The Journey to The Land of Dreams - Part1 MAA-JFK

Final Destination: Rochester Institute of Technology
Date:  24-08-2011
Intermediate Destination: T3 @ Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

Where do I start? The fond, tearful goodbyes to family and friends? The backslapping and all the bests and bon-voyages from close relatives? Anxious wait at the embassy for the F-1 visa? Or the mixed feelings when the postman delivered the stamped passport to you?
I have no idea how time flew in the countdown days. It all started with an awesome trip to Wayanad, of which you might have seen an entry. A few days of hogging and chatting spent at home, teaching folks how to skype. It has sort of become a norm hasn't it? Flying out of the country, teach parents skype. They need to communicate with you somehow. ISD does not come that cheap does it?

So, there came the D-Day. I strangely was devoid of emotion. Wonder if it is because I've spent all of my UG life and work life away from home. I don't know the answer to that yet. I'll probably blog about it when I get to know. No fancy farewells here. That would have broken the dam for sure. It was only me, Appa and Amma at the airport. We were just generally chatting around discussing random stuff. "All passengers travelling on the AI 539 flight to New Delhi are requested to proceed to security check". That announcement was a gong for me. I was actually leaving the country., ironically via the capital. Don't ask me what exactly is ironic about it. But I just felt it was.

All of you might wonder when I say I chose Air-India to fly. Why! Why that flight of all?? But I tell you, while there are some really Sh***y flights, there are some good planes it has. MAA-DEL has one of those sparkling new A321's with in-flight entertainment in Economy as well. And whats more? Its a full service flight. Pretty good food, a couple of the youngest air-hostesses I've seen. Ok, stop ogling and making a fool of yourself. Watch Wake Up Sid for the 2.5 hour long flight. Not a bad movie eh? Its one of my favourites. Wonder whats with Air-India? They surely have bettered their entertainment systems. Good sound, great picture quality. Wonder more on what people crib about even in this flight. Flight lands at T3.

I have been to T3 departures before and know how huge it is. But the arrivals side was a new experience to me. Why? Have a look! 

Bharathanatyam Mudras in IGI - T3

Bharathanatyam Mudras in IGI - T3

An assortment of Bharatanatyam Mudras! Mind boggling. Whoa! Now am seriously impressed. I heard about T3, seen a bit of it once, but this was awesome. Spic and span, devil's advocate in me tell, wait for a couple of years mate, and then lets see. Anyways, made my way through immigration, got my boarding pass (bugger's dint give me a window seat :( ) and made my way towards the boarding lounge. There was a Mercedes-Benz SL 65 on display! And then there was this.

A huge face of the Buddha, in pure bronze. OK! GMR Infra, you've got pretty much everything right here. There was a couple of hours of waiting time till I got to board my flight. So spent it loitering around, truly impressed by T3. There were walk-alators for getting to your aerodromes. Its a huge airport and you'll understand it when you visit it. I'd not seen any of the airports outside the country, but this is really the best I've seen in India. Walk-alators? Have a look.

T3 has a duty free shopping area too. That's huge as well. Lots of stores, most of them franchises of UB selling IMFL. A couple of perfume stores. Saw a model shooting an ad for one of them. God knows who she was, but as usual a huge crowd had gathered around. Wonder if they knew who she was.

My flight, AI 101's departure was announced. It was a new Boeing 777-ER. The executive class was a dream to look at. Wide bucket seats, separate LCD screens and all those nifty gadgets you might expect. Economy, well it was the usual 3-3-3 arrangement. It would get cramped if the person next to you was a bit portly. Unfortunately, that was to be the case.

There was an elderly guy, and a lady in the middle and window seats. Both of them took up pretty much 75% of the seat area, leaving me only with the rest. But as much weight I'd put on, it was enough for me to snugly fit. OK, this is comfortable. Switch on the in-flight entertainment, whats the movie list? Wake Up Sid, I Hate Luv Stories, Love Aaj Kal. This should do for most of the flight.

When the flight started taxiing, that's when you really come to terms with the fact that you are flying out. Loads of memories fill you up, you think of all the people who make up your world, those friends already in the US whom you've missed all these years, the exciting prospect of meeting them, you already start missing your loved once you're leaving behind, and the list goes on. Its a feeling like never before. You try to stay grounded, but your mind does not let you. All you can do is let the emotions take their toll and hope you fall asleep. That did not happen to me. I could not sleep. I remember being awake all the way, to the point one of the air-hostesses came and asked me if I was comfortable. All I could do was nod and continue watching the movie.

Memories in mind, food being served time to time, the maps showing you passing over Afghanistan, bit of Russia, UK, Iceland and finally over the Atlantic Ocean, here I was making my way into the land of Dreams. Port of Entry: JFK International Airport, New York. AI 101 promptly made its way into the aerodrome at terminal 6 at 7:20, ETA met. That was nice. As I step out, a signboard reads, Welcome to the United States of America. Well, I've truly arrived with dreams in mind.


JFK->ROC, that was a different story altogether. That will be my next post.

Wayanad - Mingling with the Indian Rain

August 5-7, 2011 marked my first set of treks in the peak Indian monsoon. This time I was not a LoneWolf, I had the company of my counterstrike mates cum infosys mates and close friends. Pretty August company aint it? :P (pun intended)

Back to the trip, we had 3 places in mind:
1. Edakkal Caves
2. Chembara Peak
3. Soochipara Waterfalls

The climate was, rain, rain and more rain. It literally poured all day.Our First stop was the Edakkal Caves. Getting to the caves involves a trek of about a km. 90% of the path is paved, so its pretty tame. This paved path/steps leads us to the first cave. Though named Edakkal Caves, they are not literal caves. they are rather clefts, caused by a chunk or rock splitting away from the main rock. The oldest cleft is said to be about 8000 years old.

Due to the monsoon, the first cave had many a criss crossing stream, adding to the aura of the cave. When we reached the top, it was raining heavily, adding to the volume of water. That made quite a sight. Owing to the high darkness, I could not manage clicks of this (read do justice to the beauty and the aura inside). The second cleft has to be the mother of all petroglyphs. It had so many inscriptions and  they were so closely packed together that making out the shapes and what they conveyed was pretty difficult. Two inscriptions however, stood out. One was what looked to be the chieftain of the tribe that did it. The second was a depiction of the sun as the epicenter of everything. I could only gape and wonder how the bronze age people deduced it.

Since the caves are at the top of a mountain, the view down was breathtaking from the peak. Add the cloud cover and the mist and it made a very spectacular sight. One can only stand in awe at nature's creations. Rain, which was already pouring had turned to a torrent by the time we decided to descend. That delayed our return, and here are some clicks..

 Here's Raj and Adi

 Sathish and Raj..(others, I dun have the group pics yet..so sorry if you're not included)

We had made Ponnada Gardens our base for staying in Wayanad. Vythri Resort is a very good alternative, though ponnada gardens is equidistant from all the places mentioned above. My rating of Ponnada Gardens is very good, you have to ask for what you want though. Right from the food, to extra beds et al. Vythri is more of a honeymoon getaway if you ask me. Spent the night at base, only to be in line for an even more exciting day that lay ahead.

Next day, we were informed that Chembara Peak was open for trekking. It was closed for the past couple of days due to torrential rain. Lucky us. An awesome breakfast at Ponnada Gardens gave us the energy for the ardous trek that lay ahead. The peak is about 22 km away from Kalpeta. A couple of things to be noted here.

1. We need to get a permission from the forest authorities at the base.

2. Trekker groups are charged.

3. All cameras are to be declared and paid for.

All procedures done, we were informed that the more exciting foest route was closed as a herd of elephants had laid base there. It was too dangerous. The second route is a more exciting climb. Or it sounded so. I say this because there are three phases to the top. Two phases of 60 degree inclines through thickets and rocks, combined with ferrous rich mud. The second phase is a bit tougher owing to the presence of algae rich, slippery rocks on the trail. The third phase is the easiest, having an incline of 30 degrees.

Phase 1 greeted us with mild rain and we were able to take lots of pictures of the estate, the view of the peak from below and us of course. We started Phase 2 and were greeted with a torrent of rain. We thought it would subside on, and how wrong we were. It poured incessantly, creating a mini waterfall along the trail! We were wading our way through water, if the rocks, thorns and slippery mud were not enough. But as any good group would do, we pushed each other, cracked jokes and made the climb lighter. If rains made the ascent difficult, read on about the descent. Cams packed, mobiles secured and all wet, we crawled through phase 2. The sight of the heart shaped lake warned us to no end as we'd made it through 95% of the trail. 10 more minutes and we were atop the tallest peak in Wayanad! Clouds and literally everything below us, we felt on to of the world. We washed ourselves up using the water in the lake, took pics and prepared for the descent.

If the stream of water made the ascent difficult, rain had stopped, water had receded and all we were left with loads of ferrous slush on the trail. A couple of steps in it and we knew we were in for a tough descent, how right we were. It was so so slippery. But we fought it all out, found good paths to descend on and when we reached the base again, all of us were elated. Words might not describe well on how difficult the descent was, but I would like add a couple of inputs here:

1. A monsoon trek is one of the most difficult thing to do, but also one of the most satisfying.

2. If you're on a monsoon trek, make sure you wear shoes, and ones that grip well.

3. Western Ghats trek trails are notorious for leeches, especially in the rainy seasons, take necessary precautions.

4. A wet trail, with water flowing on it, is better than a slushy one. Time your trip well. Try avoiding slushy ascents/descents.

5. Egg on your group/yourself no matter what, be surprised to see what you're in store for after that.

It was back to base again. After all the achievements, yeah it was an achievement to conquer the peak, it was time for some boys fun and what a nite of frivolity it was! There were many memorable moments that are etched in the memory and wont be erased anytime soon! Some clicks en route....

Next in line was the Soochipara Waterfalls. Located at 22km northeast of Kalpeta, you have to take a 1.5km walk from the parking bays to reach the falls. They are cordoned off during peak monsoon seasons and offer a great avenue for rock climbing and white water rafting. The walk is through dense, pristine rainforests and tree lovers can find many a rare tree variety here. The waterfalls were at their full glory when we reached there, and we were in for an amazing sight. This was nature at its undisturbed, serene best. The full force of the waterfalls were a sight to behold. The path to the waterfall is pretty steep for most of the time, so be prepared for some dog breaths, especially the walk back to the parking bay. A couple of clicks of the falls in full force..

That concluded the short trip to Wayanad. All of us had our return booked from Mysore. We reached Mysore, only to know the Mysore Palace was to be lit up. The palace is lit up with thousands of serial bulbs illuminating the entire complex. They are switched off after the mysore royal band beats the retreat. The complex is lit up on all holidays and weekends and makes for a very pretty viewing. Would we miss it? Not for all eternity! Made a dash to the palace, saw the lit up complex and the band's beat the retreat. Not before we shopped at KSIC for authentic sandalwood stuff. Trip done, we bade fond goodbyes to each other and went back to our routines.

It would be a gross injustice not to mention the names of the trekkers who conquered the peak, and also who came halfway through to the trail: I will also use our personal counterstrike call signs which we usually address each other by more frequently than our real ones:
Aditya "Dilton" S, Bharath "Damal" Kumar, Aravind "Scorpion" N, Kannan "Karimedu" A, Jayanth "JBoss" T, Satish "Robo" C, Raj "Kaatupoochi" R, CP "Sharpshooter" Arun, Rajaram "Raam" G, Deva "Terror" Rajan, SRG, and finally yours truly "Scarecrow".


 The Mysore Palace - A Visitor's Guide

A Short Trip to Delhi

Yeah, I know I promised myself I would post regularly, but somehow things out of my control did keep me away from blogging. It was at the back of my mind though. So, things have settled down and here I am!

In the midst of all the cacophony, I did manage to sneak in a biz come pleasure trip to our very own Delhi. New or Old, what have you. Constrained for time, I had to travel by the mode i prefer the least, by air! From grumpy check-in counter ladies(the ones at kingfisher are real sweet, and pretty too!!), to the organic goo they serve as airline food, I have an aversion to it and try to stick to trains(None better than Indian Railways I tell you, TGV can rot in speedy whatever).

Ok so I landed in Delhi, checked into Hotel Garden View, Karol Bagh. Its a decent budget hotel, good comfortable beds, spacious rooms, food that's pretty alright(no! i am not franchising for them!!) et. al, at 800 a night. In Delhi, that's quite a deal.

Oh yeah! I have to groove on how wonderful the Airport Express Metro is that takes you from IGI T3 to New Delhi station in just about 15 mins (here's their website: http://www.delhiairportexpress.com/home/index.html) The whole thing is really well designed, super cool seats, luggage racks and all. Who wants to ride in those dusty cabs that charge a bomb when you can spend just 80 bucks, 15 mins in business class type travel?!

Next day, work done by noon and I have about 2 and a half days to just roam, eat, roam eat thats that. Make very discreet enquiries about which place is located where and all that. I am shown pretty glossy package tours brochures but I dont have none of it. I wanna travel on my own and cheap. I ask for a delhi metro map(yeah, the old fashioned paper map reading, boy scout you see :)) and mark out places I can visit and figure out the nearest metro stations next to them.

Delhi is very well connected by the Metro at present and is only expanding to comprehensively cover all possible places. So as a backpacker, I find it a real boon. Anyways, the places I had in mind to visit was:

1. The Red Fort

2. Qutb Minar

3. Metro Museum

4. Akshardham Temple

5. Birla Mandir

6. Rail Museum

7. Jantar Mantar

Point to note: Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal are closed on Fridays and I learnt it the hard way.

Other than Rail Museum and Birla Mandir, others are just a 5-10 min walk from metro stations and it turned out to be pretty cheap for me. I did not have to hanker with autorikshaw wallahs and cab drivers on how much I'd pay. Not much queues in metro stations for tickets, or tokens as they are called so its pretty easy. If you intend to stay long, there are smart cards available, that reduce the cost to a place by about 10% compared to the token.

The other places are about 20-25 mins of walk from metro stations, but one good result of Delhi hosting the commonwealth games is that the roads and pathways have turned out pretty awesome. So walking is not as notorious at it was. With the dreaded blue-lines off the roads of Delhi, it actually feels pretty tame.

I don't think I am going to tell you what each place is all about, hey! whats wikipedia and google for? What I am going to tell you is some lesser known aspects of the places I saw:

To start with, the Red Fort:

- Initially was called ShahJahanabad for obvious reasons, named after its creator, Shah Jahan

- It was apparently the 7th City of Delhi, assuming it is the 7th avatar of this historic city.

- Tourists enter, and for that matter the Prime Minister addresses the nation from a place interestingly called, the Lahore Gate. There is a Delhi Gate too, but it is its poorer and lesser known cousin. No less well crafted and grand, it is at the left side of the fort when you enter through the Lahore Gate. Most people miss it, but its worth a look. Interesting observation, the tricolor flutters atop the Lahore Gate :)

- Aurangazeb's private place of Worship, is the moti masjid, make sure you read the information stones, they're quite interesting!

- The buildings East India Company built inside the fort was where, armed forces officers who defected to the Indian National Army were tried, courtmarshalled and sentenced.

- Red Fort was the place where the famed peacock throne and the kohinoor diamond were located, only to be looted by the many invaders, significantly the British.

The Qutb Minar:

- It might be the world's largest brick minaret, but its about 5 feet shorter than the Taj Mahal (Qutb Minar:238 ft, Taj Mahal:243 ft)

- Though entry inside the minar to the top is banned now, owing to a stampede that took place years ago (sigh!), it actually has 379 steps to the top, quite a bit aint it?

- The Qutb Complex houses the maqbara(tomb) of Allah-ud-din Khilji, who also built the Alai Darwaza, Iltutmish and Imam Zamin

- The Alai Minar was supposed to be taller than the Qutb Minar, but due to the death of its creator(Allah-ud-din Khilji at it again) and the indifference of his successors, it never reached more than a storey.

The Metro Museum:

- Located inside Patel Chowk Metro Station

- World's first metro museum to be located inside a working metro station

- A showcase of the hardships, the challenges, the solutions they came up with, the awards can be seen here. A huge source of info if you're interested in the railway system, rail engineering et al.

- Photography is strictly, I mean STRICTLY prohibited, cams and men are watching you constantly. So no pics of what I saw.

- You get good memorabilia here if you're a big fan of the Metro.

Swaminarayan Akshardham complex:

- World's Largest comprehensive Hindu Temple.

- It preaches a way of life called Swaminarayan Hinduism

- The musical fountain show, also called the Yagnapurush Kund, is a perfect embodiment of the Hindu trinity(Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma) [a personal opinion this]

- No gadgets are permitted inside, with a capital NO (you are frisked worse than what u can be in the airports)

- The place is built as per a section in the Vedas called Sthapathya Shastra, dealing with the creation and consecration of buildings/temples

- Swaminarayan's life history is brought to life using talking robots in the Sahajanand Pradarshan hall.

- The water complex that surrounds the swaminarayan temple has water mixed from all the 108 holy rivers of India. Water pours through gaumukhs, with each gaumukh signifying a river.

I'll skip Birla Mandir and the Rail Museum for they don't seem to have any Did you know? or lesser known interesting facts.

Coming to the Jantar Mantar :

- It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh the 2nd of Jaipur. Interestingly, a similar complex is present in Jaipur as well.

- It seamlessly combines astronomy and astrology.

- The instruments have predicted distance from us to the sun to an accuracy of 10kms

- It can very accurately calculate what sun-sign the day is under.

- Unfortunately people seem to find it funny to inscribe their love on such precious monuments. Yeah, pure sarcasm I know. But its a sad fact.

- One good thing is, this very precious monument has come under a private partnership with ASI and a 5-star hotel nearby.