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The BLOG! You Tube! Check out someof my videos on youtube: My Video of Skydive Jump: From my trip to Spiti Valley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5-WbeFtpGw Tribute to GIR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9c0D_u8x1s
Peru Trip I
went to Peru for spring break. We were a group of 30 people from Babson
who went for 10 days to the wonderful country.I learnt in business
school that instant gratification is what everyone looks for. So here
are the pictures from the trip
There are two albums http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106292&l=e2a95&id=748825715 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106401&l=83c4e&id=748825715 City for Lima:
We reached the city of Lima and stayed with our friend’s family at his
mom’s house and saw the best of Peruvian hospitality. The city is very
diverse. Although located on the coast, it is very dry. We got a lot of
sun (coming from cloudy and snowy Boston, it was a welcome relief).
Downtown financial district has beautiful buildings, the place we were
staying at had beautiful houses and places to visit. But driving
through the city, we also saw some real poor sections of the city. I
saw two Indian auto companies in Peru – Bajaj and Mahindra. I saw lots
of parallels between Lima and Delhi but still they are as different
as…..Delhi and Lima….what else did you expect? We went out to a few
clubs at night and the music was amazing. The crowd, the music and
everything was fun. Once we had dinner at our friend’s place and had
Pisco Sours – a traditional Peruvian drink. I would leave the task of
researching about it to you guys. The
city tour was a little boring because of the long bus ride but still
saw a lot of interesting places. We also visited Babson’s partner
University in Lima – University of Centrum. The most interesting was to
see a display of bones in a cathedral which was built by the Spanish
back in 1500’s. The cathedral had three floors of graves below the
building since it was built. About 50 years ago some Japanese
researches thought that digging out the graves would be a good idea.
And then they came up with the idea of putting them on display. Cusco:
We then flew to Cusco which is up in Andes and about 3,300 mts. Some of
our friends got sick, I mean really sick. SO next time you fly to high
altitude be prepared to first adopt to the new altitude. It’s a
beautiful city, a great combination of old and new architecture. The
city square has medieval look to it and with clobber stones, around, u
feel someone has transported you back in time. Had
the first sample of Coca tea. To give a context, Coca leaves are raw
material for cocaine. The leaves are not toxic by themselves. However,
one would fail a drug test if they were to go through one after having
coca tea. It’s a refreshing drink especially in high altitudes. Sacred Valley: We
then took a bus to Sacred Valley, a beautiful valley on the foothills
of the Andes and where the old Inca ruins start. The best part for me
was hanging out at this lounge bar which was all wood, with rugs of
lama skin lying around and a few swings. Just lied down on the rug with
a beer in hand and listened to local music. Loved it. Inca Trail:
The next day we took a small bus ride to the start of the Inca Trail.
Again a beautiful drive but I really missed my motorcycle as we went
through the curves. Inca Trail is more than 500 year old trail built by the Incas to go to Macchu Picchu.
(Please click on links to see more details over these). The hike was
going to be for four days but we did it in three. Babson students
always do things faster, better. We hiked for 38 kms in 3 days, went
upto altitudes of 4,200 meters, faced rain, falling rocks and ferocious
animals. Worst of all no access to phone, internet and the blackberries
were not working. Not even an TV! How the hell I was supposed to get
updated on the Brittany Spears news? Anyways, these turned out to be
the best hike for me ever. We had a team of porters with us. At lunch
of the first day we had a surprise. We had a proper tent pitched with
tables laid out complete with cutlery and clean plates and they even
had warm water and soap to wash our hands. We were treated to fresh
cooked food unlike most camping where you have to do with canned food.
After lunch we left, the porters packed the tents and everything else,
went past us and when we reached our night halt spot, they already had
our sleeping tents and everything else already pitched. It was a great
experience. Had some beer (thanks to an entrepreneurial lady who was
selling it) and had a nice sleep in the beautiful valley. Next day
turned out b tough to me, thanks to a heavy backpack I was carrying, my
tendency to get AMS, heavy rains and 1,200 meters climb and then all
the way down. This is when we first saw the clobber stones put up by
the Incas and the architecture of old ruins. I can write in full
details but it will go on for pages. We reached Macchu Picchu on day 3
evening and caught up with the rest of the gang (they took a train from
Cusco). On Day 3 me and Andy were on a roll (a good day after my
disastrous day on Day 2). We climbed down 800 meters and like a million
steps in 2 hours. The path was all stones, with no proper structure. We
were tired like hell and did not want to see anymore steps and our
worst fears came true when we realized we had to still climb a lot of
steps from the bus station to our hotel. Anyways, saw civilization,
cars, phones, TV after three days. It was great to realize I can still
live without them. Took a much needed shower, shaved, relaxed the
muscles and hit the town! Had some nice Pisco Sours, dinner and chatted
with the rest of the group. Macchu Picchu:
One of the seven wonders of the world, deserves that recognition. The
old stone houses, the architecture, layout of the city looks like they
used latest SimCity to design it. I was wondering who might have had a
larger market share of construction equipment when they were building
these cities: Caterpillar? Kawasaki? Or some local company. I do not
know if these companies were global back then. I
was wondering all the way how the hell they managed to break those
stones and form them into cubes? They used just to tools – A Wooden
widget and water. These rocks back then were still soft as they are
volcanic rocks. They would make small slots in the rock, insert wooed
wedges and pour water on top. As the water froze, it expanded the wood
the rock, being soft from the inside cracked open revealing smooth
sides. We then went up Wayna Picchu. The mountain u see in all the
pictures of Macchu Picchu. It turned out to be tough especially after
three days of intense hike but it was worth it. The view from up there
is breath taking. As the clouds flew over Macchu Picchu in the valley
below, I just stood there and absorbed the essence of nature, human
spirit to build these structure 600 years ago and human ability to
achieve anything they have ever wished for. Hiked down, took the bus
back to town and then the train and another bus to Cusco. The drive was
beautiful. You will see in the pictures. I did wish I was on my bike!
But I was in company of my friends, something I cherish as much.
Partied like crazy in Cusco and left for Lima the next day Beach House: We
spent about two days in the beach house. We bought food supplies,
beverages to complement the food. The beach was amazing. The waves were
big, beers were cold and sun was bright. Everything we wanted. Most
played beach volleyball while I and Vijay built a Babson logo on sand.
It was a lot of effort but it paid off. We literally left our mark! In
the night, I partied like I have never before. WE went to this awesome
club, great music, open air and our own private table. Alex knew the
owner of the place and we were taken well are of by the bouncer and the
bar tenders. Had a lot of Vodka, Chivas Regal, red bull and water. We
danced till 07:00 AM. Yes till 7 in the morning. It was crazy. I have
never seen the sunrise while partying. Next day was again at the beach
for most people but I was working on a paper I had to submit on Monday.
15,000 ft and below September 30, 2007
(For links to pics and video please scroll down but do read the blog for the whle experience)
What
gift did you give to your mom on her last birthday? I gave her shivers
for hers. 30th September 1955 was the year when the most beautiful
woman on earth was born, 52 years her crazy son jumped off an airplane.
I called her a day earlier and told her I had bought a bike. She
was silent and then very upset that I had done something very stupid. I
told her I was kidding and then told her that I was going TANDEM SKYDIVING.
All she said was be careful and have fun. She is the best mother ever.
She encourages me to live my dreams or just that she knows she cannot
help it.
We drove up to Lebanon. Not the one in middle-east but the
one in Maine. Five Indians, driving in a German car in US to a city
named after middle east country to do a sport invented in Europe.
Sounds crazy? It is. It was me, Raghuraj, Abhishek, Veer and Amol. We
left early morning to get there on time but had to wait for a long time
to get on the plane. If you are going skydiving and your reservation
says 08:00 AM, it probably means you will take off not before 01:00 PM.
We saw the plane taking off, going around circles to gain altitude and
then leaving behind small black dots all over the sky. Abhishek was
really worried that the plane was not reliable and it was leaving
debris behind. Soon these dots were getting bigger and finally he
realized that they were not plane’s debris but skydivers. We could make
out who were experienced divers and who were tandem jumpers. The
cameramen came the fastest and landed with high speeds followed by solo
experienced jumpers. Then came the tandem jumpers with two people tied
to one parachute. I do not know what is more dangerous, trusting tow
person’s life on one parachute with one of them expert or one person
per parachute who might know little about skydiving. I prefer the later
but chose the former for some other factors.
Our names were
finally called out. The first batch was Veer, Amol and Raj. They got
dressed, prayed and got on the Cessna Airplane .Soon they were floating
down like birds. I shot a few videos of them landing. Next it was our
turn. My instructor was Paul and Peter would be my cameraman. I got
dressed in a nice red jumpsuit. Got a video shot and got onto the
airplane. Now if you see this airplane, it is nothing like the ones you
have flown in. First, there are no air hostesses, no drinks are served
on board and the good part is no annoying pilot announcements. There is
a irony though. Whenever you fly in passenger jet, there are like a
1000 instructions for safety and all you do is stick to your seats.
Here, when we were actually going to jump off the plane, no
announcements. They could’ve said “You guys are gonna jump of an
airplane, please tie the person behind you to yourself.” We got up to
15,000 ft. The last time I was at this altitude, I was riding my bike.
It was in Spiti Valley. So different. Last time I riding on a straight
road at 60 mph and this time falling vertically down at 120 mph. Jumped
off the airplane. A lot of people might think I was scared looking at
video but I was far from it. I was just trying to listen to the
instructor. Anyways, it was much less scary than you think it is. We
did a Barrel, which is basically flipping on the back. The ground was
still far far away but I was approaching it fast. Then Peter (my
cameraman) was shooting me flying below me. I was surprised how much
control he had. It was pure ecstacy. The speed, the wind, the sound of
wind, the beautiful green valley below and the sheer rush of adrenaline
were at levels I had never experienced before. Jumping off 15,000 ft is
less scary than being hung at a height of 200 ft which I have been in a
few rides. After a great free fall, the parachute came out. I was
suddenly being sucked up into the sky and once the parachute was open
and I saw the ground, I was consumed by the earth. I floated over the
green meadows and flew through the clouds, the whole experience was
heavenly. Paul let me control the parachute for a while and I will say,
I go the hang of it. I did pull it too hard once and took a sharp left
turn but then got a hang of it. We landed pretty fast compared to other
jumpers. The first thought I had after landing was ‘when should I do it
again’.
Got my DVD and my camera roll of the fall and hit the
road. Thanks to Veer who let me drive his BMW 5 series, the end of the
day was awesome too. It was a wonderful car to drive.
SO ladies
and gentlemen, if you want thrill in your lives, go skydiving,
otherwise just visit my webpage to hear my experiences.
The pics of the adventure:
My Video of the Jump: Hiking, Biking and building friendship along the way Septem 19th 2007 I
am back. After getting hold of my life managing between classes, on
campus job and partying, I got an opportunity to do what I love the
most – Outdoor activities. My friend called me and asked me if I would
accompany him and his roommate for a camping trip. My friend could not
accompany us so, me and Nakul decided to go together. I knew Nakul for
sometime through Babson Energy Club and realized I should’ve been
friends with him long back. Renting the equipment – tents, sleeping
beds and pads, Bunsen burner took a lot of time. We could hit the road
only by 1300 hrs and we knew we could not summit today. We drove to
Mount Mansfield, VT. The base is Stowe, a very wealthy city. I had
never seen two Rolls Royce in one single day. There we many classic
cars in the city and not in museum but on the roads. Aston martins,
Masserratis, Jaguars, Porsches, you name it and it was there. After a
getting a little lost, thanks to a strange map, we finally
reached the base. We parked the car and started hiking. We
camped at 2400 ft because regulations do not allow to camp beyond that.
We chose a area in the wilderness as we did not want to camp on the
regular camp site. Cleared the area and pitched the tent. When we
opened the tent to pitch it, I told Nakul that this was the first time
I was camping. There was this moment of silence in the middle of a
forest, he looked at me probably he was thinking – this is the first
time I am camping too. Luckily he had camped before. However, with my
engineering skills I did not take any time to figure out how to pitch
the tent. In fact since Nakul had never worked with this tent, I had to
figure out the most parts. Once we got settled down, we started
cooking. We had ready to eat Indian food and some soup and stuff.
Thanks to amazing culinary skills of Nakul, we had the best meal ever.
It was pure art – ripping the packet, pouring the contents in the pan
and then stirring it to heat it. It was pure art and takes a seasoned
chef to do it perfectly. After eating a hearty meal, we cleared
everything out and realized that there are a few hungry animals out
there and the smell of food would attract them. We took care of that
and went to sleep. Got up, packed and left for the hike.
We were
hiking from the west side and took the Sunridge trail. It’s a C rated
trail so the hike was not difficult and offers great views. I would
suggest this trail for amateurs and families. As we ascended towards
the summit, the vegetation was changing. There is a little detour on
the trail which takes you to ‘cantilever rock.’ We took it and saw a
huge rock hanging on our head. We got out of its way just in case.
Headed back on our main trail and soon we climbed upto the Tundra line.
The vegetation was much sparse and the trail was now mostly on flat
rocks. The most inspiring were three ladies who must’ve been in their
early 60’s but were hiking pretty fast. In the valley below, the colors
were changing but real fall was still a few weeks ahead. We finally
made it to the summit, called the Chin with an elevation of 4,300 ft.
The scene was beautiful with mountains and lakes all across the valley.
Rested our butts a little bit and took another trail down (Hell Brook
Trail). This one was DD rated and hence was much tougher. Take this
trail only if you are a seasoned hiker and its better if you take this
on the way up. Most of the trail was just the stream and lots of loose
rocks. Nakul tool a little fall on his knee and it started hurting real
bad. So be careful and look out for loose rocks. I also slipped on one
and luckily was holding a tree and I was swinging on it. Slipped twice
more and landed on my back and thanks to all the equioment I was
carrying, I did not get hurt. Made it to the base and Nakul was waiting
for me. WE had found a Moose antler the night before and had left it
near our camp site. WE tried to look for it but it was missing along
with the trash we had left behind (to be picked up later) . I think we
left them too close to the trail and someone took them. Anyways, soon
we were back on the road. Missed the exit to I-93 because we thought we
had to take the I-95 and ended up in Western Mass about 70 miles away
from home. Got back to Nakul’s gf’s place at midnight. She served me
some great chicken korma and dal. Got back home at about 01:00 AM. It
was a great weekend where I conquered a mountain and made a great
friend.
The pics are at: Biking
Now
that I found another crazy guy who also finds ways of pushing his
abilities to the limits, I also got a chance to do what I had been
planning but did not do. We went out biking to Calahan state park in
Framingham . It was a great bike trail with some great slopes to speed
and lots fo plces where you can jump your bike. We got back a little
early thinking of the long week ahead and then he taight me how to ride
long boards. I got a little hang of it but I need to practice more.
Deutschland I went to Germany for a week. Check out my experience. Coming back to Babson August 10th - August 21st 2007 After
a great summer in Canada it was time to head back to Boston. I was up
for a surprise when I got back to my place in Wellesley. The house was
now occupied by China. It was a total invasion. Not that I am
complaining. I had three chinese girls from the in-coming first year
living in the house. They were all excited to start the new life in a
new country and a new school. Reminded me of my earlier days in Basbon
with hope in the eyes and ethisiasm in everything I did. After a
year, the hope is a reality and enthusiasm has given place
to new ideas. I
met all my friends and it was good to be back. Its strange how the
perception of home keeps changing. A place which was so alien a year
ago is suddenly home. Before
the school starts there were more exciting things to come by. Germany
trip being one of them. We were supposed to fly on Friday August the
17th from Boston. Got the VISA sorted out on Tuesday of that week and I
had no idea what the trip had in store for us. On Friday, some truck
driver decided to get a little drunk and drove his truck across the
median on I-93 blocking the traffic at both sides and hence making sure
that some of us missed our flights. Yes, I missed my flight. The
airline said they could put us on the next plane for a minimal charges
of $2,200 per person. Meeting Andy at Frankfurt, Autobahns, historical
city of Berlin, meeting with our clients and our German colleagues
seemed to be impossible. After making all possible efforts to
convince the airline officials that we need to get to Germany at all
costs, we decided to go back and talk to our coordinator at Babson. On
Saturday we decided to head to Boston instead of sulking in our rooms
cursing ourselves and the airline. It turned out to be a great day.
Four Indians hung out at Quincy market, ate various cuisines of the
world, watched an Indian movie and ended the day with a spicy Indian
dinner. Shweta's non-stop chatter, Balaji's profound thoughts,
Pawan's never ending stream of (supposedly) knowledge about
everything on earth and incredible GPS made sure we never had a
dull moment. On
Saturday night we got an Email from our program coordinator that she
had booked us on flights to Germany on Sunday. I do not know how to
thank her. Here are a few pics from the day in Boston. Shweta still wondering why a short train ride should cost Rs. 80. At Quincy Market  Hopewell Rocks - Natural Wonders of the world July 29 2007 Last
weekend, I decided to visit the wonders which Bay of Fundy provides.
One of them is the Reversing Falls in Saint John. The bay experiences
high levels of tide activity. During low tides, then river flows
naturally into the sea but the high tides are pretty big so as they
rise, it starts to oppose the flow of water. The river flow starts to
slow down and at a point one can see standstill water when the force of
river coming down equals that of incoming tide and then river starts to
flow in opposite direction. This happens twice a day, 7 days a week,
365 days a year (366 days during a leap year) and 100 years a century.
I tried to capture the different stages on camera but it will
be difficult to make out from the pictures as it cloudy. Then on
Sunday, I decided to visit 'Hopewell Rocks' - one of the natural
wonders of the world. The whole geography of Bay of Fundy is unique.
The depth of ocean floor at Hopewell Cape is very shallow and gets
deeper and deeper near Saint John. Due to this, when 100 billion
gallons of Atlantic high tides comes into the bay, the tides go upto as
high as 14 meters. Due to this phenomenon, there is a lot of movement
around the rocky hills of hopewell cape and hence the rocks get
shaped in beautiful sculptures. It is like nature has been working
for thousands of years to produce one master piece after
another. If you are interested to learn more, I guess wikipedia
will come in handy. Now for the road trip to Hopewell Rocks.
Sunday afternoon, a phonecall to Ryan. Answers the phone and I
instantly know he just wants to take some rest. So I hit the road on my
own. As the turn the ignition of my Chevrolet Monte Carlo, the engine
comes to life and the green monster roars to get on the road. I love
the way this car behaves on a highway. Its great around the corners and
hitting 90 mph is very easy, given cops are not in sight. Remember its
a 1999 model. No wonder it wins so many NASCAR champinships. Anyways,
back on the road. The dirve across the Bay of Fundy was beautiful and
sunny and very scenic. Soon
after crossing Alma, saw the three elements of nature in perfect
harmony. Clouds floating above the sea with hills in the background.
Man was I missing my girlfriend at that time. After reaching the cape, I headed straight to the rock formations. Entry fee is $6.75 with student ID. Did I tell you that during low tides one can actually walk on teh ocean floor. See it to belive it. Now
it was time to take a stroll on the 'ocean floor' and click numerous
pictures. The shapes of the rocks keep changing and older foramtions
keep falling! This one is my favorite  Soon it was time to hit the road again. Did 200 kms in a little less than 2 hours. Funny Business of Matrimony Updated August 1 2007
My
friend Balaji wrote about this in his blog and I agree with him. I then
started thinking of Online Matrimonies. I can never understand that how
can you decide to spend the rest of your lives with someone after the
exchange of a few emails/small messages. Also, the qualifiers for a
‘suitable’ match are always woven around the something which has little
to do with the compatibility of the two people.
Here is a typical one:
I
am 27 yrs old, working in a Topmost Private Bank (Corporate Office) in
the Credit Division. I have done MBA (Finance) from a highly reputed
Mumbai based institute and am earning a salary of Rs. 6.00 Lakhs p.a.
My height is 5 feet 11 inches. & my body type is average. My
hobbies include driving & music.
If I was a girl, he is
exactly what I am looking for. Seriously, I mean the ‘private bank’ is
‘topmost’. Of course if it was the bank which did not have more than
100 branches within Delhi or it was a state owned bank, he would not
qualify as my husband. Also, he is working in ‘the corporate office’.
If he was in branch office, no way dude! If the MBA institute was not
highly reputed, I would reject him right away. I mean how does it
matter how his personality is? How does it matter if he likes to slop
around the house whole weekend and I am a more outdoorsy person. Salary
is whole of Rs. 6 lac p.a. If he was making even a rupee less than
that, I would reject him. Please bring your Income tax file for proof.
Hobbies: Driving and Music. Music: that’s a hobby no one else has!
Driving: could be interesting if he knows what the bhp of his car is
and at what RPM.
The qualifiers have nothing to do with how he
is as a person. It looks more like a resume. Does he like socialising?
Does he like being alone? Since he is so successful, is he looking for
someone who is equally competitive? Whatever happened to things which
define a relationship? My brother had an arranged marriage and I can
say he could’ve not asked for anything better and my bhabhi
(sister-in-law) is happy too and they make a great couple. But why it
was different that online matrimony was that the families knew each
other. My dad knew how close her family was and what kind of values she
had and before anything was finalised, my bother and bhabhi had met and
found each other compatible. That works. But a profile which was
written in 15 mins with loads of spelling mistakes, without a decent
photograph and more information about job than the person/family is a
bit scary. Come to think of it, if this is how serious people are while
presenting themselves in front of their expected life partners, how
serious will they be in daily life, scares me. I am not against
arranged marriages or even online matrimonial but I still have to find
a profile which can tell about the person and not about their jobs. I
think if anyone is looking online for a partner, they should pay
attention to the profile presentation as it reflects on the person. If
the profile is the free one, I have just one word – kanjoos!
Gross National Happiness
Updated July 29 2007
What
the heck is Gross National Happiness? Unfortunately there are no dollar
values attached to this so it is hard to quote in figures. Quiet
obvious it is the measure of well being of the country, health care and
general happiness of the people. Who started this concept? I give you
three guesses. Canada? Wrong. India? Again wrong. Its gotta be US, of
course stupid! Again wrong. It was Bhutan. Where the heck is Bhutan?
You would know if you were not staring at the pretty girl in class
during your geography classes.
Gross National Happiness as a
concept is catching up with quiet a few conferences being organised in
the recent past and more to come. I find this concept a great way for
all economies in the world to gauge the happiness of people
irrespective of the size of the economy. So we can have a country like
Bhutan whose GDP is less than the half revenues of a Las Vegas strip,
still has very content citizens, everyone has access to healthcare and
education. In fact television was recently introduced in the country.
However you may argue that for having good healthcare and education
anyone would need money and therefore higher GDP as we know it. However
we do not see that good healthcare and education become more expensive
when you have high salaries to pay because salaries are determined by
overall purchasing power of currency. If almost the whole economy was
agriculture driven like Bhutan’s and basic facilities were maintained
by government, it would not be too difficult. Even within developed
counties, if we calculate GNH, it would give a measure of how
efficiently the money being invested in these facilities is.
What
are the reasons that in spite of having all creature comforts people in
the developed world are unhappy? Why are there shootings in schools?
Why there are riots with 15% unemployment while so many other countries
with much higher unemployment rates are living in peace? I think what
will also matter is how you define good healthcare. How many hospitals
in the country can sure cancer? How many psychiatrists are present per
1000 people?
Here is my next question, were all these existing
before we discovered wealth and started gauging it against happiness?
Why are there so few cases of cancer in Bhutan? They are very healthy
people. They live healthy in high altitudes without needing oxygen
cylinders but they do not have too many psychiatrists. They do not need
one.
It is quiet debatable how happiness can be measured but
if really ask ourselves what happiness is, I am sure we all can agree
one thing and you know what that is.
Tags that Media puts Update July 20 I
have been writing about my personal experiences and what i have been
upto. Today I am going to write about what I think about a few issues.
What do you guys think of the tags whic media has attached to so
many things? Here is my take on it The
media these days has a huge influence on people’s way of thinking and
societal norms. TV and movies bring in new fads, rip the old ones off
and most often that not put ‘labels’ on people. They always show world
as white and black. Everything is in extreme, there are no averages. In
movies (especially Indian) either people are very poor or they are
filthy rich. Either they drive around in Maybachs or they can not even
afford to take a bus. Where is the person who has made a good career by
studying hard and getting a good job and drives a Maruti and though he
works hard, he still loves to go on high speed bike trips on weekends?
Where is the strong woman who is aiming to be an IAS and leaves no
stone upturned for it but still enjoys moments with love of her life?
Where is the woman who balances personal and professional life so well
it would put acrobats to shame? Are these fictitious characters?
Giving
another example, if you switch on the TV, Gays are wear pink, they
would always be in the fashion business, will act like females and all
they care about is how they look. I have met a few gay people and none
of them fits this description. They play the toughest sport out there
and they are definitely not into fashion. Bikers are always wearing
leather, do not have a good career and are womanisers. Then does that
mean I never had a good career? I would like the second myth to be true
though! As for the first, if you ride bikes wear good gear, its for
protection and just not fashion.
There is another myth which
even I had when I was coming to the US. It was that western people are
too liberal in terms of sexuality. Yes there are certain norms which
are considered liberal but then within those norms, even they are
conservative. Is it bad or good? It’s just a fact. I am not being
judgemental. I do not want to be. One of my friends (an American) told
me that his mom thinks he is a virgin and she would be really upset if
she came to know he was not. I am not going to say his name just in
case his mom reads this! He was brought up as a catholic and virginity
is an important factor in all religions. Does that mean who do not
follow it are not religious? Or is sexuality a factor more related to
religion that the country/society or just an individual’s choice?
Does
society need tags? I guess it does, it make things spicy, gives a
chance to people to laugh on others to shed their frustrations from
their mundane lives.
Hiking at Fundy Trail Update July 17 This
weekend we decided to explore the unexplored jungles of Fundy. We drove
for about 50 kms, a beautiful drive and started our hike in Fundy
Trail. I will write more about it, but for now, enjoy the pictures. http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2090061172 I also took pictures of the city. Check them out. Saint John Part 2 Update July 13 Now
armed with my new arsenal (spelled new digital camera), I decided to
take a few more pictures of the city. The first stop: Irving Nature
Park. After having spent last saturday mostly at home not doing
anything other than watching TV or answering emails, I decided to
put write a million word story. 'Million Word' Story? They say a
picture says a 1000 words so decided to take lots of pictures. It
started raining as soon as I got at the park but within minutes it
stopped raining. My first stop had to be the board walk across the
marsh. Met a family and clicked their picture. Anywhere
in the world, you will not have to walk too far to see few south
asians. I could see a few gusy sitting at the other end of the walk and
I knew they were Indians. Turned out they would;ve been Indians before
1947 butnow they are called Bangladeshi. After a brief chat and a few
photographs, moved on taking pictures of the trail and the green
surroundings. Then went upto the Viewing tower and got a gret viewof
the whole park and the highway which takes be back to
Boston! July 4th celebrations and and Trip back to Saint John Update July 6 After having spent a great weekend I worked for two days at Portsmouth and also bought my new digital camera. Its
a Sony DSC H7. A point and shoot with a few SLR like options. I
can add Wide Angle lens and a Zoom lens to it. I am taking donations to
buy one. Please be generous and help out a poor kid to realise his
dreams of taking breath taking photographs for the benefit of mankind. I
got a great opportunity to test my new camera's capabilities and my
intrinsic photographic abilities at a pot luck and during July 4
Fireworks. DG: The Great cook: You
all agree that I have gained many skills over the past years
as a biker, photographer, engineer, management student,
writer, programmer, web site designer and lady charmer (if any
of my gf's is reading this, you are the only one I have
charmed) to name just a few. Considering how modest I am, I feel a
bit uncomfortable in admitting that I am also a great chef. When
anyone eats a morsel of my preparation, they lick their fingers and
they say they will serve me as a slave for the rest of their
lives. I am against slavery so I just let them eat for free. It was pot
luck at my friend Lunar's place and not only got to meet friends and
eat great food, had very interesitng chat with future entrepreneurs. I
had made butter chicken and everyone loved it. Here are some pictures
from the luncheon. I
then started driving to Saint John, Canada so that I could be in office
the next day. The drive this time felt more tiring but still was a
beautiful one. I took a stop at Bangor, Maine to see the
Fireworks. Here are some pics: Now that you are impressed by my great photographic skills, wait for more. Updated July 01 2007 Weekend in Boston! It
was a long weekend in Canada being Canada day on July 1st and holiday
on July 2nd. I had to pick up my Social Security number and meet
friends and it turned out I will be working out of the Portsmouth
office for two days. Finished work a little early and left office at
4:00 and hit the road by around 4:30. It was a tiring day and this time
I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. I realised that if you
take driving as work, you can never enjoy it and seems so much
longer. I felt the drive was much longer although this time I
did it in 8 hours instead of 10 hours which I took while going to
Canada. Fatigue was getting on to me. Has my appetite for eating
miles gone down after not having ridden bikes for almost a
year or is it because I crossed the magic age of 25? Anyways,
reached late night on Saturday night and had jet lag! Couldn't sleep
the whole night and got some sleep only after 7:00 A.M. I changed time
zones, remember! In the morning me and Balaji decided to go out and not
waste the day sitting at home. We had no idea that there was a nice
nature trail so close to Babson. This 'Wild Life Sanctuary' is on route
16 in South Natick. The lady at the counter tried to sell us a 'family
plan'. Lady, we are not a gay couple! Anyways, the maps were all
screwed up and we went around the numerous trails numerous times. It
was good nevertheless.  Nice Boardwalk which goes across acres of marsh.
You do not want to fall over the edge!
My
friend Balaji. Doesn't he remind you of Rajnikanth? Any single
girl is welcome to get in touch with him if you are looking for
someone who is rich (he has 300,00 chicks, he owns a poultry farm -
what were you thinking?), manly (drives an SUV), homely (he is a
great cook) and intelligent (Babson student). As far as being cool
is concerned, I am working on it. Not enough? Girls, you will
never be satisfied. Its a Waterfall! The map said to look out for Waterfalls and this was the largest we saw. Reminds you of Niagra? Who am I kidding?
The Flower Blooms! Balaji tried out his photographis skills and came out with this piece of art.
Anyone looking for professional photographers? Ended
the trail at noon and had some Thai food. Later in the day I went out
to meet a friend in Boston. Ended the day by meeting two new Babson
mates Veer and Swati who have joined in the One year program. Updated June 23 2007 Irving National Park - Nature Unlimited! My manager
showed me aroud the city again on Thursday and this time in a car
so we could go out further away and to all the important places in the
city. I saw the reversing falls. I will tell about that later when I
visit there again for a better view. Saw the city from a hill top and
saw the diversity this little town has. Then drove around the Irving
Nature Pak, a nature preserve owned and maintained by J D
Irving group. It is interesting to note that the Irving family is
definitely wealthy but there are far more wealthy people out
there. Even then Irving family has given a lot to this Saint
John and basically to every community it has been a part of.
They paid for the full scale development of a major park in
the city including pavind the tracks, building a beautiful fountain and
maintaining the gardens lush green. In 1992, they bought a nature
preserve and turned it into a great place for nature lovers.
They do not charge anyone for using the facility and they have not
shyied away from spending money on it. On saturday, me and Ryan decided to head to the Irving nature park for a hike. Once we reached
there, we chose a path which goes along the coast and then passes
through the middle of the jungle. The trail was very well maintained.
They have the whole trail covered with rubber matting and well
laid out leaves and twigs to prevent any slush. This gives
the ground a soft feel and prevents it from becoming slush int he high
moisture. Since it passes through green coniferous forests, the path
feels natural. As the trail gets closer to the coast, the soothing
sea breeze adds to the amazing experience. Then we met a friend. The
squirrel was really funny. It came
out and approached us. As soon as it came close, it ran
away along the trail and then turned back to us. It kept
going back and forth for a long time and gave out a call to so many of
his friends. Then we came across a large opening where we saw about a
dozen squirrels. They were gnawing at the food thrown around for them
and were expecting us to give them some. We were following the park's
rule which says 'please do not feed the squirrels'.  Squirrels definitely have a huge appetite. They
would not stop eating. We said goodbye to our friends and ended the
great hike with the idea of coming back the next day for a run. After a
nice nap, we had a BBQ in the porch. The pork skewer was great so were
the pork sausages. The day that it was. I am glad I am here in Saint
John and having time to enjoy rather than being in Portsmouth because I
would have to then drive everyday for two hours , one-way, to get to
work and weekends would just go by sleeping. Looking forward for
tomorrow. Check out my pics in the Gallery for the pics from the Road trip. Updated June 19 2007 Saint John - "Welcome to the Greatest Little City in the East"
Saint
John is a city with a great history. I had read about its history
briefly before I came here and the buildings tell the story of its
history. Ryan, my colleague from school and also doing his internship
here had been here for a week so he took me out for dinner. Since its
one hour ahead of EST and its up north, the sun sets pretty late. When
we went out for dinner at about 9:30, a most of the places were already
closed and we ate at a restaurant which felt more like a pub and were
clearly told that the place will close in 30 mins. Had a cool beer and
the waitress was quiet chatty and it turned out to be a good dinner
anyways.
After my first day in office, my manager took me for
a walking tour through the city. He had tremendous knowledge of the
history. He knew which building came from which era. The
city was discovered by a French gentleman Samuel de Champlain and he
named the river Saint John because it was Saint John Baptist day when
he saw the river. Then a lot of people came down from Britain to go on
to Boston. It costed more to travel to America directly from London
because of higher taxes after American Civil war. Then came the
Irish. The city developed very strong ship building skills and it
also built the fastest ship during its time. This trade made the
city very rich and hence a lot of new buildings came up. In
1877, there was a huge fire in the city which level almost whole of the
city. Since the money was good, houses and trade centres were rebuilt.
What stated was the 'City Market' which still stands strong and
thats where I had my first breakfast in the city. The
City Market has a very old age feel to it with
no 'aisle' shopping.. A Lot of small time traders sell freash
fruits and vegetables, small eateries prepare great tasting
muffins and you can get yourself a good salad for lunch. When the
city was being rebuilt, architects were called all the way
from Boston (the culture of inviting very smart people from Boston
still lives on :-) ) and Montreal. The three schools of architecture
which existed during the same period resulted in diverse building
designs. Its not hard to identify building designed by Bostonians.
They are red and have the typical design of large
pillars which serve as extensions of rooms coming out of the
buildings. Then in World War One because of its strong ship
building capabilities, the city became very important for the British
Empire. I could write on and on about the city. It might not be most fun city but I am looking forward to spending time here. Updated June 18 2007 Reporting from Canada Yesterday,
I made my first 'trans-country' trip from Boston to Saint John, Canada.
This was the first time that I drove across an International Border. I
have walked across one. No, I did not enter United States illegally. I
paid a lot of money to buy sir tickets. I walked across the border
between India and Nepal when I was about 10 years old. Still remember
it and it was a story i told my friends for years. This drive from
Wellesley, USA to Saint John, Canada is as much memorable for
me. I
had packed my bags a day earlier (so much unlike me) and it was because
I was so excited. I started from Wellesley at about 11:00 PM and after
a fuel stop about 20 miles out and then after crossing NH, the drive
got better. I-95 highway though not the widest highway around is
definitely one of the best ones in New England area. It does not have
ugly looking side skirtings but has lush green divider dividing the
North and South. I
had heard a lot about J's oyster from my fellow intern Max and I
had to stop at Portland, ME. At that time I did not even know the
name of the place. I asked a few people but they di dnot
know. I went to the wharf and parked my car. Portland
for its size, gets a lot of tourist crowd. I saw a lot of
cars all the way from Connecticut who had driven down for amazing
sea food which Portlans has to offer. I saw J's oyster and I knew it
was the place. Sat down at the bar with Shipyard summer ale
beer which was very refreshing. Shipyard people if you are
reading this, please send me a cheque of $5,000 for promoting
your beer. If police, you are reading this, I had just one beer in one
hour, which is permissible (and if you do not trust me..ha ha , I
am already in Canada). It turned out be a long break a good
one nevertheless. Then the scenery got better and better. I made a few
photographic stops and could not help but curse my luck for
not riding a bike instead. A lot of bikers were out enjoying the
sun and hating the rain. Through my entire drive, I saw the best
of sun and the worst of rains. It waould be raining heavily for about
10 miles slowing me down to permissibel speed limits and then there
will be bright sun out. Left US at 6:30 PM and entered Canada
at 07:30 PM. No its not because it took me an hour to cross the
border, its because I crossed into a new timezone (Atlantic). Hit
Highway 1 and saw a signboard: Maximum Speed 100! Thank god more
liberal Canadian laws. I pushed the throttle and before I could reach
the speed limit, I realised in Canada, they measure like rest of
the world. They use kms. DAMN!!!! The highway was beautiful. It is a two lane highway but had green meadows on both sides which made the drive interesting. Reached safely, at Saint John at 8:00 PM. Checked into my apartment which is really nice. I will upload the pics soon. Updated: June 16 2007 Am I a Gypsy? Sometimes
I feel that I was born a Gypsy who never stayed at a single palce for
too long. When I was three months old, my father moved from Rae bareli
to Delhi and back to Rae Bareli when I was three. I then moved back to
Delhi to stay with with my grandparents and uncles and completed
schooling there. Moved back to Raebareli for a year and then back to
Delhi, this time in a hostel, when I got admitted to DCE. During summer
internship I moved to Mumbai for two months. Continued to stay in Delhi
till 2006 and then came to US for my MBA and now for my summer
internship, I am moving to Canada! I
do have lost cound how many times I have packed my bags, not for a
week but for moving! I hate to do it but then just the joy of seeing a
new place or just going back to my family is is far more than the pain
to pick up tonnes of baggage and figuring out what to leave behind! Packing
is an art. One has to be sure that there are not too many bags to carry
and neither you throw away the things you might regret later. Drawers
never seems to get empty. Things keep popping out of nowhere and I find
things I had lost untill I loose them again. Worst is the papers.
Its hard to keep track of them and as soon as you throw away a paper
you thoguth you did not need anymore, a need for it will arise. |
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