Photography
My costliest hobby is photography. Last year I was gifted by a Nikon F75 SLR by my sister. Previous to that I was using a Nikon FM10 which only lasted for 4 months with me from the date of purchase, then I gave that back once I got this new one. Till date I should have taken about 15 to 20 rolls of photos. One can imagine for the past 8 months I have used so much rolls. For the past 2 months I had taken about 4 rolls of photos, which I washed a day back to find everything is spoiled. The total photos of 141 are wasted. I had a discussion with one of my like minded friend only to find that the shop in which I gave to develop these rolls have spoilt it by using a very cheap paper. I was not able to sleep after seeing those photos.
A simple advise to readers, when developing photos try to use a standard paper like the Kodak gold if using the Kodak film.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Monday, February 23, 2004
Virumandi
Had the chance to watch the movie Virumandi by Kamalahasan this weekend. The theme of the movie is to find whether we need the capital punishment. The hero gets the capital punishment because he had raped and murdered the heroine. The movie ends as he has done a higher appeal to remove the capital punishment.
The film and the way the actors have acted are really good. Each one had tried to outset the others. At the starting they should have put an attention saying that people having heart problems and kids do not see this film. Since the violence is very high to compared in other films.
During my visit to Amristar, I had to visit a museum in which all paintings shown where of cutting people into two half’s. I was telling my Punjabi friends that this type of display should be avoided. But this film was similar to that. They had shown the butchering of human being, which Kamal could have avoided.
Had the chance to watch the movie Virumandi by Kamalahasan this weekend. The theme of the movie is to find whether we need the capital punishment. The hero gets the capital punishment because he had raped and murdered the heroine. The movie ends as he has done a higher appeal to remove the capital punishment.
The film and the way the actors have acted are really good. Each one had tried to outset the others. At the starting they should have put an attention saying that people having heart problems and kids do not see this film. Since the violence is very high to compared in other films.
During my visit to Amristar, I had to visit a museum in which all paintings shown where of cutting people into two half’s. I was telling my Punjabi friends that this type of display should be avoided. But this film was similar to that. They had shown the butchering of human being, which Kamal could have avoided.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Salute
During this weekend trip we were discussing about how life has changed. Everyone had read about the Golden Temple, the Wagah border, but no one even had a lightest idea that we will be visiting these places so quickly. It is a salute to the IT world and CSC that gave us this job in Delhi.
During this weekend trip we were discussing about how life has changed. Everyone had read about the Golden Temple, the Wagah border, but no one even had a lightest idea that we will be visiting these places so quickly. It is a salute to the IT world and CSC that gave us this job in Delhi.
Weekend Trip
This weekend I headed to The city of Golden Temple Amristar and to the border town Wagah. I planned it for a day's trip as usual with my roommates. Like three to Tango we were three to Amristar. We had booked the tickets for the Golden Temple Mail from Mumbai-Amristar via Delhi. The train was supposed to start at 1735 and as usual it started at 2000hrs IST. The arrival time to Amristar was 0630 and it was 15mins early. Although we had booked the tickets our compartment was like unreserved. We had to fight to get our berths with the fellow passengers.
Our plan was to go to the Golden Temple first, then Jallianwalla bagh followed by the two temples around. My plan was to travel by local transports, like bus or auto, but my friends insisted that we should take a cab so that we can cover all the places without any hassles. As per their suggestion we had taken a cab for Rs. 500/- for the whole day to tour around the city, take us to Wagah and drop us back @ the station.
The Driver was insisting us to take a room and take some rest, but we were to adamant to take his words and told him to take us directly to the Golden Temple. I would tell this is more beautiful than Taj Mahal. The reflection of the temple on the water and the gleaming against the sun makes it a nectar to the eyes. The meaning of Amristar is Pool of Nectar. The temple is situated in the middle of the pond. Most of the people take a dip before entering the Hari Mandir. The whole of the complex is built of white Marble. The Harimandir is copper plated and the doom is a gold plated one.
This temple has been under many treats from the old age till 1984 during when the military entered into it to remove the Sikh extremists. After the 1984 military action the temple had been repaired and that is what we see now. This complex also has a museum in which a person can witness lots of paintings about how Sikh people were tortured by the Moghuls and how brave these people were. But once you see the paintings a normal person cannot eat or have sleep.
Then we headed to Jallianwalabagh where the 1919 Masacar by General Dier took place. It is been told that general had given only 5secs for the 20000 people to vacate through a single pathway where only 2 can move around and also that path was closed by the army personal. There had been 150 army men who had shot 160 rounds of bullet into the human flesh. In this park there is a Amar jyothi a place of honor and all the bullet maks on the wall are framed. Now this place looks like a heaven. There is also a museum inside the park, and there is a writing and painting of a woman who has narrated how the scene was with her dead husband in that ground the whole night.
Then we headed to the Durgania temple which looks like a replica of the Golden temple with very little care and then to the Matta temple. This temple is a replica of the Vaishnova devi situated in Jammu. We had finished all this by 1130hrs, so our driver told he will take to a place called Ram bargh if we pay him another Rs 100. He explained us that place is the only place where Lavakush has temple in India, also our driver told us that is a bi Sarovar(lake) which really beautifull. Once we reached there we found that the lake was dried up they were cleaning it. So we headed to Attari the border town. From Attari it is only 4kms the great Wagah Border. During our travel we were able to see one for Dlhi-Lahore Bus. It was the Pakistani bus, which was escorted by a military pilot and followed by two police jeeps till the immigration entrance. I think the bus normally travels at high speed with a red siren on the top.
We reached Wagah by 1345hrs and so we decided to wait till 1615hrs outside. We had our lunch in one of the Daba's and then waited till 1615hrs. Once the gate was opened we were escorted to the main area by a military person and then we were shown where to sit. There is no word to descibe the emotions of hunders of Indians and the Pakistanis on the other side. Both the arena's were filled by people. It is estimated that everyday there is around 5000 people gather to watch the handshake and the parade done by the BSF and the Indus Rangers on both side.
Explaining that will not be good, because it cannot be explained by words. One has too see it on his own. For me it was like an life time achivement. After watching that we returned to the station by 1900hrs and was waiting for the train.
Was back home around 0900hrs, took some rest and was back to work for the Sunday afternoon session.
This weekend I headed to The city of Golden Temple Amristar and to the border town Wagah. I planned it for a day's trip as usual with my roommates. Like three to Tango we were three to Amristar. We had booked the tickets for the Golden Temple Mail from Mumbai-Amristar via Delhi. The train was supposed to start at 1735 and as usual it started at 2000hrs IST. The arrival time to Amristar was 0630 and it was 15mins early. Although we had booked the tickets our compartment was like unreserved. We had to fight to get our berths with the fellow passengers.
Our plan was to go to the Golden Temple first, then Jallianwalla bagh followed by the two temples around. My plan was to travel by local transports, like bus or auto, but my friends insisted that we should take a cab so that we can cover all the places without any hassles. As per their suggestion we had taken a cab for Rs. 500/- for the whole day to tour around the city, take us to Wagah and drop us back @ the station.
The Driver was insisting us to take a room and take some rest, but we were to adamant to take his words and told him to take us directly to the Golden Temple. I would tell this is more beautiful than Taj Mahal. The reflection of the temple on the water and the gleaming against the sun makes it a nectar to the eyes. The meaning of Amristar is Pool of Nectar. The temple is situated in the middle of the pond. Most of the people take a dip before entering the Hari Mandir. The whole of the complex is built of white Marble. The Harimandir is copper plated and the doom is a gold plated one.
This temple has been under many treats from the old age till 1984 during when the military entered into it to remove the Sikh extremists. After the 1984 military action the temple had been repaired and that is what we see now. This complex also has a museum in which a person can witness lots of paintings about how Sikh people were tortured by the Moghuls and how brave these people were. But once you see the paintings a normal person cannot eat or have sleep.
Then we headed to Jallianwalabagh where the 1919 Masacar by General Dier took place. It is been told that general had given only 5secs for the 20000 people to vacate through a single pathway where only 2 can move around and also that path was closed by the army personal. There had been 150 army men who had shot 160 rounds of bullet into the human flesh. In this park there is a Amar jyothi a place of honor and all the bullet maks on the wall are framed. Now this place looks like a heaven. There is also a museum inside the park, and there is a writing and painting of a woman who has narrated how the scene was with her dead husband in that ground the whole night.
Then we headed to the Durgania temple which looks like a replica of the Golden temple with very little care and then to the Matta temple. This temple is a replica of the Vaishnova devi situated in Jammu. We had finished all this by 1130hrs, so our driver told he will take to a place called Ram bargh if we pay him another Rs 100. He explained us that place is the only place where Lavakush has temple in India, also our driver told us that is a bi Sarovar(lake) which really beautifull. Once we reached there we found that the lake was dried up they were cleaning it. So we headed to Attari the border town. From Attari it is only 4kms the great Wagah Border. During our travel we were able to see one for Dlhi-Lahore Bus. It was the Pakistani bus, which was escorted by a military pilot and followed by two police jeeps till the immigration entrance. I think the bus normally travels at high speed with a red siren on the top.
We reached Wagah by 1345hrs and so we decided to wait till 1615hrs outside. We had our lunch in one of the Daba's and then waited till 1615hrs. Once the gate was opened we were escorted to the main area by a military person and then we were shown where to sit. There is no word to descibe the emotions of hunders of Indians and the Pakistanis on the other side. Both the arena's were filled by people. It is estimated that everyday there is around 5000 people gather to watch the handshake and the parade done by the BSF and the Indus Rangers on both side.
Explaining that will not be good, because it cannot be explained by words. One has too see it on his own. For me it was like an life time achivement. After watching that we returned to the station by 1900hrs and was waiting for the train.
Was back home around 0900hrs, took some rest and was back to work for the Sunday afternoon session.
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Work
This is the 4th company within a short span of 7yrs, but if we look at our older generation everyone have been working with the same company for more than 30yrs. For the past three months I have been checking some logs as part as my production support, and I started cribbing to my manager that 7yrs of experince is been used to view logs which an entry level person can do it. Was there these types of cribbing by the older generation people who had been doing the same job for 30yrs+.
Is this the trend with the current generation or does the environment enforces this on them??
This is the 4th company within a short span of 7yrs, but if we look at our older generation everyone have been working with the same company for more than 30yrs. For the past three months I have been checking some logs as part as my production support, and I started cribbing to my manager that 7yrs of experince is been used to view logs which an entry level person can do it. Was there these types of cribbing by the older generation people who had been doing the same job for 30yrs+.
Is this the trend with the current generation or does the environment enforces this on them??
The Great Indian Railway
Yesterday afternoon I was watching a documentary on The Indian Railways. Which is considered as one of the largest employer with 1.6 million employees. The documentary was more about the steam locomotives and the phasing out of thos locomotives. The way it was narrated made me that I was part of that system. I was able to understand the feeling of the people who had been tightly tied with these steam locomotives. The expression on their looked like they were crying when these locomotives were phased out.
The documentary also covered the Mumbai(Bombay) suburbs train. It took me back to the time when I was commuting through those trains, the way I used to get into them, and the people around me. Now everything has become a dream.
It is true that the Indian railways is the heart line of India with the largest network.
Yesterday afternoon I was watching a documentary on The Indian Railways. Which is considered as one of the largest employer with 1.6 million employees. The documentary was more about the steam locomotives and the phasing out of thos locomotives. The way it was narrated made me that I was part of that system. I was able to understand the feeling of the people who had been tightly tied with these steam locomotives. The expression on their looked like they were crying when these locomotives were phased out.
The documentary also covered the Mumbai(Bombay) suburbs train. It took me back to the time when I was commuting through those trains, the way I used to get into them, and the people around me. Now everything has become a dream.
It is true that the Indian railways is the heart line of India with the largest network.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Trip to Shimla...Continuation
On Saturday we woke up around 0800 and started getting ready to move around. We vacated the room around 0900hrs and booked a cab to take us to Kufri. It is a 19km travel from Shimla. The charge by bus was 160 per person. So we decided that we would take a cab, which cost us Rs. 400/- to take us there and drop back in the railway station. On the way to Kurfi, a person will be amazed to see that the car travels in between the snow. Near Kufri we were not able to see the brown sand, it was completely white filled with snow. Three days back there was heavy snowfall according to the driver.
In Kufri the mode of travel is either you walk around or can take a horse back. Due to lack of time we decided to take the horse back. There are 3 points around. One for Rs. 160/-, the second one for Rs. 250/- and the third for Rs. 380/- (no bargains in this). We selected the second one. The ride on the horse was like an adventure, because the road is so small that only one can walk through, because on both the sides there were heavy snow and if the horse walks on that, the whole of its leg will be immersed into that. Also since the road was so slippery, whenever the horse moved forward it use to stumble, but not one horse you can find it has fallen. While traveling, you find most of the horses eating the snow on it way. When we enquired about this, we found that it is to reduce the heat generated during its climbing.
Once we reached the point, it was a flat area filled with at least 2 to 3 ft of snow. We were roaming on the snow and playing around for 2 hrs. I tried snow skiing and found how tiresome it is and also how unfit I am for any of these sports. I booked the skiing shoes for 20mins and by 10mins it self I was totally exhausted.
After 2hrs we returned back and went to a zoo by the name Nature Park and spent around 1hr. We started of to the station to catch our train by 1700hrs. Our train was scheduled for 1805hrs. So had some food, because the last time we had food was at 1100hrs in the morning. The train started 1805hrs exactly this time, and the return journey was a boring one, since it was already dark and nothing to see around. Also there was no shops opened on the return journey. We reached Kalka by 2310hrs and saw our train to Delhi standing.
Since we had the tickets booked we thought we have to just got to the compartment S3 and start sleeping. As a precaution I checked the chart, and found that our seat #’s were also given to others. Then we cross checked with the person in that seat to only find that our ticket was booked for March 7th 2004. To our dismay all three of us were wiped out and had only Rs 400 as backup. We had to run back to the counter to see if we can cancel the ticket and get new ones. But the person in the ticket counter told it is not possible to cancel since it is already 2330hrs. Then we digged everywhere and was able to fine Rs. 471/- which was the ticket cost. By that time a police guy came to the counter and asked us if we pay him Rs 100/- per head he would allow us to travel in the military coach. Immediately one guy agreed and just followed the policeman. Since no other option we also followed the guy and took our berths. Once the train started moving we paid the cash to the policeman. There were six of us like that. After 30mins the TT and policeman came and showed all six of us and told these are my tickets, so you need not check them. After hearing that only my life came back.
Then the next question in my mind was how are we going to come out of the station the next day morning. But once we reached and there was no one to ask us either a platform ticket or a travel ticket. So the night travel costed us only Rs. 300/- compared to Rs. 471/-
We took an auto and reached home by 0830hrs happily.
Do & Don’t
It is good that all tickets and booking are done properly and also crosschecked before the journey. Do not follow the porter’s direction. During winter always get heavy woolen clothes and during summer get light woolen clothes.
On Saturday we woke up around 0800 and started getting ready to move around. We vacated the room around 0900hrs and booked a cab to take us to Kufri. It is a 19km travel from Shimla. The charge by bus was 160 per person. So we decided that we would take a cab, which cost us Rs. 400/- to take us there and drop back in the railway station. On the way to Kurfi, a person will be amazed to see that the car travels in between the snow. Near Kufri we were not able to see the brown sand, it was completely white filled with snow. Three days back there was heavy snowfall according to the driver.
In Kufri the mode of travel is either you walk around or can take a horse back. Due to lack of time we decided to take the horse back. There are 3 points around. One for Rs. 160/-, the second one for Rs. 250/- and the third for Rs. 380/- (no bargains in this). We selected the second one. The ride on the horse was like an adventure, because the road is so small that only one can walk through, because on both the sides there were heavy snow and if the horse walks on that, the whole of its leg will be immersed into that. Also since the road was so slippery, whenever the horse moved forward it use to stumble, but not one horse you can find it has fallen. While traveling, you find most of the horses eating the snow on it way. When we enquired about this, we found that it is to reduce the heat generated during its climbing.
Once we reached the point, it was a flat area filled with at least 2 to 3 ft of snow. We were roaming on the snow and playing around for 2 hrs. I tried snow skiing and found how tiresome it is and also how unfit I am for any of these sports. I booked the skiing shoes for 20mins and by 10mins it self I was totally exhausted.
After 2hrs we returned back and went to a zoo by the name Nature Park and spent around 1hr. We started of to the station to catch our train by 1700hrs. Our train was scheduled for 1805hrs. So had some food, because the last time we had food was at 1100hrs in the morning. The train started 1805hrs exactly this time, and the return journey was a boring one, since it was already dark and nothing to see around. Also there was no shops opened on the return journey. We reached Kalka by 2310hrs and saw our train to Delhi standing.
Since we had the tickets booked we thought we have to just got to the compartment S3 and start sleeping. As a precaution I checked the chart, and found that our seat #’s were also given to others. Then we cross checked with the person in that seat to only find that our ticket was booked for March 7th 2004. To our dismay all three of us were wiped out and had only Rs 400 as backup. We had to run back to the counter to see if we can cancel the ticket and get new ones. But the person in the ticket counter told it is not possible to cancel since it is already 2330hrs. Then we digged everywhere and was able to fine Rs. 471/- which was the ticket cost. By that time a police guy came to the counter and asked us if we pay him Rs 100/- per head he would allow us to travel in the military coach. Immediately one guy agreed and just followed the policeman. Since no other option we also followed the guy and took our berths. Once the train started moving we paid the cash to the policeman. There were six of us like that. After 30mins the TT and policeman came and showed all six of us and told these are my tickets, so you need not check them. After hearing that only my life came back.
Then the next question in my mind was how are we going to come out of the station the next day morning. But once we reached and there was no one to ask us either a platform ticket or a travel ticket. So the night travel costed us only Rs. 300/- compared to Rs. 471/-
We took an auto and reached home by 0830hrs happily.
Do & Don’t
It is good that all tickets and booking are done properly and also crosschecked before the journey. Do not follow the porter’s direction. During winter always get heavy woolen clothes and during summer get light woolen clothes.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Trip to Shimla...Continuation
After traveling for 3hrs we were able to see snow filled peaks, which I have already seen in Nanital. On the 4th hr of our travel I was able to see small patches of white foams, which was in the urge of melting due to high sunlight. It was so beautiful that there are no words to describe it. I was not able to believe my eyes. Once we crossed Solan we were able to see snow everywhere, ranging from 1inch to 1ft. Around 1700hrs we got off the train and walked towards the Mall Road. Most of the hill stations in N. India are built around the Mall Road. Mall Road is a highly dense shopping road. Here you get everything from gold to charcoal. Most of the hotels and restaurants are also around this Mall Road. My plan for spending that night was to stay in either YWCA or YMCA. After a short walk we were able to find YWCA, but it was closed on Fridays. So we enquired with the receptionist to know where is YMCA, the person was kind enough to give the correct address.
Due to heavy snowfall four days back, on both sides of the road there was around 2 to 3 ft of snow dumped. On the road there was a 5cm of ice formation, which was slippery. If a person does not walk carefully it is sure that he will be skating on the road. In YMCA we were able to get a bath attached double bed room for Rs. 400/-, because it was off-season. The places that one should see in Shimla are, The Rink, The Gaiety theatre and the Church, which are the most attracted places apart from the Raj Bhavan, the Summer hill resort and temples of Hanuman, Shiva and Nanda Devi.
The Rink is very famous because that is on the worlds largest and Natural Ice skating rink. The Gaiety theatre is famous for its interiors and the Church for the glass works. The first thing that enquired was about the Church since it was below the place I took the room and found that is opened only on Sundays for the weekly mass. Then I enquired about the Rink and found that was closed because of renovation work. Then finally I enquired about the theatre to only find that was also under renovation. So I had to spend the evening strolling around the Mall road and had dinner and came to room around 2130hrs. After that I was not able to roam because it was too cold. Once in room I turned on the TV and started watch the movie Ice Age in Star Movies. My friends was teasing me that I have come all the way to Shimla to just watch this movie. But still I watched and only slept.
The next day's to come...keep watching
After traveling for 3hrs we were able to see snow filled peaks, which I have already seen in Nanital. On the 4th hr of our travel I was able to see small patches of white foams, which was in the urge of melting due to high sunlight. It was so beautiful that there are no words to describe it. I was not able to believe my eyes. Once we crossed Solan we were able to see snow everywhere, ranging from 1inch to 1ft. Around 1700hrs we got off the train and walked towards the Mall Road. Most of the hill stations in N. India are built around the Mall Road. Mall Road is a highly dense shopping road. Here you get everything from gold to charcoal. Most of the hotels and restaurants are also around this Mall Road. My plan for spending that night was to stay in either YWCA or YMCA. After a short walk we were able to find YWCA, but it was closed on Fridays. So we enquired with the receptionist to know where is YMCA, the person was kind enough to give the correct address.
Due to heavy snowfall four days back, on both sides of the road there was around 2 to 3 ft of snow dumped. On the road there was a 5cm of ice formation, which was slippery. If a person does not walk carefully it is sure that he will be skating on the road. In YMCA we were able to get a bath attached double bed room for Rs. 400/-, because it was off-season. The places that one should see in Shimla are, The Rink, The Gaiety theatre and the Church, which are the most attracted places apart from the Raj Bhavan, the Summer hill resort and temples of Hanuman, Shiva and Nanda Devi.
The Rink is very famous because that is on the worlds largest and Natural Ice skating rink. The Gaiety theatre is famous for its interiors and the Church for the glass works. The first thing that enquired was about the Church since it was below the place I took the room and found that is opened only on Sundays for the weekly mass. Then I enquired about the Rink and found that was closed because of renovation work. Then finally I enquired about the theatre to only find that was also under renovation. So I had to spend the evening strolling around the Mall road and had dinner and came to room around 2130hrs. After that I was not able to roam because it was too cold. Once in room I turned on the TV and started watch the movie Ice Age in Star Movies. My friends was teasing me that I have come all the way to Shimla to just watch this movie. But still I watched and only slept.
The next day's to come...keep watching
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Trip to Shimla
This weekend my travel destination was Shimla. I had chosen this place to enjoy the snow. This trip was planned during the Indian Republic holidays, due to unavoidable circumstances I had to postpone the trip. Since my weekend was Friday & Saturday I started my trip on Friday morning and returned on Sunday morning so that I can return to work on Sunday. The trip went well as planned with little hiccups, which is unavoidable. I was able to convince two of my roommates to accompany me.
The complete trip was planned to travel by train. We had taken the Himalayan Queen from New Delhi to Kalka. The 307kms was traveled in 5hrs and 20mins. Then we took the connecting Himalayan Queen from Kalka to Shimla. It is a toy train and the 96kms was covered in 6hrs. It was traveling at the speed of 20k/p. After the first hour of journey itself we got bored, because the train was too slow. During our return we had taken the Shimla Kalka express, which is also a toy train. From Kalka to New Delhi we took the Kalka Howrah Express.
Our train was scheduled 0600 from New Delhi. Form our house it takes approximately 45mins by auto, we had booked a cab at around 0430, having in mind if the cab comes around 0500 then we should be safe enough reaching the station. To our dismay the cab did not arrive and by 0510 we had to take an auto. We told the driver with our known Hindi that we should reach the station at least by 0550 so that we can be safe. After getting settled and crossing around 2kms we came to know that the auto’s speed limit is only and 40km/p. Hence we reached the station exactly by 0600 and had to run the platform #2 to get our train. Since IST means Indian Stretchable time, the train did not take off, and we managed to get seated. On the way to Kalka, we had an encounter with an Ali (Half woman Half man). We were 3 and I was sitting near the window, one friend in the middle and other on the Aisle. The Ali came into our compartment and starting collecting money from everyone around. We were quiet even after she/he came and asked to give some money. We were quiet for around 10-20mins and after that she/he leaned towards my friend who was in the middle and murmured some words. Immediately that guy took out his purse took a Rs. 10 note and gave it to her/him. We did not understand and after she/he moved away we asked that guy what did she/he tell and why did he pay that amount. The word she/he murmured was “if you itself give me money, whatever money you give I will accept it. Otherwise I will wipe out every single penny you have.” After hearing this we were not able to sustain our laughter. After that till the time we reached Shimla everything was fine.
The rest to come…
This weekend my travel destination was Shimla. I had chosen this place to enjoy the snow. This trip was planned during the Indian Republic holidays, due to unavoidable circumstances I had to postpone the trip. Since my weekend was Friday & Saturday I started my trip on Friday morning and returned on Sunday morning so that I can return to work on Sunday. The trip went well as planned with little hiccups, which is unavoidable. I was able to convince two of my roommates to accompany me.
The complete trip was planned to travel by train. We had taken the Himalayan Queen from New Delhi to Kalka. The 307kms was traveled in 5hrs and 20mins. Then we took the connecting Himalayan Queen from Kalka to Shimla. It is a toy train and the 96kms was covered in 6hrs. It was traveling at the speed of 20k/p. After the first hour of journey itself we got bored, because the train was too slow. During our return we had taken the Shimla Kalka express, which is also a toy train. From Kalka to New Delhi we took the Kalka Howrah Express.
Our train was scheduled 0600 from New Delhi. Form our house it takes approximately 45mins by auto, we had booked a cab at around 0430, having in mind if the cab comes around 0500 then we should be safe enough reaching the station. To our dismay the cab did not arrive and by 0510 we had to take an auto. We told the driver with our known Hindi that we should reach the station at least by 0550 so that we can be safe. After getting settled and crossing around 2kms we came to know that the auto’s speed limit is only and 40km/p. Hence we reached the station exactly by 0600 and had to run the platform #2 to get our train. Since IST means Indian Stretchable time, the train did not take off, and we managed to get seated. On the way to Kalka, we had an encounter with an Ali (Half woman Half man). We were 3 and I was sitting near the window, one friend in the middle and other on the Aisle. The Ali came into our compartment and starting collecting money from everyone around. We were quiet even after she/he came and asked to give some money. We were quiet for around 10-20mins and after that she/he leaned towards my friend who was in the middle and murmured some words. Immediately that guy took out his purse took a Rs. 10 note and gave it to her/him. We did not understand and after she/he moved away we asked that guy what did she/he tell and why did he pay that amount. The word she/he murmured was “if you itself give me money, whatever money you give I will accept it. Otherwise I will wipe out every single penny you have.” After hearing this we were not able to sustain our laughter. After that till the time we reached Shimla everything was fine.
The rest to come…
Weekends
Moving from technical support to production support has changed the complete life cycle. The concept of weekends (Saturday & Sunday) has gone. For the past three months my weekends have either been Friday & Saturday or Sunday and Monday. I have most of my co-workers having their weekends as Monday & Tuesday. Due to this change there has been a lot of sacrifice by others for making the weekend a pleasant one.
Moving from technical support to production support has changed the complete life cycle. The concept of weekends (Saturday & Sunday) has gone. For the past three months my weekends have either been Friday & Saturday or Sunday and Monday. I have most of my co-workers having their weekends as Monday & Tuesday. Due to this change there has been a lot of sacrifice by others for making the weekend a pleasant one.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Monday, February 02, 2004
Request By America
Till date it was India asking US not to reduce the H1B visas for Indian professionals. Now the stance has changed and US has asked to open the market for the Americans to work in India. Read on...
Till date it was India asking US not to reduce the H1B visas for Indian professionals. Now the stance has changed and US has asked to open the market for the Americans to work in India. Read on...
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Delhi Drivers
I had been to delhi yesterday. As usual there was a heavy traffic jam on my way. I was travelling by an auto and if we see outside you will find most of the two wheelers driving over the pavement. The pavement is a 2ft high and they just carry the vehicle place it over the pavement and then proceed their journey. Is that they don't have time to wait for the traffic to get cleared or they don't want to respect the people who are walking in the pavement. These people also should understand it is dangerous to them and the others on the pavement.
I had been to delhi yesterday. As usual there was a heavy traffic jam on my way. I was travelling by an auto and if we see outside you will find most of the two wheelers driving over the pavement. The pavement is a 2ft high and they just carry the vehicle place it over the pavement and then proceed their journey. Is that they don't have time to wait for the traffic to get cleared or they don't want to respect the people who are walking in the pavement. These people also should understand it is dangerous to them and the others on the pavement.
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