Makara Sankranthi

Today is Makara Sankranthi and it is a big festival in South India. We are surrounded by houses adorned by rangoli designs with colors and flowers.
While I was on my grocery errands in the morning, I saw the children of our society drawing big rangoli designs and decorating them with colorful stones. I was amazed at their enthusiasm and the team effort they had put in. Guess what? It acted as an inspiration for me as well. My mind started racing with thoughts of various kinds of designs, all geometrical shapes. I had just finished teaching Geometry to one my students so explains the designs in my thoughts.

I searched the internet for some easy designs, did not get many. So had to put my coordinate geometry knowledge to good use and apply grid systems to form symmetrical designs. To tell you the truth, while I was drawing the rangoli, I enjoyed it very much. I never realised it will be so much fun.

Thanks to the kids, I also happened to read about the significance of the occasion as well. I would share the same information maintaining brevity.

Sankranthi is celebrated mid-January.

Astrological significance
The word is derived from sat and kranti or sankramana, meaning "sacred movement." The festival takes place when the sun moves from Dakshanayanam to Uttaryanam. It is known as Makara Sankranthi due to the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn. This is significant considering the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day.

Agricultural significance
This is a harvest festival. The crops sowed by the farmers are harvested now. Symbolically, the first harvest is offered to the Almighty and shared with the poor and the needy. Sweet delicacies are prepared on this auspicious day!

Kite-flying is the sport that marks the occasion. The sky is covered with colorful kites flown by children.

Happy Makara Sankranthi or Happy Pongal to all! May God bless the people of the world with peace and contentment!!

I would now like to share my Rangoli experiments:

Tryst with nature - Gokarna-Karwar-Murudeswara

First of all, I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year!!

Last year ended well for us as we got the opportunity to visit some interesting places in karnataka.
Places visited : Gokarna, Om Beach, Karwar, Yana Hills(Trek), Murudeswara(world's tallest gopuram)
Team members : 17

Journey prelims
My husband and myself joined the rest of the gang, from hyderabad. After a futile search for trains to gokarna or nearby location Hubli, we finally booked our to and fro ticket by KSRTC volvo bus. There are very limited options from Hyderabad to reach Gokarna.

Hyderabad to Gokarna bus journey experience.
Our route was Hyderabad --> Hubli --> Ankola --> Madangeri --> Gokarna. Hyd to Hubli by KSRTC bus. We reached Hubli at 7:30 am on 24th Dec, and after inquiries found that at 8:00 am a bus to Ankola will come. Buses to Gokarna are again very few from Hubli. So we boarded the bus heading Karwar which has a halt at Ankola. It is a 4 hour journey from Hubli to Ankola with a 30 mins halt at Yellapur. After reaching Ankola, we knew that we are just 25 kms away from Gokarna so we decided to take an auto. Guess how much the auto guys asked us? 300 bucks to cover 25 kms distance. Kind localiites advised us to take a bus till Madangeri which is 15 kms from Ankola. Without giving much thought, we immediately took our seats in one of the small RTV buses that run in towns and villages. These are those rickety buses in which all available space is filled with human beings!!! Anyway, after all space filled, the bus driver triggered the ignition and after 30 minutes, we reached Madangeri. We were so tired thought of taking an auto from here. Again, fare was 150 bucks to cover 10 km distance. By God's Grace, we did not have to negotiate with the auto guys as within 5 minutes a city bus came heading towards Gokarna. In 15 minutes we were at the Gokarna bus station. All tired, hungry and fagged out with the 15 hour adventurous journey, we were just hoping to get a good accommodation.

Accommodation
As soon as we alighted from the bus at Gokarna, one pundit approached us and inquired whether we are looking for rooms. Rooms, oh yes, we are. Shourya, my husband, inquired about the facilities and charges. He said you can come and have a look at the lodge which was 5 minutes walk from the bus station. It was quite a big room with a balcony, dressing room, attached bathroom, all for Rs. 500 per day. We instantly liked it and paid for one day and told him that we will let him know later if we wish to continue our stay here. The lodge was Jagdeesh Niwas Lodge.

A quick bath and we hogged at the food served to us at some restaurant. After lunch, we inquired in almost I guess, all the hotels and lodges for rooms and found that till 31st there is no availability, it being Christmas and New year. Since we reached a day earlier than the bangalore group, we had to find an accommodation for them. After an hour of search, we booked rooms in the same lodge where we took the room, @250 per head per day.

Eye-Opener : Always reach a day earlier, if planning a vacation during festivals.

Following is the lodge where the group stayed on 25th December.



From 26th December to 28th December, we stayed at Kamat Lodge @Rs 250 per day. This lodge had hot water facility from 6 AM to 9 AM. In Jagadessh Niwas, no hot water facility.

Places we had food

Purohit Pure Veg Restaurant (Not very popular with the non-veg eaters!!)

This was very close to Kamat Lodge, right below Gokarna International. It served decent coffee(nescafe only). Upma was sweet, idlis were excellent, vadas too oily. Did not dare to have anything else there. It was not my favourite as it did not serve filter coffee, which is my most preferred hot beverage.

Sea Green Cafe (Best place for sea food)

This was right at the beach. Its location was perfect in the sense that on one side you had the beach and the other side tall green trees. It was my husband's and my favourite eating hangout in gokarna.

CAVEAT: Minimum service time - 30 - 45 minutes. Not a place for those who are famished, or those who do not want to wait for long or those who are looking for some sophistication or typical restaurant ambience.

This was the only place in gokarna that served yummy sea food and delicious north indian cuisine. I am a vegie and my husband(a bengali) out and out non-vegie. So we both got everything suiting our taste and needs!! :) They used to serve awesome phulkas(chapati).

Some of the stuff that we tried from their menu was: kofta, veg and fish sizzler, egg bhurji, soup(not that good), mouth-watering prawn masala, prawn fry, and many more.
Those who like to booze, they serve only beer.

Right after our meals, we would go for a walk on the beach. That was one primary incentive besides the good food. Hence, we did not mind the wait time.

Some techniques we used to expedite our order:
a) Call the waiters by their names. They like being called by their first names. More personal touch!!
b) Go directly to the counter and place your order first and then sit.
c) They have a system of leaving a writing pad on every table so you can write your order in that.
d) Remember, they prepare the dishes in the order you write, so if you write the starter at the end and main course first, then it will come in that same order!!! It took us one visit to understand the whole system.

Namaste Cafe

Cafe at Om Beach. This was again a good cafe. Apparently, the italian cuisine is very good, but we did not find it out of the world preparations. Sea food preparations were good. Non-salty finger chips served. Below is the photo of prawn sizzler that we ordered.




Naveen Beach Hotel

This restaurant was right next to the beach at Murudeswara facing the big Lord Shiva sculptor. Service again was little slow again. Here we saw another phenomena. The waiter would come to the table, commit the order to the memory and immediately run to the kitchen and vomit out what he memorized. Obviously he would run between table and kitchen like infinite times. Patience pays!!

I learnt one thing in the whole trip, that these are small, non or semi-commercial places where the localiites are still novice to the service industry and are incognizant of the professional methods to provide efficient and quick service to the customers. Besides, the localiites have seen a sudden influx of tourists in the past 3-4 years. Therefore, we need to just adjust to their sluggishness or amatuerish demeanour.

Now, something about the destinations.

Gokarna

Whenever we got time we would visit the beach. The beach is not all that clean. Its littered with animal/human feces, tree twigs that would hurt while walking on sand barefoot.

Besides the beach, Gokarna is very famous for its religious significance. Famous Mahabaleshwar temple is situated in Gokarna. It enshrines the atma-lingams. MahaShivarathri is a very important festival here.

The sunrise was awesome here. Following are some photos of Gokarna beach.



OM Beach

As the name suggests, the beach is in the shape of Om. There are half-moon beaches there. It is an ideal place to stay where they have huts on the beach. People go on trekking from one beach to another. Most of the hut accommodations are reserved mainly for foreign tourists.
We went on a boat ride in the evening there and then had dinner at Namaste Cafe.

Karwar


The bus ride from Gokarna to Karwar was beautiful. The beaches of karwar are famous for its scenic beauty and historical significance. Most famous beach is Devbagh beach.

Photos of the beach we walked on. Also we found a dead jelly fish there.



After lunch, we all hired a boat to visit a private island. The owner quoted Rs. 250 per head, but after negotiations, he came down to Rs. 175 per head. We went on a mechanised boat, and the 40-minute ride to the island revealed scenery which was simply breathtaking. Karwar is actually sandwiched between the sea and the western ghats. At the island, we were the only tourists along with another family there. We folks played water frisbee for like an hour or so. After 1.5 hours we summoned the boat and were taken back to Karwar. Before leaving, took some photographs of the sunset. We also found some crabs there. Karwar is full of crabs.

Some more photos at Karwar



Yana Hills

Yana is located in the lush evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the Mohini Shikhara are the main attraction of Yana. Yana is a popular destination for pilgrims, trekkers, and nature lovers.
Our bus took us to the spot from where trekking starts to reach the two shikharas. The ride up the hill was scenic and scary at the same time. The path/track was so narrow that only one vehicle could fit at a time and twice or thrice it happened that we were facing vehicle coming from opposite direction. Hats off to our bus driver for his driving skills who seamlessly treaded the path. It was 1 hour trek uphill.

We stopped at the Mohini Shikhara for 15 minutes and then started our trek downhill. The forest cover is so cooling, like air conditioner in summers. After finishing our trek, we ate sweet puris(called munch) and boiled eggs with salt. These we got them packed at the foot of the Yana hills.

Some photos of Yana Hills.

Our trek starting point... Bhairaveshwara Shikhara


MohiniShikhara


Murudeswara
This was our last destination point. From Yana Hills, it took us 2 hours to reach Murudeswara. We reached in the afternoon. Thus, first headed for our lunch to Naveen Beach resort.
Out of all the places that we visited, I found the beach at Murudeswara the best. The beach faces the world's tallest gopuram(249 feet) and a large structure of Lord Shiva.
The walk at the beach was really serene. After walking for a while, you cross the crowd and reach the more silent areas where you can just hear the sound of the waves!!! The beauty was too much to be captured by any camera in the world. One has to be there to really understand the beauty that is totally indescribable!

Some photos at Murudeswara:



Return Journey
Bus from Gokarna to Ankola. Then another bus from Ankola to Hubli and then our KSRTC bus to Hyderabad. Lo! we were home on 29th dec by 8 a.m.

And, our vacation comes to a conclusion. I feel it was the best way to end 2008 and welcome 2009 with refreshing memories of the trip to cherish forever!! :)

Bon Voyage! to all those who plan to visit these places of untouched and unexplored natural beauty and of historical and religious significance.

Hyderabad to Bangalore - Our first highway drive

It was Durga Puja time and we, my husband and myself, wanted to visit our relatives in Bangalore. We tried booking train and bus tickets but no luck anywhere. We finally laid eyes on our four-month old car and decided to go ahead with our first highway drive!
Being novice to highway driving, we started doing our homework. Took advice from friends who have highway driving experience and of course, our most helpful site: www.team-bhp.com.
This site had all the Do's and Dont's listed in a systematic manner. We prepared our own checklist using all these inputs.
First thing was to prepare the car for highway drive. Thus, we did the following:
a) Took the car to Tata service station. Oh by the way! we own a Tata Indica Xeta GLG.
b) Got the wheel balancing and wheel alignment done.
c) Checked the levels of engine oil, coolant, battery water and wiper water.
d) Got the car washed in and out.
e) Filled up the fuel tank the night before the drive + System 3G Fuel Additive.
f) Checked air pressure.
g) Kept all emergency numbers.

Preparations for the journey:
a) Copied our favorite songs in our USB stick for the journey.
b) Purchased AP and Karnataka road maps from mymapsindia.com
c) Took printouts of the complete route from google maps.
d) Diary and a pen to make notes.
e) Food supplies - Chips, cup cakes, bread, jam.
The mix of salty and sweet items was a good balance. Classic Salt of Lays was the best choice
as the rest were either too spicy or too tangy.
f) Drinks - Orange/musambi juice, Red Bull energizers, 4 bottles of water.
g) Hand towel
h) sun glasses
i) Atleast 6-7 hours of quality sleep.

Our experiences:
We started the journey on 2nd october at 6:00 a.m. We had decided to switch turns every 2 hours or so. It took us 40 minutes to reach shamshabad on NH-7 from our residence where we hit our first milestone board below. NH-7 being the straight road we had to follow till Bangalore.
So, we had to cover 547 kms to Bangalore. It did look like a lot of distance to cover in one stretch!!! Anyway, the road was more or less good. It was the time when most of the Interstate buses enter the city. Imagine I felt like a liliput in front of all the beasty buses and trucks speeding from the opposite side. After an hour's drive, I got confidence and felt like David fighting the Goliaths. The Volvo buses and the local trucks were the worst of all and the most unpredictable following Brownian Movement. Not to forget the other 4-wheelers, i.e. the cattle.








After 2 hours of driving and nearly covered 100 kms, we reached Jadcherla at 8:00 a.m., which was our first halt for coffee and breakfast. It was a decent dhaba with good refreshments and clean restrooms. The morning was still pleasant. Time to switch.
After Jadcherla, the road surface is horrible, resembling surface of Moon with craters. Poor my husband had to drive on that road for the next 120 kms till Kurnool. We reached Kurnool at 11:00 a.m. which was our next halt. Time to switch, now my turn.
At Kurnool we wanted to get refuelling done. We still had the tank half filled but just to avoid problems in the rest of the journey, we entered the BP filling station. Those guys thought that we need the refuelling desparately, hence refused having normal petrol. They said that they have only Speed. We saw the people exchanging funny looks, so we decided not to get the fuel from there.
We drove away and at Gooty, which is 90 kms from Kurnool, we got the refuelling done from company outlet of BP. We realised that company outlets are the best for refuelling on highway.

Road quality is good from here. 4-laning work is going on and the patches which are completed are really fun to drive on. An example of which is below. Of course, we have to be alert about diversions.

The other side of the divider was blocked for construction. The other completed patch was made two-way. There were fields, hills on the sides. It being a sunny day, the fields had a little dry look. We had the A/C switched on speed 2. We could beat the heat but gosh! the sun light was too bright. We realised the importance of glass film then. As a saver, we used our turkish towels to insulate the car from the light. It did make a lot of difference! Desi method!!


About food outlets on highway, there is one BP company outlet and Reliance A1 Plaza at Gooty. The menu is limited. Of course, driving on the highway, one should have an immune stomach so that one can digest the food consumed in the local dhabas!! I mean if you are one of those who are used to eating in fancy restaurants, carry your own food or travel by air!!!

Now a few word about the various specimens of drivers we encountered. The most well behaved of them all were the long distance ones who would maintain the left lane while driving and also help us in navigation while we were overtaking from the right. The worst kind, the remaining ones. Local truck drivers would overtake at high speed. Volvo buses, the drivers think that they are driving Swift car. That huge vehicle at 100 kmph overtaking a truck from the opposite side and literally would come on you!!! Then you have the reckless Scorpio drivers.

Oh another phenomena, as the heat is picking up, you observe mirage effect on the road. Science folks would understand, the total internal reflection. You need to have your calculations correct of the distance of an oncoming vehicle from the other side before overtaking. Of course, with experience you get the estimate.

Then overtaking rules, never ever overtake on blind turns and on slope.

Another thing that we observed all through the journey was that the diversion sign boards, speed breaker boards were visibly installed on the side of the road. The milestone boards were also very helpful. As we hit a new milestone board and found distance reduced, we felt elated.

The drive was smooth till we reached Karnataka. Thankfully, we had our maps in place, so we knew that the entry point is Bagepalli. But, if you do not know how to read kannada, that information is useless!! :( Thankfully, I know how to read kannada. The knowledge proved so helpful I cannot describe it.

So, we were entering Bagepalli and on one check post board, I read it written in Kannada and that is when we knew we entered Karnataka. Now, we kept driving looking for the similar milestone signboards. Guess what? We did not find any. At a stage, we were wondering whether we are still on NH-7 as even those boards were not there. We did enter many small villages and all boards on the shops were in kannada. And these small villages are not shown in the maps. Finally, we reach a big town. Now, we decided to stop and inquire and lo! that is when I read on one of the shops written in big letters(of course kannada!) Chikballapur written. Chikballapur is like just 50 kms from Bangalore. So we were sure we are on the right track! :)

And then we hit Devanahalli, where Bangalore new airport is situated and this is where we see a board written in english specifying the distance of bangalore as 30 kms. I cannot express our relief on reading this. Anyway, the 6-lane roads are fantastic. The speed limit for each lane is specified, of course, no one knows to stick to the correct lane, vexing you to the limits!!
A truck at 40 kmph in 80 kmph lane, gosh! There are so many of them that cannot list them. Besides taking care of these erratic drivers, then you have the localiites who suddenly run across the busy road. All your senses and driving skills are put to test, I tell you!

Having driven on the highway at 120 kmph, suddenly your speed is curbed to 50-60 kmph inside the city. I mean, you have to tune yourself to traffic signals again. To add to our misery, rain pouring making things more difficult. We had reached the airport at 4:45 pm and from there to indira nagar took us 2 hours! Thankfully, having stayed in bangalore we knew the routes so did not waste time searching for our way in the city.

Finally we reached our destination at 6:30 p.m. Since we both took turns in driving we did not feel dead by the end of driving. Despite all the nitwits that we encountered, the drive was adventurous and amazing experience for us. The view was very good. During this drive, we had a new found respect for Tata Motors for having designed such sturdy beast!

Oh I wanted to know what does these boards mean? Anyone who can tell me the meaning would be really helpful.

Permanent license

In continuation of my previous post, we got the permanent license within 5 days. We applied on 25th September 2008 and the license was mailed to us by Speed Post on 30th September 2008. The prompt service of the AP transport department has really made us feel good!

Guess what, two days later we went to Bangalore driving our car. I will post a new article next with complete details and pictures about the trip.

Permanent Driving License in Hyderabad

It has been a long time that I have posted anything on my blog. Today, I am in an exhilarated mood because of our excellent experience at the Hyderabad RTA office at Attapur.

My husband had applied for a 4-wheeler driving license. First, we applied for learner license (LL) and then finally permanent license (DL).

We filled Form - 1, 1A, 2 for the Learner license (LL) and submitted the following:
a) Address Proof - Rent agreement alongwith employer's letter on their letterhead and
company seal. (We needed both as we are tenants, and we did not have any bill to produce in
our name)
b) Date of birth certificate - issued by municipal corporation
c) Phone bill
d) ID Proof - PAN card photo copy
e) Photographs - 1
f) Fees - Rs. 60

We also carried the originals of all documents for verification which they did very carefully. ALWAYS CARRY ORIGINALS FOR VERIFICATION.

After being fully satisfied, the guy at the counter gave us the fee receipt which we produced at the test center and after half n hour, the online test was done. My husband got immediate score, of course he passed! :)
To our surprise, the LL was issued in 15 minutes. Before leaving, we had to purchase the hologram at the exit and stick it on the LL. It is mandatory.
The LL is valid for 6 months, but we can apply for permanent license after 1 month.

So we promptly applied for permanent license(DL) right after 1.5 months. Again, we went to the RTA office. This time, we followed the following procedure:

a) Filled Form - 4
b) Attached one self-addressed envelope
c) Passport size photo - 1
d) Fees - Rs. 415.

The guy at the counter gave us the fee receipt, which we attached to the form. The fee is valid for only 7 days. Then we went to the Kondapur Testing Ground. The forms are accepted between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From Attapur, we drove like crazy to reach Kondapur by 12:20 p.m. We thought we will be lucky to have our form submitted as the counter was open till 1 pm. But there, service time of each form is 5 minutes and by the time we reached near the counter the counter closed, to our utter dismay! :((

So we went the next day and after 1.5 hours in the line, our form got through the counter. The policeman checked our original RC book, insurance copy.
We were again in for a surprise to have our name called after 15 minutes, although we had like infinite applicants before us!!! Later on we got to know that since we were not attached to any agent/driving school, we were called first! Anyway, my husband drove through the tracks. In the first round, he forgot to put his seat belt. Hence, he was asked to give the test again with the seat belt(fair enough!), which he did. And lo! we got the slip with the stamp "PASSED" endorsed on it!!! :) :)
All that we have to do now is wait for the license which will be mailed to us. I hope this last leg also clears seamlessly.

I must say, all through, we had a smooth sailing. It was all done in a fair manner. We were so happy that we did not go through any agent or driving school paying them 5-6 times the amount we paid otherwise. We also found that even though you go through an agent, you need to stand in the line, give the test, then why do we need them. It is for a reason that they test the driving skills of the applicant and I feel, everyone should go through it fairly.

Things to do:

a) Never go to an agent.(You can read it aloud, if you want to)
b) Keep atleast 10 passport size photographs in your pocket.
c) Keep a stapler, gluestick, pen(both black and blue).
d) Carry your originals always. (DOB, Proof of residence, RC book, Insurance copy of your
vehicle)
e) Stand in proper line.
The reason for my stating the last point.
I accompanied my husband to all these offices and while we were standing in the queue, everyone would come and advise me to go and stand in the front as I am a lady. I told them, that it is not my form that I am submitting its my husband's form, therefore, we have to stand in the men's queue. Obviously, we were given queer looks from others for such statements as it seems many do it. But I found it unfair to the other men and I would have got irritated if any woman had done that while we were standing in the men's queue. Luckily, the counter guy also started refusing the forms from the lady line. Applicant has to submit his/her own form. There is no proxy business here!

This is a small thing, but a lesson that our youngsters need to learn. If things are done following the rules and in a fair manner, then everything goes smoothly.
But, today, for short term gains, we stoop to any level! Youngsters are learning the bad traits seeing the elders!

Before I end, kudos to the AP Transport department for making the license process so transparent and hassle free for the citizens! No one will cheat if there is transparency and fairness and they have set a very good example for everyone else. :) Keep it up!!