Sunday, March 29, 2015

Being an Expat in Ind*ones*ia..!!


Well, it’s been more than 100 hrs I returned from Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Now I am trying to recall all the things that are happened during the whole trip of 7500 KM away from my home land. Recalling things doesn’t mean my job is done, articulating them in a proper way is big deal. Yeah, I love writing for those who love to read. This is post is just for you, enjoy your journey..!!!
Yeah it’s almost 7500 KM away from Hyderabad.

Hyd à Singapore almost 6500KM (4:30 hrs)

My stay in Singapore is small and sweet. The weather was really mild. City was amazingly built, everywhere sky scrapers. Since this is official trip I am going to write only about the country and my encounters there.

Singapore à Jakarta another 1200 odd KM (1:40hrs)


Arriving there:
Reached Jakarta on a sunny day around 2 PM (1:30 hrs ahead of India). It was a sunny day, really hot and humid. I thought I’m in Mumbai during summer, almost same weather. We can easily find a cab in every nook and corner of the city, so it’s damn easy to get one in airport. Fortunately I got my counterpart to pick me up from airport. People generally use sedan class & SUVs like Toyota Innova, Oh yeah almost similar ones but model names would be different. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International airport is almost 25 KM away from the Central Jakarta. It’s moderate but reflects fine ancient architecture of Indonesian culture serving almost 10 million population of one of the world’s heavy traffic cities.  The place I stayed is almost 40KM away from airport, southern Jakarta named gatot sorbroto. Named after their first military General.

Currency:
Indonesian rupiah is the currency having an exchange rate of 1 INR = 200 IDR, 1 USD = 13000 IDR.  (Source: http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=INR&To=IDR ). You can find lot of currency conversion points near every shopping mall or big hotel. They charge 200 IDR per dollar conversion. But carry big value notes like 100 USD so that we get good value rather than smaller denominations like 20, 50 USD.
Note: Most of the conversion people will be closed on Sunday and holidays so if you are arriving on these days please convert some from Airport. We get almost similar rates from airport as well.



Language:
The official language of Indonesia is Bahasa, Bhasa, Basa, or Phasa is the word for "language" in many Asian languages, which derives from the Sanskrit word भाषा bhāṣā "spoken language". In many modern languages in South Asia and Southeast Asia which have been influenced by Sanskrit or Pali, bahasa and cognate words are now used to mean "language" in general.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahasa)

Food:
Rice eaters, mostly we get non-vegetarian food here. They eat Nasi (Rice in Bahasa) mixed with other substances like Ayam (Chicken), Bebek (Duck), Beef etc. Being vegetarian it’s somewhat difficult to manage. We had some Indian restaurants in southern Jakarta where most of the offices are located. Luckily I found one, called The Royal Kitchen (http://www.theroyalkitchenjakarta.com/). They provide Indian Thali and other indian cuisine. Expensive book authentic food. They have thali parcel service, costs around Rs. 400 (~80,000 IDR) including home delivery charges.
Breakfast: People eat mostly noodles, rice, salads and the same continues in lunch. I had normal complimentary breakfast provided in Hotel.


Lunch : Rice mixed with vegetarian salad, sometime omelet was my regular lunch.


Dinner: Mostly I had food from royal kitchen or some pizza. We get all sort of pizza giants in Jakarta with nice menu options.
There you can find different fruits Salak (Snake Fruit), Durains (similar to Jack fruit), Pitaya (Dragon Fruit). And they are really good, except salak gives different smell.


Places to visit in Jakarta:
There are many places to visit like Central Monument, Istiqlal Masjid, National Museum, Mini Indonesia etc. And Jakarta means malls, there are plenty of malls in Jakarta. Some of them are really amazing and huge.

Grand Indonesia: This is the largest shopping mall in Indonesia and is one of the largest in Asia. It comprises of 2 parts, the East mall and the West. Trust me, the mall may not look that big from the outside but you can easily get lost in it as it is huge. Despite that, it is a high-end mall made for expats and Jakarta’s elites. It is also located in the heart of Central Jakarta, across the Bunderan HI and next to Plaza Indonesia. For you car lovers, this is the place where the ultra rich go out with their Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Tenants range from British fashion giants to High-end traditional Indonesian outlets. If that is not enough you can visit Plaza Indonesia mall or the EX lifestyle mall which are right next to Grand Indonesia.
Pros: Uber-luxurious, a lot to explore, very large
Cons: confusing to navigate for first time visitors
People and Culture:
Indonesians are really cool people, mostly Muslims, who go for prayer on a regular basis. They work and party hard. Mostly non-vegetarians and smoke. Women are found smoking at malls and office areas. We have separate zones for non-smokers even in hotels. They help a lot like my friend Erwin, who helped me to top up my mobile, helped on local routes and as a guide. Yes, we have string Indian culture effect on Indonesia. One can find characters of epic “The Ramayana” as the apartment names, street names and many more. The following is one of such examples, famous Grand Indonesia mall having one of their lobbies name as “Ayodhya (the birth place of lord Rama from the Ramayana) Lobby”.

The following is the scene from the epic The Mahabharatha during kurukshetra war, found near Central Monument circle. Sri Krishna (the almighty who was took the side of the truth) and Arjuna (The great archer from the Mahabharatha). No wonder they have one of their airline name as “Garuda (the great carrier of sri maha vishnu) Airlines”.


Bali: One of the beautiful islands from Asia is also part of Indonesia. We can find many Hindu god idols in central museum, one of the must see places to study Indonesian culture and to know about Indian impact on it.

Working in Jakarta:
For an expat its really nice place to visit and settle down. But bit expensive for schooling, commutation. As per my communication, fresher may get around 5 Million IDR package, where as one can survive under a lakh per day.


Final Bid adieu: Its amazing place to visit and nice set of people to meet. I love Jakarta, not just because I have been there for the first time, but also it always connected me with old Hindu traditions and past glory of the bharath. Yes, most of the Indonesians are Muslims but their ancestors are predominantly Hindus and many Hindu riles made this country a best place to live.


  सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनःसर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः 

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् 

 शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः 

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:
1: Om, May All become Happy,
2: May All be Free from Illness.
3: May All See what is Auspicious,
4: May no one Suffer.
5: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

మార్పు (The Change)



రాయడం మొదలు పెట్టి చాలారోజులయ్యింది . సరిగ్గా గుర్తు లేదు కానీ ౬ సంవత్సరాల క్రితం అనుకుంటా, ఏదో కథొ కవితో రాయడం మొదలు పెట్టా - తెలుగులో రాయడం ఇది రెండవ కథ. రాసిన మొదటి కథకే "మార్పు" కోరుకోవడం సగటు తెలుగు ప్రేక్షాకునిగా నా అభిరుచి. కానీ దేనీపై రాయాలో అర్థం కాని నేను అదే మార్పు పైనే కథ రాయాలని నిర్ణయించుకున్నా !
జీవితం లో వచ్చే ఒక్కొక్క మార్పు, ఒక్కొక్క కొత్త అనుభవాన్ని, అనుబంధాన్ని , కొత్త ఆశలను చిగురిస్తుందని నా అభిప్రాయం. అదే విషయాన్ని ఈ కథలో చదవండి.

"సమస్యలు అయితే అందరికీ ఉంటాయి కానీ వాటికి సమాధానాలు కొందరి దగ్గరి దగ్గరే ఉంటాయి". కానీ నా సమస్యకో....
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Town hall దగ్గర్లో ఉన్న park దగ్గర గతం గుర్తు చేసుకుంటూ , వర్తమానం గురించి విచారిస్తూ నడుస్తున్నాడు ప్రసాద్. "నా జీవితంలో ఎన్ని సమస్యలు, ఎన్ని కష్ట సమయాలు.. కానీ అవన్నిటినీ మించింది ఇప్పటి నా సమస్య, అసలు నా జీవితమే సమస్య.."

అసలు ప్రసాద్ గురించి చెప్పాలంటే, అతన్ని అంతగా బాధించే సమస్య గురించి తెలుసుకోవాలంటే ఒక 20
సం..లు వెనక్కు వెళ్లాల్సిందే. అవన్నీ ప్రసాద్ మాటల్లో..

1994 సంవత్సరం, మా పెద్దవాడికి వచ్చిన మలేరియా, ఈ సంవత్సరాన్ని నాకు ఇంతలా గుర్తుంచుకునేలా చేసింది. అప్పుడు వాడికి 7 సంవత్సరాలు. వాడికి విపరీతమైన జ్వరం, అదీ ఆపి ఆపి రావడం, జలుబు, చలి, పొద్దున రాత్రి Doctor దగ్గరికి Injection కోసం భుజాలపై వాణ్ణి ఎత్తుకొని వెళ్ళడం. ఇవన్నీ ఇప్పటికీ గుర్తు. కనీసం ఒక 10 - 12 రోజులు, నేను, నా భార్య నిద్రలేని రాత్రులు గడిపిన గుర్తు. అలా అల్లారుముద్దుగా పెంచిన బిడ్డ ఈ రోజు చాలా మారిపొయాడే అని బాధ.

జీవితంలో ఇది ఒకటే కాదు, ఇంకా ఎన్నో సంఘటనలు. ఎన్నో అనుభావాలు... వాటి వెనక ఉన్న  అనుభూతులు...

1998 సంవత్సరం అనుకుంటా.. అప్పట్లో ఊళ్ళో 7వ తరగతికి మించి ప్రైవేట్ బడులు లేని పరిస్థితి. సర్కారీ బడిలో 10వ తరగతి వరకు ఉన్నా 10 తర్వాత పెద్దగా బాగుపాడిన (నా ఉద్దేశ్యం లో) వాళ్ళ సంఖ్య వేళ్ళ మీద లెక్కపెట్టొచ్చు.

సరిగ్గా అప్పుడే Hyderabad లో ఉంటున్న బావమరిది ఇచ్చిన సలహా. పట్నంలో 6వ తరగతిలో పెద్దవాడిని మంచి schoolలో చేర్చడం. నాకు అస్సలు ఇష్టం లేని పని, పెద్దవాడిని వదిలి ఉండటం. వాడిని వదిలి ఉండకపోవడం నా బలహీనత కానీ, వాడిని ప్రయోజకుణ్ణి చేయడం నా బాధ్యత, వాడి భవిష్యత్తు గురించి బెంగతో అలా చెయ్యాల్సి వచింది. అయినా అంత బాధపడలేదు, ఏదో ఒక రోజు వాడు ప్రయోజకుడు కావాలని నా ఆశ. ఆ మరు సంవత్సరం చిన్నవాడు, రెండేళ్లలో అమ్మాయి ముగ్గురినీ పట్నం లో చదువుల కోసం వదలాల్సి వచ్చింది.

   పిల్లల మీద ప్రేమ ఒకవైపు, వారి భవిష్యత్తు గురించి ఆలోచన, పట్నం లో ఖర్చులు ఇంకో వైపు, ఇవి అప్పటికి నన్ను ఎంతో బాధించిన సమస్యలు. అయినా ఈ రోజు నా పరిస్థితికి ఇవన్నీ పెద్ద సమస్యలుగా అనిపించడం లేదు.

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ఇవన్నీ ఆలోచిస్తుండగా ప్రసాద్‌ని ఎవరో వెనక నుండి భుజం తట్టగానే, ఈ లోకంలోకి వచ్చి, ముఖంపై లేని చిరునవ్వు తెచ్చుకుంటూ పలకరించాడు. "నమస్తే..!!"
"నమస్కారమండీ.. ఎలా ఉన్నారు ?" అవతలవైపు నుండి సమాధానంతో కలిపి ఒక కుశల ప్రశ్న.
"బాగానే ఉన్నాను, మీరెలా ఉన్నారు?"
"నేను బాగున్నాను, అయిన బాగానే ఉండటానికీ, బాగా ఉండటానికీ చాలా తేడా ఉండండోయ్..అయినా బాగుండక ఎం చేస్తారులెండి, పెద్దబ్బాయికి పెద్ద Company లో ఉద్యోగం, చిన్నోడు Intelligence లో, అమ్మాయి డాక్టర్, మీకేం తక్కువ." చమత్కరింపు.
"నా సమస్య ఈయనకే ఉంటే అసలు నాలా ఉండేవాడు కాదు", అని మనసులో ప్రసాద్ అనుకుంటుండగా, మళ్ళీ అవతల వ్యక్తి.
"గత కొన్ని రోజులుగా ఏదో అడగాలని అనుకుంటున్నాను. మీరు మీ పెద్దబ్బాయి పెళ్లి తర్వాత ఏదో బెంగ పెట్టుకున్నట్టున్నారు. అసలు ఏమిటి సమస్య, నాతో చెప్పాలనుకుంటే చెప్పండి, ఎంతైనా మీ అబ్బాయీ, మా అబ్బాయీ మంచి స్నేహితులు కదా సమస్య ఏదైనా ఉంటే మాట్లాడి పరిష్కరించుకోవచ్చు."
   "అలాంటిదేం లేదండీ.." ప్రసాద్ సమాధానం, అదే artificial నవ్వుతో..
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మధ్యలో 3 నెలలు పెద్దవాడు Office పనిమీద Europe వెళ్తే ప్రసాద్ తను పెరిగిన ఊరు వెళ్ళి వచ్చాడు.

మళ్ళీ కొన్ని వారాల తర్వాత అదే Town Hall Park లో ఆ రోజు కలిసిన పెద్ద మనిషి కోసం ప్రసాద్ ఎదురుచూస్తూ, మెల్లగా పాత జ్ఞాపకాల్లోకి వెళ్లాడు.

2002 సం. పెద్దవాడికి IIT లో సీట్ కోసం Delhi వెళ్ళాలని Hyderabad వచ్చిన రోజు, వాళ్ళమ్మ వాడికి Delhi లో సీటు రాకూడదని ఒకటి, రెండు సార్లు దేవుణ్ణి మోక్కడం ఇప్పటికీ గుర్తు. ఇదేంటి, అమ్మెంటీ, కొడుక్కి Delhi లోని మంచి కాలేజ్ లో సీటు రాకూడదని కోరుకోవడం అనుకుంటున్నారా..! Delhi లో సీటు రాలేదంటే ఇక్కడే చెన్నై లో వస్తుందని. అప్పట్లో మంచి స్కూల్ కోసమని Hyderabad లో వదలడానికి కారణం కనీసం పిల్లల్ని చూడటానికి వాళ్ళమ్మ ఇంట్లో ఉండొచ్చనే ఆశ, అదీ కాక వాళ్ళమ్మ పిల్లల్ని బాగానే చూసుకుంటుందనే నమ్మకం. కానీ ఇప్పుడో, Delhi లో కొడుకుని చూడాలంటే కనీసం 30 గంటలు రైలు ప్రయాణం, అదీ 3 గంటలు బస్ లో Hyderabad ప్రయాణం తర్వాత కానీ  ఎం చేస్తాం తల్లి మనసు, కొడుకు క్షేమం, మంచి భవిష్యత్తు కోరుకుంటుంది కానీ తన స్వార్థం గురించి .ఆలోచించదు కదా! ప్రసాద్ కొడుకుతో ప్రయాణం కాగానే తిరుపతి వెంకన్న కు మొక్కుకుంది, వాడికి సీట్ వస్తే కొండకి నడిచివస్తానని, 2వారాల్లో మొక్కు తీర్చుకుంది.

అలా చూస్తుండగానే 4 సంవత్సరాలలో పెద్దవాడి చదువు అయి ఉద్యోగం, ఇంకో 2 సంవత్సారాలలో చిన్న వాడి ఉద్యోగం, అమ్మాయి MBBS లో చేరడం చకచకా జరిగిపోయాయి.
"ఇన్ని మార్పులు జరుగుతున్నా జీవితంలో కనీసం విశ్రాంతిలేని సైనికులలాగా పనిచేశారుప్రసాద్ అతని భార్య. గతం మిగిల్చిన జ్ఞాపకాలను నెమరువేస్తుండగా వచ్చాడు ప్రసాద్ ఎదురు చూస్తున్న వ్యక్తి."

మళ్లీ ఆత్మీయంగా పలకరింపు "ఏమోయ్ ప్రసాద్, బాగున్నావా? చాన్నల్ళయింది, కనీసం కనిపించడం లేదు, ఎం మీ వాడితో కలిసి Europe Trip ఏమైనా వెళ్ళావా?" చమత్కరించాడు కేశవ.

అగ్నిపర్వతం లోంచి ఎగిసిపడే లావాలా తన్నుకు వచిన ఆవేదనని ఒక్కసారిగా వెళ్ళగక్కాడు ప్రసాద్. తాను పిల్లల్ని ఎలా పెంచిందీ, చాలా కష్టం అయినా బావమరిది ఇంట్లో ఉంచి చదివించిందీ, పిల్లలకు జ్వరం వచ్చినా, మంచీ చెడు దేనీకైనా ఎలా ఇన్నాళ్లు చేసింది అంతా తన స్నేహితునికి వివరించాడు. ఇవన్నీ గతం, ఇప్పుడు తనకు ఉన్న సమస్యంతా తన కొడుకులో వచ్చిన మార్పు. గత 25 సంవత్సరాలుగా బాగా పని చెయ్యడం అలవాటయిన తనను ఇక్కడ Hyderabad  కి తీసుకొచ్చాడు. ఉదయం 5 గం. లకు నిద్ర లేచి GYMకు వెళ్ళడం మొదలు రాత్రి నిద్ర పోయేంత వరకు తన పనిలో తను Busy. కనీసం ఇంట్లో పలకరించే తీరిక ఉండదు. ఎప్పుడు ఆఫీస్, ఫ్రెండ్స్ ఇంకా అప్పుడప్పుడు సినిమాలు. తన లోకం తనదే. ఏదయినా అడిగితేయ్ Weekend  లో చూద్దాంలే నాన్నా అంటాడు, అలాగానీ ఎం తక్కువ చెయ్యదు. ఎప్పటికప్పుడు Health checkup, ఇంట్లో వ్రతాలు అన్నీజరుగుతాయి, కానీ నేనేమి వాడికి తక్కువ చేశానని వాడిని నన్ను ఇలా అందరు ఉన్న అనాథలా చేశాడు ?
 అప్పుడప్పుడు బావమరిది, ఇంకా చిన్నవాడు సెలవుల్లో వచ్చి వెళతారు. ఏదయినా అనారోగ్యంగా ఉంటే అమ్మాయి పరిగెత్తుకుంటూ వచ్చి, వైద్యం చేస్తుంది. కానీ ఇన్నీ ఉన్నా ఏదో ఒక తీరని లోటు.
కేశవ కి సమస్యంతా అర్థమయ్యింది. కానీ ఇప్పుడు సమస్యకు సమాధానం చెప్పి ఒప్పించేలా లేదని కూడా అర్థం అయ్యింది.
"జీవితం లో వచ్చే ఒక్కొక్క మార్పు, ఒక్కొక్క కొత్త అనుభవాన్ని, అనుబంధాన్ని , కొత్త ఆశలను చిగురిస్తుంది", ప్రస్తుతానికి నేను చెప్పాల్సింది ఇంతే అన్నాడు కేశవ.
నిరాశలో ఉన్న ప్రసాద్, కొన్నాళ్ళు సొంత ఊర్లో ఉంటే మంచిదని చెప్పి వెళ్ళిపోయాడుకేశవ.


సరిగ్గా ఈ సంఘటన జరిగిన 6 నెలల తర్వాత ప్రసాద్ తన సొంత ఊరి నుండి పెద్దవాది దగ్గరికి వచ్చాడు. తన మనవణ్ణి చూసుకోవడానికి ప్రసాద్ వచ్చాడని తెలిసి తానూ పిల్లాడిని చూడాలని ప్రసాద్ ఇంటికి వెళ్లాడు కేశవ.

అప్పుడు ప్రసాద్ ముఖంలో ఆనందం, తన ఇన్ని సంవత్సరాల బాధని కూడా మరిపించేలా ఉంది. కేశవ ప్రసాద్ తో ఇలా చెప్పాడు. "బహుశా నీ సమస్యకు సమాధానం దొరికిందనుకుంటాను."
"ప్రసాద్, జీవితం లో వచ్చే మార్పులు కొత్త అనుబంధాన్ని, ఆశను చిగురిస్తాయి. చూసావా! మనిషికి చిన్న వయసులో అమ్మ వోడి, చదివే వయసులో బడి, ఒక వయస్సుకు రాగానే పెళ్లి, మళ్లీ పిల్లలు, వాళ్ళ ముద్దు ముద్దు మాటలు, మళ్లీ వాళ్ళ బడి, చదువు, పెళ్ళిళ్ళు, అలా మారుతూనే ఉంటుంది. మనమే మార్పుకి చాలా నిదానంగా అలవాటు పడతాం, మార్పుకి తగ్గట్టు ఎంత తొందరగా మారితే అంత మంచిది." చెప్పాడు కేశవ.

ప్రపంచంలో శాశ్వతమైనది ఏదైనా ఉంటే ఆది మార్పు మాత్రమే, మార్పుని ఎంత తొందరగా ఆహ్వానించగలిగితే, దానికి ఎంత తొందరగాఆలవాటు పడితే జీవితం అంత మధురంగా అనిపిస్తుంది."

ఇది జరిగి సరిగ్గా 6 నెలలు తిరగకముందే ప్రసాద్ అదే Town Hall Park లో మనవడిని ఆడించడానికి తీసుకువచ్చాడు. ఇప్పుడు మునుపటిలా లేడు. చాలా సంతోషంగా ఉన్నాడు. ఇంకా సంతోషించే విషయం ఏమిటంటే, తన కొడుకు వాడి కొడుకుని ఆడించడానికి, వాడితో గడపడానికి తొందరగా ఆఫీస్ నుండి వస్తున్నాడు. ఇప్పుడు అర్థం అయ్యింది, నాన్న ప్రేమలోని మాధుర్యం. ఇల్లంతా ఒకటే సందడి, ఇక ఏ సమస్యా లేదు.

మనలో కూడా మార్పుని స్వాగతించక, గతంలో ఇంకా గడుపుతూ, వర్తమానాన్ని ఆస్వాదించని వాళ్ళు చాలా మందే ఉంటారు. కానీ ప్రకృతి ప్రసాదించిన వరాలని ఆస్వాదిస్తూ మార్పుని అలవాటుగా చేసుకున్న ప్రసాదులు ఎప్పటికీ సమస్యలను సమాధానాలతో స్వాగతిస్తారు..!!

Monday, December 30, 2013

New Year - New Era

New Year - New Era

Almost a fortnight back got this idea in my mind about upcoming English New Year (January 1st). Every individual from my folklore are getting ready for New Year bash. Certainly they are awaiting the moment to cherish that whole year. Here, interesting fact is every one find happiness in celebrating biggest moments/achievements of past (some may deeply retrospect about mistakes, :)). Well, on a serious note it’s really good to have such spirit. But, why some times we are running the same rat race, after all we all are well educated and equipped. Just think about it and share your comments.
Yes, I am going talking about new calendar year celebrations.
How this came?

Gregorian calendar actually prepared by romans but eventually named after King Julius Caesar. In 1582 Christian pope Gregorian prepared and made it official in France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. British also made it official in all the countries they were ruling that time.

Rings a bell about Astronomy?

Some of the months have 31 days, 30 days where as some of them had just 28 days. It’s basically not following astronomy or any physics. Then how it came?
The origins of English naming used by the Gregorian calendar:

·         January: Janus (Roman god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings)

·         February: Februus (Etruscan god of death) Februarius (mensis) (Latin for "month of purification (rituals)" it is said to be a Sabine word, the last month of ancient pre-450 BC Roman calendar). It is related to fever.[51][52][53]

·         March: Mars (Roman god of war)

·         April: "Modern scholars associate the name with an ancient root meaning 'other', i.e. the second month of a year beginning in March."[54]

·         May: Maia Maiestas (Roman goddess of springtime, warmth, and increase[55])

·         June: Juno (Roman goddess, wife of Jupiter)

·         July: Julius Caesar (Roman dictator) (month was formerly named Quintilis, the fifth month of the calendar of Romulus)

·         August: Augustus (first Roman emperor) (month was formerly named Sextilis, the sixth month of Romulus)

·         September: septem (Latin for seven, the seventh month of Romulus), Sapta=7 Sanskrit

·         October: octo (Latin for eight, the eighth month of Romulus), Octa=8 Sanskrit

·         November: novem (Latin for nine, the ninth month of Romulus)Nava=9 Sanskrit

·         December: decem (Latin for ten, the tenth month of Romulus)Dasa=10 Sanskrie


New Year?

It’s good to celebrate on beginning of something new. But what’s new on so called New Year day (January 1st). Is that a piece of paper hanging on our wall called calendar or the Day, Month & Year changing altogether?



Weather?
We have almost all same weather condition on December 31st and on January 1st. Nature itself is not ready with something new something like Ugadi (Yugadi) day in South India. On Yugadi, winter will go and all the trees welcomes summer with fresh forth leaves. Weather changes dramatically from the day on-wards. It’s a nature's sign of celebration.



Festive?
So are we really crazy about another festival called New Year, certainly not. We are already out numbered with the festival list in our culture. There are many other occasions to celebrate for a good cause.

Time for a new Resolution?
It may not be a calendar starting day to take up a new resolution, rite? If we are really eager to do something good or some resolution, the next moment itself is the right to take up and go on.
Serious question: How many of us take a nice resolution on this day? If you really believe that making something on Jan 1st will get good luck on your life, go ahead.
If you are really bothered plant a tree, donate blood, arrange a health camp, donate an education year to a child, go to remote village and spend some time to know about their lives and so on.



Just a Wish:
New Year is just a wish or personnel belief, maybe we are rite at some point of time. But wishing for one’s safety, prosperity, good health is really a great thing, can be done any fine day. Since we are socially bonded with each other, wish for every one’s prosperity like our culture says “Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hi”.

Celebration:
Why the liquor sales are really high on this day? Why so many drunk and drive cases registered on same day? Why we are so tending towards west ? What kind of message we are propagating to our next generations? Is celebration means just booze and dance? My dear friends are we really need to celebrate this New Year or trend a NEW ERA? Never be a follower.



Why to follow this calendar?
Yes, we are following this calendar for global uniformity something like we are using English language for global representation. Since we are following the calendar it is certainly not necessary to follow their festivals.

http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/year-history.html

What to do?
Following west always doesn't meant it is modern and scientific. Just don’t fall for false prestige. Knowingly or unknowingly we may started following this tradition. Now it’s time to come of this trap. Know the reason behind festivals. Better late than never, take a good resolution and be a trend setter.  Swami Vivekanada says “ Be Bold, Be Strong, Be Heros”. 


It may sound odd to think in a different manner, but think once again.!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

For a moment of thought



Another frequent question I ever face is "Was-sup for weekend"? Yes, i do have my own plans. Visiting a friends place, watching a movie followed by dinner. Yeah I am planned for my Week End. But rainy roads, terrific traffic, tax full toxic food made my week end as WEAK END.

Once a while I use to think about what’s happening around? Nothing great haa ? My roads are bad due to department is not fulfilling their duties, public transportation is weak due to lack of funds, blah... blah.. All that I can do is blame on politicians not doing their duty. It’s not politicians not doing their duty, it’s we people not fulfilling our duties on a single holiday called Election Day. Can’t we make our anger to ballet box?

We are really ingenious, smart enough to discuss about Indian international affairs, who could be the next president of USA.  But can’t we really spare some time for next five years of nation? We simply can’t wait for last 5 seconds in traffic signal and blame the traffic police for bribing. Everyone wants a developed nation but don’t have time to cast the vote, follow the signal, keep city clean. As Gandhi ji said “Be the change you want to see”. I don’t have time/guts to question all the sh!t happening around me but I can vote and make others to cast their vote.

If you don't vote, you don't have rite to ask/question the government. Sounds different rite? As a common man we always try to save Tax by means of manipulating or something else. The reason is we personally feel it as our hard earned money. Why cant we feel the same while casting the votes to elect the politicians who use our same hard earned tax money for the sake of country development. We are not ready to leave single penny of our money/our property then why we are silent towards the social frauds happening around. 

Whats the solution ? Don't be tensed, you can change the whole scenario when we all are aware and make others awake. Follow the traffic rules, start questioning the govt./bureaucrats. Like charity starts from home we need to start development of this country from home.

Remember, still major part of real India lives in rural India. Our villages play vital role in every aspect of this country. Rather than concentrating on problems its better to start for solution. I am one of those positive spirits who have full faith on every individual. Its our duty to think and chase the change.



Yes, I am a common man who can change the fate of this country. It may not possible alone, together we can. It takes no time to like this or takes a moment to share. But spread the awareness to change the fate of this country.


Jai hind..!!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Survival of the fittest


Choosing SUDHAGAD:
Our enthusiastic group of friends planned to visit/trek one of the forts around Pune during this summer. (Usually we are habituated to plan a trek at least couple of times in a year). One of our friends is a frequent traveller, who suggested that trekking Sudhagad would be a wonderful experience. He does have some experience over this place although he visited it 10 years ago. So we have decided to visit Sudhagad on next day of Ramnavmi i.e, 20th April 2013. Keeping fingers crossed our planning done.
Making up to the place:
Finally the day of visit arrived, so our backpacks filled, itinerary fixed, boots tightened and food packed. Our itinerary prepared in following way.
Saturday 12:30 PM – gathering @ Pune railway station
                  01:00 PM – Take Lonavala local train - will take us there by 2:30 PM
                  03:00 PM – From ST stand take the bus to Thail Bail – a remote hamlet to start trek.
                  04:30 PM – Start towards the actual fort, we expected to reach there by 8 PM.
                  08:00 PM – have dinner and take rest.
Sunday 07:00 AM – Morning wakeup call & refresh.
                  07:30 AM – look around the places on summit.
                  09:00 AM – Have breakfast
                  10:00 AM – return trek towards the village at mountain footsteps.
                  01:00 PM – Have lunch (if possible) and start return journey.
And hence it was mere planning; in a short while we came to know that “sometimes if nothing works as expected it may give more fun than actually expected”.

Project Sudhagad:
                Unfortunately fortunate day in life started in a normal way rushing towards grocery stores and food preparation. I was busy half day in preparing food (Lemon rice which is favourite food for many of my friends) and making arrangements & packing. I started at home around 11:30 AM towards station. Here is an important note; they charged Rs. 19.00 to reach station my place (12km) and the later journey from Pune to Lonavala (68km) over a local will coast Rs. 15.00. Yes, Indian rail ways are always best in most of aspects. Also we had an idea in mind to make this a budget trip so our intention was clear to make it as cheap as possible. Our local train journey was another amazing experience. We reached lonavala around 3:30PM. Even though its mid April, summer, it was not that sunny. We were able make our journey to ST bus station very easily. Oops, we have a direct bus to thail-baila only after 4:00 PM. There is no option to think about secondary route, just wait. And finally we reached the base village thail-baila around 6 PM. There is a Hydel power plant & a fort in this small village. Initially we thought that this one could be Sudhagad, but actually not. It’s another 4-6 hrs of trek/trek away. So our great adventure started..!!

Pic i: Thial-Baila fort view. 

Un-Expected trek:
Now we are totally out of the concrete jungle rushing towards paddy fields, nature.  We started following an unknown path which may lead towards Sudhagad. Local farmers helped us in some ways. On our way we tasted some forest fruits, of course they are natural and organic. Its beautiful dusk, so we need to make our journey as early as possible. It’s down trek from top of summit on 45° inclination path and again up trek with almost similar condition. Believe me the path was so dangerous at any point of time we thought of giving up and return to thail-baila. But no chance, we came here on a mission to capture the Sudhagad. Somehow we managed to reach the base point of the first mountain. There is a water fall (will be active during monsoon, totally dry now) between these two mountains. And we lost our self in middle of the forest.


Missi(ng)on Accomplishment:
Its 8:00 PM in the night and moonlight helped us a lot. We are running with low water reserves. Our very aim was to find a route which may lead us to either a village or the actual summit. Secondary option was, find a safe place, start camp fire (of course not only for fun but also for protection), have some food, manage till morning and start the journey/return. Situation turned from trekking for fun to trekking for survival. Our wild guess made us to follow the water fall journey which may direct us. Bingo..! Yes our sixth sense worked and we found a small path with human access. Here is the catch, on our way we found some Chula (natural stove made up of three hard stones placed in three corners of a triangle shape and wood used as combustion material) so it’s an evident of human access to this place. Also we found the way with the help of chocolate/biscuit wrappers. Sometimes our litter also helps others in some way. We started following the path which may lead us to the village or mountain top. Our very aim was to make it up to mountain. Eventually our clock ticked 10 PM mark.

Some time in life it’s great fun if we really don’t know “Where to go, How to go, What to do, How to do”.


As mentioned earlier our team members know the route from this point. They said we will find some water recourse near the moustache hanuman mandir (typical temple). In olden days people used grooves that made on big rocks to hold the water. So we were managed to find one. It’s not an easy task to take water out. One should bend down inside 4” depth and capture the water. That was the only Bisleri/Aquafina mineral water available there. One of our members got two small pet bottles of capacity 120ml each, crazy enough. Finished our dinner (10:30 PM) and our journey started. Frankly speaking, our energy levels are low (actually we are running on extended battery mode). But it’s very much essential to reach the top before the dawn. Me and another young lad from our team walking in front and the others following us.
All of a sudden we found a moving object sound from one of the thick bushes.  It could be a mammoth or a wild cat. We don’t have an experience to handle a canine, how come we are going to deal with it? But we know that by keep talking in louder voice and by making some sounds we can avoid the attack. We are ready with match box to put fire also a big stick in my hands will badly hurt the opponent in first attempt. We are ready. Nothing happened as expected. OMG, this is almost a re-birth. We crossed Maha-Darwaja (main entrance) in between. And finally we reached the summit around 12:30 AM in the mid night. There is a temple (Bhrai Devi) located on top. It’s time to take some rest.

Exploring around the summit:
We were so tired that we couldn’t make to wake up till 7 AM in the morning. After refreshment we were heading towards the one only inhabitant house on summit. We had nice tea there and finished our scheduled breakfast. On the large plateau at the summit, there are two lakes, a house, a big granary, some tombs, a shrine (Vrindavan) and numerous other ruins, scattered around the fort area. It’s totally different world from what actually we are living in. We need to have such kind of experience at some point of time. Most lovable places around the world are really far away from our reach. One needs to plan, work and explore to have an experience.


Returning journey:
After a couple of hours of exploration we just started our return journey for down trek. It was also wonderful experience as we are tired too much and still need to make it. We had some of the nice snaps during our return way. Had some snacks at a small hut. And finally reached a small village from where we can get the bus to Pali. We are also blessed to have a holy darshan of Pali Vinayak mandir at Pali. From pali its another couple of hours journey to lonavala to catch a local train to Pune.

I think our love and attitude towards Mother Nature made us itinerant travellers/trekkers. 

Trekking level : High if you follow thail-baila route, medium from other routed.
Precautions : Carry as much water as you can.
Expenditure : Around Rs. 250.00 (Yes Budget trip) if you can manage.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Maha Kumbh - Grande Voyage



Grande Voyage
(A small trip to Kumbh #Prayag - 2013)
Kumbh: It’s not just largest human gathering on earth, it’s all about religious faith, all about human tolerance, all about connectivity and supremacy of Hindu dharm.

It’s my pleasure to write another word about the happening moment on earth. I thank almighty (para brahman), my parents, friends and all those who are part of this journey directly or indirectly. I always believe that great journeys won’t start with just another foot step; it starts in mind as an idea and transform into a journey then, become part of the life

I had a big idea of spending a Maha Shivratri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri) day at Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the oldest in India. And this idea transformed into plan of action and coupled with taking a holy dip at Maha Kumbh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Kumbh) Prayag (Allahabad) just a week ago. Before going to start I personally thank Narayan anna, Prakash anna, Ramakrishna anna and dearest Naresh.

Making the trip to Maha Kumbh:
Initially we planned to attend kumbh along with friends from hyderabad, later on it went through a big plan of 7 days so we called off. On a Saturday afternoon (23rd Feb) an idea flashed into my mind to attend the kumbh along with Varansi in a single go. It took almost a couple of days to make the plan with Narayan anna and the dates finalized. We had waiting list tickets in hand but somehow able to get Tatkal tickets just before the day of journey. (And trip confirmed..! Woo.. Hoo..) The itinerary was:
8th Friday: start from Pune by night 9 PM.
9th Saturday: reach Prayag by 9 PM.
10th Sunday: take a holy dip and proceed to Varanasi.
10th Sunday: After reaching Varanasi, attend Ganga Harti and stood in line for Maha Dev Kashi Vishwanath darshan.
11th Monday: Break the Shivratri fast and makeup for return journey.
12th Tuesday: Reach Mumbai by evening and return to Pune by night.


The Kick Start:
As per the itinerary, Prakash bhai and I started our journey to Prayag on Friday night via Pune-Patna exp. We felt it was a long 24hr. journey but it was just a day of travel gone in a blink. All the co passengers and inhabitants of train journey made our travel easy. The crowded train compartments sometimes made us fuzzy about the visit.

That night @Allahabad:
Still I do remember that night which we spent at prayag. The whole night we were searching for good food and shelter. It’s not an easy business through, we tried our best. Many of my friends advised me to avoid street food. Obviously we were looking for a good restaurant to have our dinner. And finally we found one (may be one of the best restaurants near around the Allahabad railway station) Shriya restaurant, a newly opened one. The food here is not so disappointing one but the waiting duration for food made our mobile batteries fully charged ones. It took almost 3 and half hours to finish our dinner. Its 12:30 AM, Sunday morning they served hot n colorful veg. Biryani on Shivratri day. We just started our Shivratri fast by veg. Biryani. Sounds different rite? Then we went to take some rest at some spot in railway station. Due to Kumbh, the station was crowded with thousands of people arriving /departing from different parts of India. We felt very fortunate that we are part of the most happening gathering on earth. And the night went with some of the best/worst experiences.

Awaiting friends’ arrival:
In the morning we were awaiting friends’ arrival from Delhi & Hyderabad. Naresh from delhi reached us by 8 AM in the morning so we made our plan to take holy dip as the other train was late for couple of hours. We just started towards Snan Ghat at banks of river Ganga (Ganges). It took almost 45 min. to reach just 4 kms. The old Allahabad city looks similar as earlier, no special arrangements for Kumbh except security. It was really govt. fault to prepare the city for happening gathering on earth. People from all over the globe visited the place to witness the happening gathering. UP govt. might have showcased this occasion up to world standards as this is the best occasion to spread a word about our great cultural events. They might have provided improved transportation, hygiene surroundings and planned security to assist the travelers. The roads are not that impressive without traffic alerts. Even though the whole event is lucrative to govt. they failed in providing basic needs to common travelers. 

Holy Dip @Kumbh gathering:
Its 10:45 AM, another sunny day of mid march. Finally time arrived for us to take holy dip at Maha Kumbh. We three people finished our holy dip. Just for this moment, we traveled 1400 KM all the way from Pune to Allahabad. The security arrangements of UP police are really impressive. The cops are really responsive and helping the common public to their best. Many people here informed us about the chain snatchers and pick picketers. Luckily nothing happened as such. Water levels at river Ganga is very low. We found many slogans saying “Watching at river ganga is as equal as taking a holy dip”, quite impressive but every other traveler made the travel to take a holy dip.




Significance of this bath is we 3 people, on Maha Shivratri day, at Maha Kumbh (last day ok Kumbh) taking the holy dip, Bliss..! And the Kumbh Mission accomplished.
From this point our journey turned towards Varanasi, and our Shivratri saga starts here. Our journey to Kashi (another name of the holy city Varanasi) went very softly. We took UP-parihar bus for this 126 KM travel. It’s another 3 hr. Journey through.

Bliss..! Again I made to Ganga Harti:


Mahashivratri, 4PM we reached Banaras, one of the world’s oldest cities (1200BC) still existing. I am totally excited to attend Ganga Harti for the third time. Its starts around 6:30 and goes for 1 hr. We had plenty of time in hand to go for Harti so we booked a boat to take a look around all the Ghats of Varanasi. We met many fellow travelers from Andhra Pradesh. Our small boat was waiting quite opposite to the Harti place at Dashashwamedha Ghat. It was spell bounding moment to watch Ganga Harti from that distant. We captured some of the moments. It went till 8:00 PM. And finally late arrivals met us after an hour gap of Ganga Harti (around 9 PM).

Un-Expected Varanasi:
After taking a small nap on river banks of Ganga we started towards Maha dev darshan. The Maha Dev darshan arrangements were really pathetic. All the devotees were standing along the road side barricades for hours. Even the streets are not so clean with running drainage along sides of the roads. Stinking smell, unsupportive wood barricades, police & Commando security made very congestive way to the darshan path. We were standing for more than 6 hrs for darshan and the moment when we reached the shrine all the priests and security personnel made it very difficult to have easy lookup towards the Lingam (MahaDev Shiva’s deity). They simply spared to blink at the temple and thrown the devotees without any hesitation. The temple surroundings are littered with garbage dump and the whole place is maintained with less hygiene levels.  The whole scenario looks like an abandoned temple from a remote village, not even looks like the great Kashi Vishwanath Temple at any cost. There are more than a two dozens of priests inside the grabha griha.  Finally we made the darshan even though it’s not exactly the darshan and came out of temple surroundings. Gosh, really another poor hospitality from UP police and temple committee. I would recommend not to make Varanasi trip at least during busy schedule days and festive times. Now it’s our time to take bid adieu with all great experiences. Again it’s going to be a long train journey from Varanasi to Pune via Mumbai.

Food @Varanasi:
One of the bad experiences is having street food @Varanasi. The stalls are not opened till 9 AM in the morning. The menu options are so limited with kachori, hot Jilebi and Puri Bhaji. Being a south Indian living in Maharastra we are habituated to have north Indian style of food. We never expected exact south Indian style of food but expected hygiene food with eatable taste. No chance..! We purchased enough fruits and biscuits for next 32 Hr long journey and took our return train. On our return journey we also blessed to have Shirdi Sai Baba darshan. And finally we are back to Pune with some of good experiences and happenings in mind.

The Final call:
Overall trip went amazing except some bad experiences at Varanasi. And now we got good experience to cope with the worst situations. Being part of the huge gathering (7.5 Million people taken holy dip on Shivratri day) itself is an achievement to the fullest. It’s estimated that 3-5 Lakh devotees took holy dip on an average hour. So how exciting to host and participate on such humongous event on earth. Proud to be Hindu, proud to be Indian and human.

Har Har Mahadev....!