Staying in Bangalore and not visiting Mysore is quite unimaginable, or that is what I thought. I decided to take my friend, who has recently shifted to Bangalore, for a day-trip on Good Friday’s weekend. But the visit to the City of Palace was a little less than a disaster!
Three to four years back, a day trip to Mysore was like visiting a haven for the daily-harassed Bangalorean, with lots of greeneries, lovely locales, and of course the un-missable Mysore Palace and Vrindavan Gardens. But the actual visit to the “must-visit” city took me more by shock than surprise.
We left at 7am and wanted to cover as much as possible in the day. We hired a car with AC, which was the one good decision we took, or else the scorching heat and the excessive sweat would have left us dehydrated to the bone by the end of the day.
The trip started with a whirlwind tour of Srirangapatna, just 20 km before Mysore. We went to the Sriranganathaswamy temple, followed by a visit to the spot where Lord Wellesley found the body of the great Tipu who fell to a bullet from the British soldiers, led on to Sangam, Gol Gombuz, and Meenaxi Temple. These three were at a distance of 2-3 km of each other but what struck us most was, with each stop we took, we had to shell out 20 bucks for parking. Money plays a great role these days, the toll gates, entry fees, extra charges for camera, in fact at Mysore Palace, we noticed that entry fees for foreigners are exactly 10 times to what we are paying!!!
Understandable, India is trying to promote its “incredibility” to it visitors but not to the extent that you literally exploit them. The veil of the age-old welcome feeling India used to give is lifting up. Commercialization is taking a toll on the actual beauty and pleasure of a tour.
“Sir, you have to pay here to enter the mosque”, “Two rupees per person to keep your shoes”, “The charge is 100 rupees to take your still camera in and 200 if you have a video camera”, “Pay 10 rupees for queue-less special entry to the temple”, “Three rupees for you to pose and I’ll click your picture in your camera”! These are some of the sentences we heard throughout the day.
True, maintenance cost is required for all the sites, but aren’t these trusts given enough funds by the tourism department to take care of the relics? The tourists are here to savor the beauty, learn about the lost heritage, relax and be carefree. Instead, it is more of a pain because one has to prepare so much beforehand that the whole anticipation is lost.
I know I digressed from the topic but the frustration was too much to hide. Getting back to Mysore, the first and possibly the tallest church I have ever visited personally, the Philomena’s Church was our first destination. Everything about the structure was grand, including more than 5000 name plaques that have been engraved in the walls of the catacomb. We didn’t enter Mysore Palace because of the sheer swarm of people. Instead we took a walk along the perimeter of the palace and had some of the best views of eagles swooping around the spires of the domes.
Then it was the turn to visit Chamundi Hills, which was quite a peaceful visit with nice views from the temple. On our way to the Vrindavan Gardens, we halted at the Karanji Kere Lake, which is right adjacent to the Mysore Zoo and a paradise with some amazing species of migratory birds. That half-an-hour was probably the most peaceful and quiet time of our whole trip. We had intended to make a half-an-hour trip to the Vrindavan Gardens, which turned out to be an hour due to one-way traffic diversions and of course the heavy traffic. The garden itself didn’t look less than a seasonal fair, a thousand plus cars, no parking area left and a maddening shoveling inside to move around.
I’ll suggest if you are keen to visit Mysore, go on a weekday. And don’t forget to carry cash since we had a tough time searching for an ATM which actually dispensed money.
We finally made our way out and reached home around 12.30 midnight. A journey of 380 km in one day, the heat, and the traffic squeezed out all our energy and we had dozed off even before our heads hit the pillow!
Goat jumps a channel!
Don’t kill me for the weird subject line guys! Well, for those who have already been to this natural wonder might have already guessed the place I am referring to. Mekedatu or goat’s leap is a narrow ravine, which forms a passage for the river Cauvery in its course of journey. Legend has it that in some places, the ravine becomes so narrow that a goat can jump over and cross the gorges, hence the name.
It is 90 odd km from Bangalore and is a great one-day getaway from the city humdrums. You can comfortably leave around 10am and be back by 6pm. After crossing the town of Kanakpura, a left turn directs you towards Sangam and Mekedatu. The road directions will prod you on, and still if you are not sure, there are the locals who will always help you out. Around 35 odd km on this route and you reach a junction which forks out for Sangam (on the right) and Mekedatu (on the left).
The first impression of the place will vary, depending on the season – steaming hot from February till pre-monsoon, with water level up to your knees in the stream, and pleasant weather during monsoon till January, with water up to your waist. The heat is even more intolerable, during monsoon because there are tons of rocks alongside the river with very less shade from the sun. Also, be careful of the idiosyncrasies of rowdy tourists, who will prefer to drink and create a nuisance.
You can trek up to a certain level besides the water body, splash around and get tanned, but the major fun is if you take the bus service which is available on the opposite side of the first stream that you have to cross. Battered, age-old buses, suited for ‘trekking’ purpose only, a distance of around 5km and a charge of 40 bucks will take to as far as the gorge – which again is a treat for the eyes. Another attraction is the varied colors and the contour formation on the rocks, a result of the water flowing in and out of the cavities.
Personally, I haven’t been to Sangam yet but if you leave early enough, you can make it to both the places. I will suggest Sangam first, which is the confluence of Arkavathi and Cauvery rivers, then Mekedatu, simply because the former will be quite a treat to your legs after the sunny trek in Mekedatu, and finally Cauvery Fishing Camp, a fishing haven, if you intend to stay overnight.
I did say that the trip can be made in some 8 hours, but for a longer trip, you can go to all of Chunchi falls, Sangam, and Cauvery Fishing Camp, all in the radius of 10km around Mekedatu. The place to stay is the fishing farms that have jungle resorts. Charges are around Rs. 2,200, a double bed, sufficient for maximum 4 people room.
Well, who doesn’t like a visit a peaceful countryside; listen to the innumerable birds chirping; read a book on a boat with a fishing rod waiting for a fish to take the bait; and of course gaze at a star-filled night. An extra day to your weekend and you can pack a couple of jumpers, a book (that is long awaited to be read) and goggles into your car, and drive off to anonymity! If you are craving for these simple luxuries in life, this destination is perfect for you. Have fun!
It is 90 odd km from Bangalore and is a great one-day getaway from the city humdrums. You can comfortably leave around 10am and be back by 6pm. After crossing the town of Kanakpura, a left turn directs you towards Sangam and Mekedatu. The road directions will prod you on, and still if you are not sure, there are the locals who will always help you out. Around 35 odd km on this route and you reach a junction which forks out for Sangam (on the right) and Mekedatu (on the left).
The first impression of the place will vary, depending on the season – steaming hot from February till pre-monsoon, with water level up to your knees in the stream, and pleasant weather during monsoon till January, with water up to your waist. The heat is even more intolerable, during monsoon because there are tons of rocks alongside the river with very less shade from the sun. Also, be careful of the idiosyncrasies of rowdy tourists, who will prefer to drink and create a nuisance.
You can trek up to a certain level besides the water body, splash around and get tanned, but the major fun is if you take the bus service which is available on the opposite side of the first stream that you have to cross. Battered, age-old buses, suited for ‘trekking’ purpose only, a distance of around 5km and a charge of 40 bucks will take to as far as the gorge – which again is a treat for the eyes. Another attraction is the varied colors and the contour formation on the rocks, a result of the water flowing in and out of the cavities.
Personally, I haven’t been to Sangam yet but if you leave early enough, you can make it to both the places. I will suggest Sangam first, which is the confluence of Arkavathi and Cauvery rivers, then Mekedatu, simply because the former will be quite a treat to your legs after the sunny trek in Mekedatu, and finally Cauvery Fishing Camp, a fishing haven, if you intend to stay overnight.
I did say that the trip can be made in some 8 hours, but for a longer trip, you can go to all of Chunchi falls, Sangam, and Cauvery Fishing Camp, all in the radius of 10km around Mekedatu. The place to stay is the fishing farms that have jungle resorts. Charges are around Rs. 2,200, a double bed, sufficient for maximum 4 people room.
Well, who doesn’t like a visit a peaceful countryside; listen to the innumerable birds chirping; read a book on a boat with a fishing rod waiting for a fish to take the bait; and of course gaze at a star-filled night. An extra day to your weekend and you can pack a couple of jumpers, a book (that is long awaited to be read) and goggles into your car, and drive off to anonymity! If you are craving for these simple luxuries in life, this destination is perfect for you. Have fun!
Just another effect of economic downturn!
Note: The thoughts in this article are from November 2008. Posting it now, updates will follow.
If you are thinking this is another lecture on the current scenario of market going haywire, then you are about 10% correct. With the numerous biggies going bankrupt, the “safe” ones are trying out ways and means to save their asses. There is acute lack of funding, with employees being retrenched at the drop of a hat! The joke is around that says there is a shortfall of pink-slips in the market.
Panic has been over-bearing on the people’s minds. Many companies that were taken over had given the option to the employees to join the acquirer’s firm, which most gladly consented to. But tough luck for the people who were simply asked to leave. They were seen walking out of the office premises with their stuff in boxes. It was a sad trudge towards home with an indefinite tension of getting employed again.
Then again, companies also took this opportune moment to declare no raise for their employees. With top tier management giving up their yearly allowances to save the firm’s financial status, it only seems reasonable and even “justified” that the people give up their raise and just be glad with the fact that they have a job at hand.
Now coming to the point I started writing this article about, there are ongoing team changes that are happening because of sudden hacking of funding from the clients. It does seem very easy for people without jobs. They can always stand up and say, “Monsieur, be glad you still have the option of a monthly bulk of money being transferred to your account.” I agree and empathize with them. This article is not to demean their condition. It is about the self-doubt and dread a person goes through while he/she is being shifted to another team.
One – the doubt (and sometimes the fact) that you weren’t productive and important enough for the team to be selected to move out. It’s like implicitly shattering your morale. Two – before you are absorbed in another team, there is always the bell that rings in your head and says that if there is no requirement, they might as well ask you to leave! Moreover, the receiving end of the employee, as in the team that is going to recruit you, will know for sure that the manager is not going to push his/her best employees to them, so they also will be over-cautious of selecting new members.
By now you must have guessed that it is me who has to shift teams within three months’ of joining a company just because the client has no money to fund the entire team.
As for the flip (read better) side, office life is quite lazy due to this redeployment. With the team to change, there is around 10 hours of productive weekly work currently (the operative word here being ‘productive’)! Can you beat that? My project manager calls it honeymoon period and coaxes me to take full advantage of it.
Frankly, my second job has been a lucky break. I landed with a good hike and great work profile just before the economy touched its nadir. The current situation is that I was on the verge of settling down, getting comfy with my colleagues and starting to interact with people around, when this thing popped up! I’ll have to start all over again, of acquainting myself to the new work and people.
I have a problem, not a drinking one though. Throughout my 25 years of life, I have been very conscious about what others think about me. And by some weird calculations, I figure out if a person is better or worse than me. You know what I mean? Let me try and explain it. I get a fantastic instinct in my gut that ‘voila babes’! This nerd (in both male and female version) is better than me in some respect and ‘kapoot’ – there goes my confidence up the fire-shoot. I stammer a bit, smile a bit and pull through the conversation as smoothly as possible. Trust me; I do it pretty well too.
Of all surprises, guess what people actually think about me with about 3-4 months’ acquaintance! If I tell them I am a worry-head, they shrug it off and say – “You don’t look like one”. Now that comes as a pleasant comment for me, for someone who has heard throughout in life - “Your tension gets us nervous” (my school friends will testify happily).
Anyways, the point I am trying to make here is that the redeployment thing didn’t really help my confidence here but I have been consoling myself saying that it is easy to transfer a new recruit to another process.
To get back to what I started with saying, you can call me plain lucky. As the age-old adage goes – All’s well that ends well. I will be commencing work soon with a similar profile but seemingly better learning. Tons of work and responsibilities is imminent, so I am happy! You can say that all the apprehension bore fruit.
To sum it up, would like to say that my heart reaches out to people who are actually going through terrible nightmares due to job hacking. On my part, it is just another day, with a bit of learning, a bagful of dreams, and a couple of hours of free time in office which allowed me to finish this article.
If you are thinking this is another lecture on the current scenario of market going haywire, then you are about 10% correct. With the numerous biggies going bankrupt, the “safe” ones are trying out ways and means to save their asses. There is acute lack of funding, with employees being retrenched at the drop of a hat! The joke is around that says there is a shortfall of pink-slips in the market.
Panic has been over-bearing on the people’s minds. Many companies that were taken over had given the option to the employees to join the acquirer’s firm, which most gladly consented to. But tough luck for the people who were simply asked to leave. They were seen walking out of the office premises with their stuff in boxes. It was a sad trudge towards home with an indefinite tension of getting employed again.
Then again, companies also took this opportune moment to declare no raise for their employees. With top tier management giving up their yearly allowances to save the firm’s financial status, it only seems reasonable and even “justified” that the people give up their raise and just be glad with the fact that they have a job at hand.
Now coming to the point I started writing this article about, there are ongoing team changes that are happening because of sudden hacking of funding from the clients. It does seem very easy for people without jobs. They can always stand up and say, “Monsieur, be glad you still have the option of a monthly bulk of money being transferred to your account.” I agree and empathize with them. This article is not to demean their condition. It is about the self-doubt and dread a person goes through while he/she is being shifted to another team.
One – the doubt (and sometimes the fact) that you weren’t productive and important enough for the team to be selected to move out. It’s like implicitly shattering your morale. Two – before you are absorbed in another team, there is always the bell that rings in your head and says that if there is no requirement, they might as well ask you to leave! Moreover, the receiving end of the employee, as in the team that is going to recruit you, will know for sure that the manager is not going to push his/her best employees to them, so they also will be over-cautious of selecting new members.
By now you must have guessed that it is me who has to shift teams within three months’ of joining a company just because the client has no money to fund the entire team.
As for the flip (read better) side, office life is quite lazy due to this redeployment. With the team to change, there is around 10 hours of productive weekly work currently (the operative word here being ‘productive’)! Can you beat that? My project manager calls it honeymoon period and coaxes me to take full advantage of it.
Frankly, my second job has been a lucky break. I landed with a good hike and great work profile just before the economy touched its nadir. The current situation is that I was on the verge of settling down, getting comfy with my colleagues and starting to interact with people around, when this thing popped up! I’ll have to start all over again, of acquainting myself to the new work and people.
I have a problem, not a drinking one though. Throughout my 25 years of life, I have been very conscious about what others think about me. And by some weird calculations, I figure out if a person is better or worse than me. You know what I mean? Let me try and explain it. I get a fantastic instinct in my gut that ‘voila babes’! This nerd (in both male and female version) is better than me in some respect and ‘kapoot’ – there goes my confidence up the fire-shoot. I stammer a bit, smile a bit and pull through the conversation as smoothly as possible. Trust me; I do it pretty well too.
Of all surprises, guess what people actually think about me with about 3-4 months’ acquaintance! If I tell them I am a worry-head, they shrug it off and say – “You don’t look like one”. Now that comes as a pleasant comment for me, for someone who has heard throughout in life - “Your tension gets us nervous” (my school friends will testify happily).
Anyways, the point I am trying to make here is that the redeployment thing didn’t really help my confidence here but I have been consoling myself saying that it is easy to transfer a new recruit to another process.
To get back to what I started with saying, you can call me plain lucky. As the age-old adage goes – All’s well that ends well. I will be commencing work soon with a similar profile but seemingly better learning. Tons of work and responsibilities is imminent, so I am happy! You can say that all the apprehension bore fruit.
To sum it up, would like to say that my heart reaches out to people who are actually going through terrible nightmares due to job hacking. On my part, it is just another day, with a bit of learning, a bagful of dreams, and a couple of hours of free time in office which allowed me to finish this article.
A day’s respite – Innovative Film City
“Visit Me”! No, it is not the name of the place I am going to tell you about, but that’s what it conveys when you see the extravagant entry to this humongous fun park outside Bangalore.
Innovative Film City is 40 odd km away from Banerghatta Road. You just need to find your way on to Mysore highway and from there on 25 odd km towards Mysore. Mind you, do not miss the fork which leads you to the park, or else you will end up almost in Mysore. Just keep a look-out for Wonder-la, Film City’s fork is around 7 km after that on the left and another 2 km once you are on the forked out road.
The highway is a driver’s paradise, sit back and step on the accelerator, but do drive safe. If you take the toll-road from Banerghatta to reach Mysore road, it is even better. It will also be fun to ride your bike to the park, simply because of the windy and lesser polluted roads.
The entry gate has some sculptures of European architecture, and with the pictures of the amusements painted on it, it gives a very presentable welcome to the visitors. The fun part is you can spend one whole day here!
Innovative was inaugurated in 2007, in the lines of Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. I haven’t visited the latter but was quite content with the Bangalore version of it. But whenever you go, you need to have a fun-loving and adventurous buddy group to accompany you. Or else there is nothing exciting to just look around, unless of course if you would like to window-shop several kilometers away from the city!
The place itself is ensconced in the middle of hills and is a lovely getaway from city humdrums. Some of the must-see stuffs here are – Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Mirror Maze, and 4-D cinema in Fun City. The rest of the attractions depend on your time and budget. There is Tussaud’s museum, Roller Skating, Dinosaur Park, Cartoon City, Aqua World, the gaming consoles at Fun City, horse riding, Karaoke, Kid’s World, and etcetera. As per recent news, Charlie Chaplin’s 67 feet sculpture is also going to be set up in this park. The entry fees is 50 bucks and each ride ranges from 50-100 bucks. If you want a package for all the attractions combined, it will be 699 bucks.
One more thing that really excited me was the Stallion restaurant in Wild Wild West. The place is set in a huge compound and they have very nicely replicated the cowboy environment, complete with sand and hovels set in their style. The Mexican food here is not exorbitantly costly, so you can sit back and have a nice time inside the restaurant or take your food while sitting outside underneath the king-size cowboy hats! There are other choices of eateries in Innovative Film City, catering to different palates.
The place is still under construction. There are quite a few buildings and rides which are coming up. But these don’t hinder you from having fun. The place is pretty organized and clean. If you plan a trip on a sunny day, be sure to keep a hat on or lots of sunscreen (message for the girls, of course!).
So what are you waiting for? Enjoy a lovely outing!
Speed Mania
Scrrrreeecchhhh........dharrrr... karannnnngggg... jhaannnnn... and hence follows a gush of swears and curses, some of which you may not know of also but will pick up at the next incident...
I am sure you know by now what I am talking about...
Traffic these days is malicious, and traffic signals are like R.K. Narayan's story, "Martyr's Corner". A smart swivel of the biker, a practiced swerve of the car driver, the bullies of truck drivers who claim the road to be theirs, the Volvo buses who take for granted that they have the right of way, not to mention the drivers of state buses and the auto rickshaws who were never taught traffic rules (or rather they prefer the bliss in ignorance).
Minor road accidents have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. Everyone wants to think, "I’m the best" and the rest just goof up!! Maybe they bring along frustrations from home and office too, which they gladly inflict on the passer-by, who might have just managed to scrape past him.
What with the kind of soot and black smoke that some of the vehicles emit, it’s a wonder that they may possess a PUC!!
Then there are the vulnerable pedestrians who really don't care to wait for the green signal for them to walk. The constant movement of the vehicles has made them loose their road sense too. They are buffaloes impersonated!! A lazy gait, a cell phone attached to one ear, they cross the road, completely oblivious to the angry honks. The walk kind of says, "Wait dude, I need to cross first!"
Accidents have become inevitable and common-place, what with the high volume of vehicles just managing to fit in the roads. Solution, I see none. A bit more patience and empathy towards others sounds plausible but life's become too fast to retain our humaneness.
And the saga of speed mania continues....
I am sure you know by now what I am talking about...
Traffic these days is malicious, and traffic signals are like R.K. Narayan's story, "Martyr's Corner". A smart swivel of the biker, a practiced swerve of the car driver, the bullies of truck drivers who claim the road to be theirs, the Volvo buses who take for granted that they have the right of way, not to mention the drivers of state buses and the auto rickshaws who were never taught traffic rules (or rather they prefer the bliss in ignorance).
Minor road accidents have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. Everyone wants to think, "I’m the best" and the rest just goof up!! Maybe they bring along frustrations from home and office too, which they gladly inflict on the passer-by, who might have just managed to scrape past him.
What with the kind of soot and black smoke that some of the vehicles emit, it’s a wonder that they may possess a PUC!!
Then there are the vulnerable pedestrians who really don't care to wait for the green signal for them to walk. The constant movement of the vehicles has made them loose their road sense too. They are buffaloes impersonated!! A lazy gait, a cell phone attached to one ear, they cross the road, completely oblivious to the angry honks. The walk kind of says, "Wait dude, I need to cross first!"
Accidents have become inevitable and common-place, what with the high volume of vehicles just managing to fit in the roads. Solution, I see none. A bit more patience and empathy towards others sounds plausible but life's become too fast to retain our humaneness.
And the saga of speed mania continues....
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