ever. Every one who has dies or lost will return back at the most crucial stage of the story. ek baar mar gaya to suspense kaisa, acchhe se check karna chahiye na declare karne se pahle or mummies will always return back to their home :-)

Although i am not very regular on watching the serial but I have been guessing for what next in serial from a long time, and after few of my predictions came to reality. I realized this when i was doing something at home and my mom suddenly told me that "i should be a writer or serial critic". This has been biggest compliment of my life till date. :-)

To read the previous part of story :
http://dipsitravelogue.blogspot.in/2013/07/anything-and-everything-can-happen-in.html

Anything and Everything can happen in TV Serials

Serials .. uff ye TV serials ...

These days most of us watch these typical saas bahu types serial and enjoy the mirch masala in it. Now Don't say 'No' :-)

Chalo maan liya, you don't watch these daily soaps everyday but each one of you would have seen at least some glimpse of a serial even though you don't want to watch. Soch rahe ho na aakhir Kiyu ? 

These daily soap have become an important part of the housewives. Many of you must have noticed your wife crying by watching an episode and asking you to keep quite, even when no one is speaking in the serial, arre yaar kisi ko bolne to do, tak tak meri baan hi sun lo pur nahi.

Some day, your mother will ask you to set up the channel of her favorite serial when you are watching cricket or something else of your choice. You don't want to change it, i know but what other choice do you have ? If you are going to think twice about handing over the remote to your wife, they are not going to cook for you :-) None of you would say that this hasn't happened with you at least once in your life:-)

I am also a big fan of these serials with a slight difference with others. My perspective or purpose of watching the serial is quite hilarious.

I can never watch one serial at a time, There are many reasons to it,

• In half an hour of serial, two breaks are announced, As soon as a break is announced in serial to accommodate the advertisements, i switch over to some other channel to track the plot of the story and many a times, i forget that advertisements would have been over till now on to the previous tv channel and serial would have started.

• Second, before every break, they consume 30-60 seconds to show what is coming next after the break. I must tell you, you are not going to get this 'coming next' scene until the last 2-3 minutes before the time slot of the serial for that day is about to be over.

• They consume almost a minute in the end of the serial to accommodate few scenes from the next day episode.

At last, you end up watching only 15-17 minutes story out of 30 minutes.

Don't forget to read the second part of the series ...

My Predictions about Serial Veera .. Kya Ratan ki phir se saadi hogi ?

My first review on TV serial ... 'Veera'

Although i am not the one who is very regular on watching this serial but after watching few episodes of Veera, i realized that the story is more or less inspired from the movie 'Roti' now.

This character, Nihaal chahu of Veera comes to the village 'Pritampura' from nowhere, no one knows anything about his background details. He present himself as the friend of the old sarpanch sampuran. He has been hiding something from everyone from the time he has arrived to this place. He is trying to be nice to Veera and family. Now that his reputation is almost built in everyone's eyes, he looks like he has been in guilt of something since a long time now. More he comes closer to the family, more he feels to run away or hide himself from everyone.

As far as i can have understand the story behind this is, "Sarpanch Sampuran meets this guy Nihaal  in the city when he leaves pritampura after everyone knows that he has been in an extramarital affair and his wife refuses to accept the fact that his husband can cheat on him. Now due to some reason, Sampuran and Nihaal gets into an argument or fight and Sampuran dies in police record. Nihaal is in guilt that because of him Sampuran dies so to get rid of his delinquency, he comes to pritampura to help his family. Definitely, after few episodes, sampuran's family will get to know about this fact and will estranged their relationship with him. Nihaal will have to face everyone's hatred in village and will have to work hard to make his reputation again."

Story will take a big turn here as i could see. Circumstances will articulate in such a way that Nihaal's marriage will be fixed with Widow Ratan, Sampuran's wife.

Later, I am not very confident about how the writer will turn the story when Nihaal's marriage with Ratan will about to happen, if Sampuran will come alive out of his grave and will return back to his home at last ? Lets wait and watch the serial ...:-)

How to get your party budget approved ?

Budget Approval for the official parties :-) ... quite challenging, at the same time interesting ...

We are done with our first demo today and received a lot of client appreciation. Management is quite happy with our work and efforts that we had put in to make this demo a success.

It's Fortunate or unfortunate, i am not sure though, that all management people are currently out from NCR region. Fortunate :-) obvious reasons .. no one is watching you working, sitting on your head, asking for status every 5 min. I don't want to make a wrong impression here, rather i would want to say that i have got really good supervisors who are flexible enough to make my life at peace. Definitely, I have a daily status call every morning that in my opinion is required also to have a checkpoint on the progress of the work and take necessary actions accordingly.

Now, why unfortunate, because we want a grand party but who is going to pay the bills ? My Manager asked me to wait until he returns to India after couple of weeks and assured that we will rock a good party. 

Wait for another 2 weeks ... difficult ... so finally we asked to approve a budget for a small party until he arrives to India... so the conversation, in fact, negotiation goes like this. Bhavna, Sumit, Sandeep, Nitish and Nitin are my team members (names changed to keep the privacy ... huh)

Bhavna - This is regarding the party Budget ... :-) approx bill will be around 1300...plz approve...:D
Deepali - uff 2000 bucks bhavna
Sumit - Dekh lo ... Baad mein badi waali nahi milegi
Nitin - this is regarding chotta party
Sumit - 1300 is fine
Nitin - 1200 will do
Deepali - :) even 1100, but we want big party
Bhavna - even 200 will do
Nitin - 200 mein kya khayenge bhavna :)
Deepali - cafeteria ka khana bhi isse mahanga hai
Bhavna - Mc'D Allo tikki burger...with office ki coffee(free that too from CCD machine)
Deepali - bhavna tum party ki hi baat kar rahi ho na  ;) 
Sumit - yeh to 100 rs ki party hai for all
Bhavna - We are low on budget,,,kya karein, ll have to compromise.
Sumit - I think Bhavna is going to pocket the rest of the amount.. Good going ;)
Nitin - aur mere pass 100 rs ka khane pe 1 ice tea and m'c aloo burger free ka couopn hain. will help
Deepali - thankfully she didnt say she ll bring one biscuit packet with office tea and save rest of the money
Bhavna - Will share it with you Sumit...no worries.:)
Sumit - Ok. lets keep it at 1500 Ok. With big party, :) U guys deserve it. Mera budget kahaan hai :(
Deepali - cool :) Budget of Rs 1500 is ok with us excluding Sumit & Sandeep :P
Sumit - Excluding sandeep its 1200 :) 300 per person :P
Bhavna - phir to 1300 pur hi finalize kar lena tha
Deepali - theek hai sandeep ke saath share kar lenge, 300 bucks, aloo tikki with coldrink and icecream
chalo ab kaam kar lete hain ... Done at 1200 ...

Finally, we had good time while enjoying our small budget team party at CCD and Subway.

See our conversation to have fun in the heavy workload time. To smile, it pays nothing while it takes lot of effort in being serious at work. 

Learn to be crazy at times and Enjoy !!!

Sizzle Dazzle Brownie, Cafe Coffee Day

     Sizzling hot gooey choco brownie served with vanilla ice cream and choco sauce. 

Rating - 4.5 out of 5, Price -  122

To celebrate the success of the client demo today, we went to cafe coffee day outlet in our campus. each one of us made a different order. 

To my surprise, my colleagues order were delivered on time, even after place being so crowded. For my sizzle dazzle brownie, attendant has already told me that it will take around 10 min. But, even after 20 min, i was still waiting. 

Suddenly, a smoky fragrance spread in the place, initially i thought that they have burnt the brownie while making this hot in the oven. I crossed checked with them that this smoky fragrance is not coming because the dish i ordered is burnt. They assured me that nothing like this has happened.

On the contrary, i was amazed to see what was served on my table. A sizzler brownie with hot chocolate sauce and Vanilla ice cream. Although i am not a very big chocolate fan types girl but still chocolate sizzler was something interesting and new to me. Chocolate was almost boiling with lot of bubbles in it. Attendant specifically asked me to wait for some time before i actually start eating this.

But aisi dish try karne ke liye aur wait ? I took one spoon of chocolate and tried to cold it down by blowing some air from my mouth and finally tasted it. Al thought it was still hot enough to burn my tongue slightly. but it was quite yummy, dark chocolate with brownie and vanilla ice cream.

People like me who are very calorie conscious might not try this again and again, but for people who love chocolate and ice cream, it is one of the rare and best available option in cafe coffee day :-)

Why i want to lose my ID card ?

Mandatory for all the IT guys ... huh ...
Every organization has the norm of displaying the ID card properly and you should carry this card with you within the office premises.

Thinking ... what new i am trying to tell here ... :-)
I always used to hide the front side of my first id badge and used to display the back side of it (where company address was mentioned).

My sitting location was on the seventh floor and cafeteria was on the ground floor. I was going to my desk after having lunch through lift. Someone in the lift noticed my ID badge that i am displaying it from the back side. He asked me the reason. Thankfully, he didn't understand that i was not displaying the back of my card but hiding the front part.

The guy was also going to the seventh floor and lift was stopping on every floor so i had enough time to explain him the reason.

I started telling him a story and it goes something like this: "I am using the lift everyday several times in a day. People might notice me and try to approach me. If i start displaying my ID card then people will easily get my name and the employee number. They will search my information on the employee portal and will get other details like my seat location, project etc. I don't want to be so easily approachable to anyone. That is the reason that i am displaying my card from the back side."

The Guy smiled and said "nice". I was smiling more. Kiyu ? Obvious reasons, that guy believed my story and smiled back at me. Thinking how innocent, probably how stupid i am. I was smiling more because i made up a story on spot (in our language, at run time :-) ) and it was told so well that there was not a slightest hint of making it up. It was looking like i have rehearsed it several times before. I was smiling on my imaginations and creativity than smiling on him. Impressed with me ... hehe

I can understand your anxiety now to know the real reason, why i used to hide from the front. I will not keep it more with me now. Reason is very simple, i was not photographed well for my ID card. Whenever i used to see my picture on the card, it felt like i am staring at myself.

Isko fade karne ke liye kya kya nahi kiya ? Dhoya, nichoda, sukhaya, but this photograph on the card was still intact, so i started displaying it from back.

Finally, after couple of years, it faded and i applied for a new card. Luckily i have always got a nice click afterwards !!!

A journey from Jahapanah to Aurangzeb

The story is about a girl, Henna, who calls her best friend "Jahapanah" because he lives a very luxurious life. This guy is on a senior post in a manufacturing firm and is mostly out of India. 

Always lives an ostentatious life by staying in five or seven star hotels, shows off an extravagant and splendid life. 

Best friend know each others so well without saying a word. Henna is damn sure that he doesn't like this artificial life and believes in simplicity.

One day, they get into an argument on a small thing and the Henna says,

"akdu, khadoosh !!!

Jahapanah kya kah diya, mujhe to apni kaneez hi samajhane lage hain !!!

aapka naam jahapanah nahi, aurangzeb hona chahiye !!!

Sukra hai ki aap sachi wale aurangzeb nahi hai !!!

Otherwise, aapne to shah jahan ke black taj mahal banane ke khawaab pur bhi pabandi laga di hoti.

aur white taj mahal, wo to kabhi banta hi nahi !!!"

Bechare Jahapanah !!! iske baad kahte bhi to kya kahte :-)

Auro Grace, Whitefield, Bangalore

Restaurant Type : multi-cuisine

Price for Two : Approx. 1000

As the name suggest, it is the aura of the place that adds grace to the flavor of food and gives a soothing experience at the aura grace. It is an open air restaurant and the breeze in the air was very relaxing from the stress of daily life. They have AC seating as well. 

I tried Fajitas, it was yummy but I couldn't finish this, it was too much food for me :-)

It included a sizzler with lots of vegetables - broccoli, capsicum, tomato, mushroom, cottage cheese and more along with three chapattis, rice, three kind of peppers, cream, sprouts and onion.

They have good variety of delicious pastas as well. They can also serve alcohol with food. As always we ordered glass of white wine. 

We only girls had made plan to have lunch together here in a week day and this place really added to our enjoyment.

Address: Whitefield Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore

Landmark: Opposite Greenwood High International School

Last words from Hampi Tour

Whatever i have written about Hampi till now is only a glimpse of what Hampi is hiding within itself. Each monument of Hampi has an underlying story and unique magnificent architecture to explain. There is much more to explore and explain about Hampi.

Unfortunately my 3 day tour to Hampi had to shorten up by 1 and half days due to some personal reasons. But still i appreciate the opportunity that i got a chance to visit this place. A long life is awaiting ahead to visit many more such places including Hampi.
 

 

The fact about Hampi ruins is that despite being the world heritage site, authority is least bothered to maintain the heritage in a good state. 

Ruins are turning down with the time and very little is being done. If this state of this city continues the same way, time will be there when the whole city will convert into debris and we no longer would be able to appreciate our culture and heritage that we have today.

Lets take a pledge now to save our heritage and create awareness among people about such places to gain more attention of everyone and to take appropriate actions.

Tourist Places, Hampi

Elephant Stable

I have seen first elephant stable of my life in Hampi itself. This structure has got a long line of 11 chambers, dome like structure with arched doorways which opens up in an open large space to have this royal animal. This magnificant structure again represents the incredible work done in the era of Vijayanagar emperors.

Badavi Linga

Badavi Linga is a huge shiva linga of approximately 10-12 feet. It is located in a chamber with its one side open. Chamber is partly filled with water as the water channel has been made to channelize through it.

There is a very interesting story related to this shiva linga.

The story behind this linga is that there was a old poor lady. She had no means to survive. She asked the king to help in making her living, but the king denied to help her for free. He asked the lady to do some work and in return he will arrange her food and other necessary amenities. Then, this lady spent the rest of her life in making this shiva linga which is known as Badavi, it means poor in local terms.

Krishna Temple 

The temple was built by the ruler Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century.





Apart from Yalis, ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu can also be seen here.

Hazare Rama Temple -

Many important events of Ramayana are carved into stones here.

Connections to Ramayana, Hampi

It is believed that Hampi has been a important milestone in the history of ramayana. 

Anegundi, northern side of Tungbhadra river is also called as Kishkinda where Rama defeated Bali to establish Sugriva empire. Also, prepared all strategies to have a war with Ravan.

Anjaneya Hills

On the other side of Tungabhadra river, Anjaneya hill is located in the middle of Anegondi area. It's approximately 4-5 kms from the river. Distance between the Anegundi and Hampi can be covered with Coracles or the motor boats.

Views on the way and after reaching the hill are undoubtably extraordinary. It is said to be the birth place of Hanuman who was born to Anjana and therefore the place is called Anjaneya hills.

To reach top of the hill, approx. 600 steps are to be climbed. There is no shops on the way except at the bottom of the temple so it is advisable to carry some stuff with you like water and food but be careful of the monkeys on the way.

I felt damn tired in climbing the stairs but the magnificent views from the hills made me feel relaxed.

Other Tourist Attractions are:
Pampa Sarover
Sugrive's Cave
Anegundi Fort

The only thing which couldn't convince me is not to figure out exactly how this place is related to the Ramayana because as per my knowledge, Ramayana happened millions of years ago and most of the temples there are only few centuries old.

Eat, Stay and Travel - Hampi

BiCycle and Moped Rental

City can be visited on the rented moped bikes, bicycle or the auto. I enjoyed my first day exploring hampi ruins on the rented moped. Don't imagine me driving the moped :-) I was doing stunts by standing on the back seat somehow balancing myself and moped ...

Second day, i preferred to rent a geared bicycle. I enjoyed running bicycle after a number of years :-). The way was too scenic that can only be enjoyed on an open vehicle like a bike or cycle. I drove it around 12 kms but its difficult to run them on the hilly areas because they say it's a geared one but actually its not.

Issue with Rental Moped - Unfortunately the moped that we hired broke twice and the repairing stations in hampi were 3 to 5 kms away. We had to hire a auto to get our bike to the station. Autos there, charge a lumpsome money, they dont use meter at all. I lost my patience when it broke second time and servicewala told me that patches for the old punctures on the tyre are coming out. I contacted the owner, he apologised and offered me free service for one more day which i didnt utilize.

I really couldn't stick to my travelling plan for the day and had to shift visiting one of the temple to accomodate this in the second day.

Travel from Bangalore to Hampi

Hampi is approximately 300 km away from Bangalore. I took a train from Bangalore to Hospet (Hampi Express).

The trip to catch the train was quite adventurous. I got late in office that day due to some meetings and on the way to the Majestic Railway station from whitefield, I was day dreaming of running behind the train in case i reach the station a little late. Luckily, I got there few minutes in advance and boarded the train easily.

Hampi to hospet is overnight journey. Hospet, a small town located about 12 kilometers (8 miles) from Hampi is the nearest railway station. From the hospet railway station, we took an auto to reach bus stand. From Hospet, public buses are easily found to reach Hampi.

There is an amazing bus with a great palace like interior with pillars inside, dark brown yellow colour, named as VijayaRath. Rent is only 5 rs higher than the local bus. It was not at all crowded. I really enjoyed my journey in the bus.

Where to Eat 

You won't find many options on the way to tourist places for the food, we survived the whole day on chips, buiscuits, masala nimbu soda, coconut water and mineral water. These can be found in most of the building you visit. Some of the local restaurants can be found which offer you food with very cheap price .

Mango Tree is the only available popular restaurant, View is too scenic as this is close to the river. Seating arrangement is quite indian, sitting on a mattresses on floor and a small table in front of you to serve the food. They serve different kind of cusinies like Chinese, Maxican and more along with the indian but it is all vegeterian. I tried roti and curry which were average food.

I had trouble with the mosquitos, even the mosquitos repellent coils were ineffective for me at that place. Also, you have to make sure you took off your slippers before entering the restaurant.

Accomodation

If you are planning to stay in Hampi, don't expect any luxury place to stay. There are more of home stays which can easily be found in 500-700 rs. I reckon that cheapest would be 100 rs.

There are some resorts available after crossing the tungbhadra river. Food options strictly limited to the place to stay.

Tourist Attractions of Hampi

Hampi is very enriched heritage site and is also popular for its historical background. There are plenty of temples whose monolithic architecture from kingdom of vijayanagar summons travelers. Glimpse of mind-boggling architecture from one of the biggest empire in India can still be seen in its remaining ruins.

Here are few on the top list (Places to see) :

• Kadlekalu Ganapathi
• Sasivekalu Ganapathi
• Vittala Temple
• Krishana Temple
• Hazare RamaTemple
• Badavi Linga
• Ugra Narsimha
• Virupaksha Temple
• Elephant Stable
• Queen's Bath
• Pushpkarni

I will write about few of these places in detail in my next blog but i can say that all of them are surely worth a visit.

Musical Pillars and Stone Chariot - Vitthala Temple, Hampi

Vitthala Temple

This is one of the most sumptuous and outstanding developement in Hampi which takes your breath away. Musical Pillars and Stone Chariot (which itself is a temple) are the major attractions of Vitthala temple.

In Vithala temple, i was amazed to hear the concept of musical pillars. There are 56 musical pillars in magnificent Ranga Mantapa, one of the sanctum in the temple.

Each pillar emits different kind of music tones like tabla, bansuri, vidan and many more. It is built in such a way that with the emission of the sound from one pillar starts emitting sounds from other pillars also and creates music. Doesn't it surprise you ? Our guide emitted the tabla tone from one of pillar, it was really tantalizing.

I was disappointed to see that there is a fall down in this sanctum the same day. Someone or probably many in the past put a lot of efforts to make this enthralling and excellent piece of architecture which probably is beyond the imagination of any. But due to lack of maintainance, one of the fall down happened that day.

Stone Chariot is another attraction of this Vithala temple. As the name suggests, it's a shirine built as a chariot that was meant for taking out the deities on a traditional procession.

Vittale represents Lord Vishnu and the chariot represents Lord Garuna.

Currently the chariot is devoid of any idol and originally placed 2 horses have been replaced with 2 stone elephants to drag the chariot. Chariots stands on a rectangular platform and faces the temple. Chariot also has got beautiful intricate carvings.

Our guide showed us the remaining hints of the natural colors in some part of the chariot that were used initially to make this chariot colorful. With the passage of time, this color has wiped off from the chariot and only glimpse of it can be seen now.

Yalis, Hindu Mythology Creature, Hampi

Yalis, Hindu Mythology Creature - "Hampi", Karnataka state, India.

Yalis are believed to be more powerful than the lion or elephant in Hindu mythology.

I was amazed to find one similar giant mythological creature carved on the pillars in many temples in Hampi, including Vittala temple and ramachutaya temple.

This creature is mostly used in the south indian sculpture, known as Yali (In Tamil).

This sculpture is a horse like animal with the face of a lion with its front legs raised, balancing on its rear legs. The armed soldier riding the Yali holds the chain hanging from the beast’s mouth.

Sometimes, yali is carved with the head of an elephant.

Yali is also known as Vyalam or Sarabham in Sanskrit.

Hampi - Diamond Trade Center

Hampi, Karnataka state, India, was a Diamond Trade Center.

Hampi was built in 1336 in dravidian style, last capital of Vijayanagar. I still need to learn the difference between the different style of architectures from history. But i could say dravidian style consists primarily of pyramid shaped temples and buildings which have intricate carvings on stones including kings, dancers, deities or warriors. It is said to be originated from Tamilnadu and is called kovils.

Many people say that city is comprised of ruin buildings but from my imaginary eyes, i could see that it would been have been one of most grandiose, austere, delightful and enriched sites when it was built. Inspite of the ruins, the building exists in their new and well established state.

During ancient times, Hampi had been a thriving commercial center, with the trade of horses and gems (emarland, rubies, diamonds and many more).

Imagine, valuable things like diamonds ( caret < 34) and other precious stones were sold openly in the area outside the temples, palaces et cetera. Diamonds > 34 were given to king as royalty by the nobles who were given the mining rights.

The main street selling diamonds and other precious stones, was surprisingly called Pan Supaari Street.

I could see the trade areas outside many buildings in Hampi but am not quite aware of the diamond mining stuff. Probably that used to happen in the other side of area after crossing the tungbhadra river. There we could see only the mountains built of rock sized stones.

Related Post :
A Memorable Experience to Hampi (Part - I)

A Memorable Experience to Hampi

     
"Hampi", Karnataka state, India, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This is one of most beautiful places that i have ever visited.  It is the site of the once-magnificent capital of the Vijayanagar Empire. 

When i entered this city i realized that this is what i have always been looking forward from a tourist place when i want to keep myself away from the hustle-bustle of the metro city. This place is so calm and serene, natural and attractive, adorable and dazzling, it's difficult to say in words what it makes you feel.

I could spent a long time there doing nothing but appraising the beauty of the old architecture, temples, palaces etc. At most of the attractions, relaxing, soothing sound of water and blowing wind can be heard. Everywhere in the city, sky is clear, air is refreshing, so much greenery all around, this place calms your mind and help alleviate stress.

Rock size stones can be seen on sides of the roads in middle of the mountain peaks. City’s rocky landscape, dotted with ancient temple ruins, makes it a unique climbing experience. This place is completely peaceful, no honking of horns, no other kind of pollution, rather you hear the musical sounds of the bells coming from the temples nearby which soothe and revive your worn out nerves.

Best Time to Travel - November to March (the cooler months) being the peak season. The ruins cover a wide area, but it’s possible to see the main sites in a day or two. However, this goes against Hampi’s relaxed grain, so plan on lingering for a while.

Related Post:
A Memorable Experience to Hampi (Part - II)

Barbeque Nation, Whitefield, Bangalore

This is my first blog ever , so why not start with the restaurants I visited during my stay in bangalore. I will write down about all of the them,, each one has diffrent flavour of food and ambience, But I am starting with my best experience - PART I

 

Barbeque Nation, Whitefield, Bangalore
( They have opened up a new outlet in Park Square mall next to ITPL, Whitefield. )
Cuisine Type - Indian -

Barbeque has a good reputation in the market both for its food and service. Brand sells itself and they don’t need to put extra effort to gather its customer attentions. They can easily take the customer advantage by providing less quality. But they don't do so.

I am glad to write review about my visit to this new franchise. Barbeque Nation Bangalore is Heaven to for all the foodies. Customer service is also quite impressive here along with the awesome food.  As usual, we started with starters, barbeque specialty. The variety of Salads and Barbeques are mind boggling. They have a grill placed right below each table. The good part was they specifically came to us to make sure if we need more variety in the starters to add on, i told fruits and they didn’t let the flag down on our table until they served what more i wanted to have. Food was delicious and finally dessert, something i can't resist to. I tried many but my favorite among them would be to have a combination of hot gulab jamun with ice-cream. I was disappointed with the fact, gulab jamun was cold enough not to enjoy with ice-cream. I gave this as a feedback. and believe me, manager of this particular outlet personally took care of my request and insisted me to have one more round of garma garam gulab jamun with ice-cream. He kept insisting me until i agreed. my stomach was so stuffed that day, i can't remember any other day when i had even half of the food i had that day.

It's a very memorable experience. They added to it by not accepting the tip. This was quite surprising to me, we wanted to give the tip and they refused. If given a chance, I would like to visit this restaurant again.

Approx. Buffet Price for Two : 1400/-