Computer Hardware in Plain English

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Investing Money in Plain English - A common craft video

Risk Mitigation

Risk mitigation actions reduce the chance that a risk will be realized and/or reduce the seriousness of a risk that is realized. The costs of these actions should be identified as part of the EVALUATION activities. There are two broad types of risk mitigation or treatment activities:

• Preventative - planned actions to reduce the LIKELIHOOD a risk will occur and the SERIOUSNESS if it does occur. In other words, what can be done now? For example, if a risk were identified that the project’s major clients will not have the technical expertise to utilize adequately the technology the project is implementing, an appropriate preventative action would be to provide technical training. Preventative actions for Grades A and B risks should be implemented before the project progresses very far into the MANAGE Phase.
• Contingency - planned actions to reduce the SERIOUSNESS of the risk if it does occur. In other words, what should be done if? For example, a possible action in response to the previous risk might be that ongoing technical support and advice is provided to the client organization once the technology is implemented.

Risk mitigation actions should be cost efficient and effective in that they help reduce the risk exposure of the project. Conscious decisions need to be made regarding the wearing or transferring of certain risks as opposed to the costs of mitigation.

For serious risks, an extremely effective risk mitigation strategy can be justified more easily in terms of its cost. Mitigation strategies to reduce the likelihood and seriousness of risks should be built into the budget and activities of the project. Mitigation strategies should be measured, comparing cost and benefits.

RECOVERY actions are those subsequent actions that allow you to move on after a risk has occurred. They include management of residual risks. Hopefully, the seriousness of a risk’s impact on the project will have been reduced due to the planned contingencies being implemented. These recovery actions should be built into the work breakdown structure for the project. In other words - what should be done and when.

Reference: Tasmanian Government Project Management Guidelines Version 6.0

Road skills Hyderabadi must have

• Drive 4 wheelers like 4 wheelers and not like 2-wheelers. Most of the RTC buses are driven like 2-wheelers, specially in the Kukatpally route.
  
• While driving at night use normal headlight mode and not high –beam mode. Guys you need to understand that driving in high-beam mode is dangerous not only for the person who is driving in the opposite direction but also you.
  
• While crossing roads, use zebra crossing (this is applicable throughout India). In case you are not doing that, atleast develop a sense of understanding the problem driver faces in case you jump right in front of him while attempting to cross the road. Andhra Pradesh is one of the states in India with very high number of road accidents.
• And finally, follow traffic rule, at least the basic ones ( stop at red light, don't race on roads..etc)

Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager

• Inspires a Shared Vision
• Good Communicator
• Ability to Delegate Tasks
• Problem Solving Skills
• Integrity
• Enthusiasm
• Empathy
• Competence
• Team-Building Skills
• Cool Under Pressure

This list was compiled after surfing through the Internet.

Channel Created on Google SMS Channels. This is a test post.

Powerpoint - best practice by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki' n addition to being a good author/blogger, was one of the very early Apple employees and more recently has been a venture investor. At Garage (http://www.garage.com/), probably he has seen countless Powerpoint presentations. Presumably because he is tired of seeing poor Powerpoint presentations, he spends many pages in his book, Art of The Start talking about Powerpoint best practices.

His mantra is that Powerpoint should follow a 10/20/30 Rule (check out The Art of Pitching section in the book). There should be no more than 10 slides in the presentation as very few people take away much more than one concept from a presentation, so all that other stuff is extra. The slide presentation should be designed to last 20 minutes, leaving room for ample questions between slides or after the presentation. He says the font should be size should be no smaller than 30 (Arial font). Guy says that audiences read faster than you can talk, so that while you are up there talking, they are trying to read your slides and not listening to what you are saying.

He says that there are something like 60 animation features within Powerpoint and he recommends the less use of it the better. His advice is to use your voice & body to emphasize when a point is important, not some fancy Powerpoint trick. The only place he recommends using any of this is in going through bullet points on a slide, presumably to avoid having people read ahead. Speaking of bullets, Guy suggests that bulleted slides should have one point with bullets and only one layer of bullets (lest you violate the 30 part of 10/20/30).

Warangal Fort

Warangal Fort
Originally uploaded by Anandarup

The Ruins of a majestic fort

Warangal Trip

Last Saturday we planned for one day Warangal Trip from Hyderabad. The route we choosed was Bhongir Fort, Yadagirigutta, Kolanpaka, Warangal, Palampet and back. The driver was horrible, had no idea about the route and couldn't speak Hindi. So, we kept asking local people as we travelled.

The first stop was Simhadri temple near Yadagirigutta. After darshan we drove to Yadagirigutta Temple. Yadagirigutta is a popular of Narasimha 

Swamy situated on a hillock. Yadagirigutta is about 60km from Hyderabad.

In Tretayugam, there lived a sage by the name of Yadarishi, son of the great sage Rishyasrunga and Santa Devi who did penance inside a cave with the blessings of Anjaneya (Hanuman) on this hill between Bhongir (Bhuvanagiri) and Raigiri (Now in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh). Pleased with his deep devotion, Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu appeared before him in five different forms as Jwala, Yogananda, Gandabherunda, Ugra and Lakshminarasimha. They later manifested themselves into finely sculpted forms that later came to be worshiped as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram.

There are Purana and traditional accounts of this Shrine, which are widely popular among the devotees. There is mention about the origin of this temple in the Skanda Purana, one of the famous 18 puranas.

Glowing bright atop the sikharam of garbha griha (Sanctum Sanctorum) of this cave temple is the golden Sudarshana Chakra (about 3 ft x 3ft) of Lord Vishnu (whose reincarnation is Lord Narasimha), the adornment as well as the weapon is a symbol this temple is identified by from as far away as 6 km. It is said that many years ago the chakra moved in the direction from which the devotees came as if like a compass guiding them towards the temple.

Lord Narasimha is believed to have been worshiped by sages (rishis). The region of  Yadagirigutta is reputed to be a "Rishi Aradhana Kshetram" or the place of worship for sages.

As the belief goes, Lord Narasimha has taken on the role of a "doctor" and is known as "Vaidya Narasimha" by his devotees at this shrine to cure many chronic diseases and the role of a 'do gooder' to those who are under the influence of bad planets, witch craft and black magic. Many instances are cited of the Lord appearing in the dreams of the devotees, and administering medicines and operated the patients and blessed them with good health. Many devotees tell of vivid dreams in which the Lord comes to heal them from chronic or terminal illnesses, and even mental or emotional problems. A mandala (40 day) pradakshina is very popular made by many devotees to get cured of a long standing ailment or chronic disease. Often, the Lord Himself has imparted mantrOpadEsham to select devotees in their dreams.

Another Legend also has it that Sriman Narayana, pleased with Yada's penance, sent Sri Anjaneya to direct the rishi to a holy spot, where the Lord appeared to him in the form of Sri

 LakshmiNarasimha. This spot is marked by a temple located at the foot of the Yadagiri hillock, and is located about 5 km from the present temple. There the sage worshiped the Lord for many years.

After Yadarishi attained moksha, a number of tribals, hearing of the Lord's presence, came to worship Him at this temple. But, not being very learned, these devotees began to engage in improper worship. Because of this, Sri LakshmiNarasimha moved into to the hills. The tribals searched for many years to find their Lord, to no avail.

After many years had passed, the Lord appeared in the dream of a devout lady among the tribe, directing her to a large cavern wherein He revealed Himself to all as five majestic Avatars.

The Aradhanam and Puja in this temple are performed according to Pancharatra Agamam. The puja vidhanam (Puja procedure) was set by Late Sri Vangeepuram Narasimhacharyulu who composed Yadagiri Suprabhatam, Prapatti, Stotram, Mangalashasanam and served as Sthanacharya of this temple.

It took around 2 hrs for darshan. After darshan we drove straight to Warangal. For more information on Yadagirigutta temple visit http://www.yadagirigutta.in/

The first stop was 1000 pillar temple. This temple is one of the finest examples of Kakatiya architecture and a testimony to the Vishwakarma Brahmin's excellence in sculpture. Built by Rudra Deva built in 1163 in the style of Chalukyan temple art, it is star shaped and triple shrined.

Image 2: Nandi bull at 1000 pillar temple

Recently, when the archeological department was conducting excavations, they found a water well below the kalyanamandapam, which leads to the conclusion that the foundation of this wonderful structure was built on water.

The marvelous structure was destroyed by the invaders. The temple had idols of 3 Gods, Shiva, Surya and Vishnu. The invaders stole Surya and Vishnu idols. The Shiva idol is still there. And people workship Shiva in the temple. The ASI needs to be more proactive in keeping the structure. Locals charge Rs 20 for parking the car, where as there is no entry fee to enter the site.

From 1000 pillar temple we drove to Bhadra Kali temple. Situated on a hilltop between Hanamakonda and Warangal, it is noted for its stone image of the Goddess Kali. The temple is located on the banks of the "Bhadrakali" Cheruvu (lake).

Our next destination was Warangal Fort or Kila Warangal. 

You need to drive through the bazaar and cross the railway line. The fort is approximately 2 km from the station. Warangal fort dates back to the 12th and 13th century.

Image 3: 

Remains of Fort Warangal

The fort was mostly destroyed by invaders and only the ruins can now be seen. The fort had three protective walls, remnants of which can still be seen today. The first is a mud wall that stands today up to about 20 feet high and several kilometers in circumference, encircling the fort. The second is a wall made of granite rock. The fort has four famous stone gateways, about 30 feet high and still standing, a masterpiece carved from a single rock. They are called Kirti Toranas (gateways of glory) of the Kakatiyas. Another masterpiece from the Kakatiyas. Something else was waiting for me. The Ramappa Temple.

Ramappa Temple also known as Ramalingeswara Temple, is situated in Palampet village, 70 km from Warangal. This is a beautiful monument dating back to 1213 A.D. It displays the glory and richness of the Kakatiya kingdom and is one of the finest specimens of Hindu temple architecture of the time. This medieval temple is a Shivalaya and named after the sculptor Ramappa, a Vishwakarma Brahmin Sthapathi of Karnataka State, who built it rather that after its presiding deity, Ramalingeswara, perhaps to accent Shiva's importance as the personal god of the avatar of Vishnu, Rama. The history says that it was taken 40 years to built this temple.

Image 4: Ramappa Temple

This beautiful temple, an example of brilliant Kakatiya dynasty art, planned and sculpted by Vishwakarma Brahmin Sthapathis was built on the classical pattern of being lifted above the world on a high star-shaped platform. Intricate carvings line the walls and cover the pillars and ceilings. Starting at its base to its wall panels, pillars and ceiling are sculpted figures drawn from Hindu mythology. The roof of the temple is built with bricks, which are so light that they are able to float on water.

The hall in front of the sanctum is filled with exquisitely carved pillars that are placed as to combine light and space wonderfully with the finely chiselled walls and ceiling. There are two small Shiva shrines on either side of the main temple that are completely ruined. The enormous Nandi within, facing the shrine of Shiva, remains in good condition. In most of the shiva temples, the Nandi was strait to deity but in the temples built by Kakatiyas the Nandi is in a alert position and waiting for the order of lord Shiva.

For more images visit my site on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/anandarup/

All India Festival of Arts and Crafts at Shilparamam

Dasami

Metrics vs. Matrix

The words Metrics and Matrix cause confusion, as they sound similar. So, what’s the difference between them?

Metrics:

Metric is a measurement.

Product Quality Metrics describe the characteristics (i.e. Size, complexity, performance Quality level of the product). For example:

• Mean time to failure
• Defect density
• Customer Problems
• Customer Satisfaction
• Defect Removal Efficiency

Matrix:

Matrix is a data representation and data collection mechanism. Then we use collected data to derive metrics. For example:

• Requirements Traceability Matrix
• Functional Traceability Matrix
• Test Matrix

Hyderabad...
(as on Sunday morning.. after receiving 20 cm rainfall in last 24 hrs)



Image courtesy: Times of India

A mori bangla basha..

boomp3.com

Songs by Dadathakur (Sharat Chandra Pandit)

Golconda Fort (through some pictures)






To check out more fort pictures visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/anandarup/

PC vs. Mac. vs. Linux

Mac vs PC

This is what is going to happen to all of us eventually!

Petrol is cheaper

Petrol is cheaper than the Coca Cola you drink. It is not just petrol; most liquids that you daily use are more expensive than vehicle fuels. Here are the latest figures to compare.

Diesel (regular) in Mumbai : Rs.39.08 per litre
Petrol (speed) in Mumbai : Rs.57 per litre
Coca Cola 330 ml can : Rs.20 = Rs.61 per litre
Dettol antiseptic 100 ml Rs.20 = Rs.200 per litre
Radiator coolant 500 ml Rs.160 = Rs.320 per litre
Pantene conditioner 400 ml Rs..165 = Rs.413 per litre
Medicinal mouthwash like Listerine 100 ml Rs.45 = Rs. 450 per litre
Red Bull 150 ml can : Rs.75 = Rs.500 per litre
Corex cough syrup 100 ml Rs.57 = Rs. 570 per litre
Evian water 500 ml Rs. 330 = Rs. 660 per litre. Rs. 500 for a litre of WATER???!!! And the buyers don't even know the source (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)
Kores whiteout 15 ml Rs. 15 = Rs. 1000 per litre
Cup of coffee at any decent business hotel 150 ml Rs. 175 = Rs. 1167 per litre
Old Spice after shave lotion 100 ml Rs. 175 = Rs. 1750 per litre
Pure almond oil 25 ml Rs. 68 = Rs. 2720 per litre

And this is the REAL KICKER...
HP Deskjet colour ink cartridge 21 ml Rs.1900 = Rs. 90476 per litre!!!

For more details check out http://hyderabadunplug.com/

Switch off your lights from 19:30 to 20:30 hrs on May 3, 2008. Save power, save earth...

Batti Bandh - Hyderabad

Retail - Cheating

I shopped at Music World / Books & Beyond (Kukatpally, Hyderabad) today. I paid by card, and the cashier swaped Rs. 473 without even asking. I never expected this kind of cheating practiced by RPG group.

This is a common practice in Hyderabad. All the retail stores are into such practice. Even when you pay by card, they dont bother to charge the right amount. Beware.. .you are being cheated.

@ The V

We have shifted to The V yesterday. It was a grand opening. Well...... I would say grand opening for a grand office. Everything is grand here. I hope to spend a grand time too. Lets see.

Road to Bapatla

From the AP Tourism Guest house I walked with mom for 2 Km. This is the video on that. You can see what we experienced in that 2 km. Nice one. Enjoy..

Note: The video was taken on 23 Dec, from my mobile phone.

Keep the change. Are Indian banks listening?

Bank of America's new Keep the Change program.

Everytime you buy something with your debit card, Bank of America rounds it up to the nearest dollar and deposits the change into a savings account for you. For the first three months, they'll match your savings 100%.

Sometimes, powerful innovation is based in the simplest of ideas. This is so tempting, I may change banks. Check out this link for Keep the Change program.

Portable Video Player

After going though some online research, I landed up buying Nexus MP4 player yesterday. Tested the product for 4~ 5 hrs. And the result.. good product man.
The product is packaged with the player (with 2" screen), and easy navigable buttons, usb charger cum data transfer cord, earphone, case, CD-ROM, and a manual. The product requires Windows Media player 10 or 11 for data transfer.
The CD comes with a software, which converts nearly any video format to the players format. Till now, I have converted mov, divx, flv, mp4, real video, asf, dat... (the list is quite long). The video format that the player uses is Xvid.
The player supports album art. Beside its got FM radio, picture viewer, txt options.. and couple of things. Its got a linux operating system, built in. Costs (INR) Rs. 6999.

I would rate the product very good. If not excellent at this stage.

So, guys am ready to watch.. कजरा रे , बीडी जलाई ले , video killed the radio starts.. and whole lot of things on the move..

A song written in late 50's Sheldon Harnick during the cold war, is so significant in todays world. Listen to it, you will understand yourself.

Big Flicks

Reliance is getting everywhere in the Indian family. Started off with clothing, then to mobile, landline, broadband, agro food sector and now their latest venture movie rentals.
I got a membership for 3 months. Costs Rs. 650. And I can borrow 1 DVD /VCD at a time, and can watch n number of movies a day. The best is they give only original prints, so no piracy. The funniest part it, they also stock loads of Regional movies. I never expected them to stock Bengali movies. Wonderful.

You can check out at www.bigflicks.com for a store near your home.

Om Shanti Om

Went for O-S-O at Imax complex Prasadz. After a long time, a good weekend bollywood feature. A feature which can be kept in personal collection for watching quite often. Good comedy, an perfect timing. Deepika was awesome. By now she will have thousands of fan followers (you can count me in too). I would say a must watch movie.

Unfortunately, experience at Prasadz was not so pleasant. They didn't allow parking inside their premises. Instead I had to park it outside the movie complex (also managed by them) and was charged Rs. 5 for that. Next, the show was as 10:30 am, and they allowed us to enter the complex only at 10:15 am. Prasadz has lot of other shops beside the screens. Top of that, 3 levels of security checking including 1 level of frisking. Too much man. Next, time I would think twice before going to Prasadz. PVR will be a better experience.

Booked rail tickets.

For the first time I booked rail tickets online (www.irtc.co.in). The tickets are supposed to be delivered (this case my office address) in a day or two. Lets see. If it works, then another prompt service by the Government..

Life at last.

I had a 3 day holiday for deepawali. And the bad news was, my phone was dead, so was the broadband. Reliance was closed for 3 days. Yesterday, the reliance technician came. He said "Sir, cable melt हो गिया। ". For me, it was like what the hell. He was good enough to change the cable promptly, and get my computer back to life. Thank you reliance once again.

TataSky

Got the Tata Sky installed on my television. I must admit the picture is superb. Truely, speaking I had no idea that, my Sony TV have great picture quality. The guys, came on time, and showed true customer management skills.
The first two months is free. Lets see how the service is. इसको लागा डाला टोह life झिन्गालाला ।

Thanks Honda...

My Dio was giving me lot of starting trouble after I got it serviced. Yesterday, I had sent an online feedback about the service to Honda India guys. Like most of the Indian companies, I didn't expect a response. But Honda did prove me wrong. They not only called me (the first call was from Delhi, then from Bangalore and then from Hyderabad..the dealer himself), and I got the problem rectified in 1 hr. They didn't charge me a penny. Wonderful job Honda. बहुत सुक्रिया।

বাংলায় ব্লগ করা.....

এই প্রথম বার বাংলায় লিখছী. হোয়েটো প্রচুর বানান ভুল হবে.. তাও..লিখতে ভালো লাগছে..

Only one problem, the fonts are not rendered correctly। Use http://quillpad।in/ for Indian languages

हिंदी में ....

पहेले बार हिंदी में ब्लोग कर रह हु। जुग जुग जियो गूगल।

Am mama....

Today, is a wonderful day for me. I became mama. Can't believe my own little sister became mother. The most beautiful day, in her life.
The confusion starts now. She have a little baby boy.. and what do we name him. Being in south, and today being a very holy day (for me every holiday is a holy day), the day got to do with the birth star of Lord Venketeshwara or lord Balaji as he is poplarly know out here. So, I suggested mom why not name him as Venketeshwara Balaji Mitra. We can then follow the modern trend, and call him Venkei Bala Mitra. Lets see how his parents react.

Movie and the blast.....

I went for Ratatouille, a movie I awaited for last 6 months, today. Saturday being a holiday for me, I did choose the 18:15 show, at city's best multiplex Prasadz. So, prepared for the movie, I started bit early from home, as the clouds where rumbling.. and grumbling. With my Dio, battling the rain, I went straight to the theaters.. well 1 hr in advance. Got, my web ticket exchanged with the actual ticket.... after having the corn (well a cup of corn costs Rs.35/-.. that's quite an amount) went in for the movie.
It started with a Pixar short film.. well... Pixar.. Apple always excites me.. you can say.. a die hard fan of both..
Ratatouille.. well.. one of the best animated movies I have ever watched. It's seemlessly perfect..
The show ended, at 20:00 hrs.. and as we were coming out.. the complex where filled up with all the Khaki men.. I mean the policemen. They looked serious, and asked us to vacate the place immediately.. as there was a bomb threat.. and the whole area was sealed off. People were rushing. I calmly walked out of the main hall went to the parking place with my girl, took my Dio, and was out in a flash. After I came out.. I found that there was a blast at Lumbini park. Well, the park is probably 300 mts from the complex. So,........ well. .. i came back home, switched on the TV and say.. there where 2 blasts in the city, one at Lumbini park and the other at Gokul Chat Bhandar (@ Koti).
So, a day with a wonderful movie and then blasts... I don't know what to say. I pray, this shouldn't happen again, anywhere in the world.

Bohemia

Went to the new restaurant at Magna (Banjara Hills, road No 12). They got some exotic dishes.. really mouthwatering.
Unfortunately, you need to wait for 45 mins for the food. That's too much. But if you love exotic, Mexican, Spanish, French food.. you must visit it.

The photograph at last

Nearly after 2 months got some one to click my picture with Dio.
The image is taken with Sony w710i. This is near Bharatnagar bridge.

Durgam Cheruvu

Today I went to Durgam Cheruvu or Secret Lake. Its situated behind the Hi-Tech City. A wonderful place. Its 40km to and fro from my house. Took some picture with my mobile, take a look.

In front of the Lake...













The Lake..













Another view of the lake....













A small foot bridge over the lake.....













A paddle boat on shore...

Its raining again..

After a long gap of nearly 2 weeks, it started raining from yesterday night. As, the saying goes........ it was raining cats and dogs. I dunno, how many cats and dogs it rained, but was quite extensive. Now, its cool. Hope the rain eventually stops.. as I need to go out.

Got the number

On Friday I got the number for my bike. Went to RTO office Attapur as usual. They said either come on Monday or pay up some special money and collect your Registration Card now. I felt its wiser to pay the special money, as I was travelling 80 km to and fro for the registration. Special money.......... and the card was in my hand. So, total cost Rs. 160 + Rs. 100 (special money) = Rs. 260. Still less than Rs. 600.

All for registration..

The dealer had charged me Rs.600 for the registration, so I had decided to do it my self. Went to the RTO office at Attapur with a local guy paid for the registration. I paid Rs. 160 only. Thats what the goverment charges. Then they asked me to go to Kondapur for an inspection. Now, that was too much. The distance between the registration and inspection office is 40 km. Phew!!. I was asked to come on Friday.

Xpreience....

I have been riding Honda Dio for past 3 days, I would say its a great bike. Good riding pleasure. The only problem is starting the bike early morning.
I think I made a right decision by not going for Bajaj Krystal.

Honda Dio

Got a Honda Dio today. The best thing is I had no idea to ride a 2 wheeler. And I learnt it in just... 3 mins.... cool........

Monsoon
At last the monsoon has set in. Yesterday, night it rained heavily. So not so hot now. Still have overcast skies.

We have an open space dinner today. Hope it dosen't get spoiled in the rain.

Am "roasted"

Man its too hot here.. temp more than 40 degree centigrade. I feel that am roasted..

A descent net connection at last. I could do away with the Sify Boradband..(the so called broadband.. this month it was down for 22 days.. bloody Satyam.... the biggest theives if the country). At last Mr. Anil Ambani came to my rescue with Reliance BroadNet. Till now am happy with my 150 kbps unlimited connection.. Keep it up Mr. Ambani..

Website

Am not getting time to update.. the website.... Hope i get time soon.

Something... happening....

In a weeks time something new soon going to happen.. praying for it hard..

Holi kaab hai?

Holi kaab hai? Kaab hai holi ? There is still lot of confusion.. is it tomorrow or on sunday..

Nice day

Today was really great. Lot of things happened. Am really happy...

HNY

Wish you all a very happy new year.....

Wonderful Day..

Yesterday was one of the best days in my life in Hyderabad. I found a true friend. someone on whom I can depend upon. Someone..

Waiting.........

Deepawali..

Happy deepawali.. its said that on this day Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana..hence the Ayodhya baasi put up lamps to light up the whole city. Well.. well things have changed now.. here we do celebrate.. deepawali.. but unlikely with deep.. Out here in Hyderabad its hell.. crackers ..crackers.. and crackers.. defeaning.. God knows when will people understand.. that the festival is of light and not of sound..

Great man to work with

Today was my 5th day in office after returning back from my holidays. Working with Dr. Balu (Dr. V Balasubramanayam) was always pleasing. Everytime he explains a lecture.. its wonderful. Today was on Spinal Chord. Hats off to him. His effort to explain a complex medical topic to non-medical people like us.. great.. simple great..

Back to Hyderabad

What a horrible journey. The APSRTC Volvo bus journey was horrible, they probably gave their wrost bus with a driver of similar kind.No shock absorbers.. The driver refused to traved on KBPH route from MG bus stand. All the passengers where supposed to travel on KBPH route. After much arguments, me got a Hi-Tech bus arranged for us from MG bus stand.

Anyways back home..

Last day at Bangalore....

The Bangalore trip was quite relaxing.Re-charged my energies. Will be boarding my bus tonight. Back to Hyderabad tomorrow morning.

Nabami, at Bangalore

.........At last reached bangalore. The APSRTC Volvo (Garuda) bus was wonderful. Probably a new bus. Everything was great, except my co-passenger. Man he was snoaring like hell. The whole bus was awake.
Visited MG Road, hopped around some puja pandals.

Asthami

Am off to Bangalore..oops.. Bangaluru..for a week, for post-puja vacation. Will meet my folks (they have already reached Bangaluru..and waiting for me.. eagerly). Will be travelling from Hyderabad in Garuda (Volvo), lets see how comfortable these buses are...

Well wish you all a Happy Asthami..

Orkut & Flickr

I have joined www.orkut.com and www.flickr.com recently. At orkut found few lost friends..and added some.. while at flickr am posting my photographs. In case you join the forums.. then add me as your friend.

Ohh God its raining again

Hyderabadi's have never experienced rain like this. Its raining continously for 3 ~ 4 days. This is too much man...

iPod

Apple say's

120 million songs, a millon different ways

.. that's whay iPod Shuffle is all about. Its really mindblowing.

Got the device few days back..I can stay without it...

Srisailam Tour
(May 27 ~ 28, 2006)

Went with Ravi to Srisailam, for a short trip. Started on Saturday around 16:00 hrs from Hyderabad, and returned back to the city on Sunday around 18:00 hrs.

Srisailam, is a Siva Shrine situated on a flat top of the Nallamalai Hills in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Its is on the right side of the river Krishna at an altitude of 476 m above the sea level.

Back to Hyderabad

Well the marriage was enjoyable.. everything went fine.. I really enjoyed a lot.. the best part was.. everyone was enjoying.. the food was good..

The return journey from Kolkata.. was quite boring... the train reached 2 hrs late..

Pre-marriage day...

Visited Anindya's house.. it for his marriage I am here in Kolkata. I was really excited.. it was amazing to see a friend with whom you have grown up.. ( i know him for last 16 years.. wow..thats quite long).. getting married..

The gaye holud part was the most exciting part.. this is where people put haldi (tumeric) on groom's face.. quite torchorous.. though.. i was enjoying clicking Anindya.. in that position..and saved myself..considerabely from getting "yellow"..to a certain extent..

Tomorrow is the D-day.. have to take nice videos.. lets see what happens..

Welcome to Kolkata

I boarded the train yesterday.. Faluknama Express.. being a superfast train you expect it to reach on time. To my surprise the train was running 40 mins ahead scheduled time. And when it reached outskirts of Howrah station, I was thrilled, that the train was ahead of time. Unfortunately, they stopped the train just before the platform and we were waiting....waiting.. and waiting...40 mins. passed.. so now the train was on right time.. and still it was not moving.. we waited further.. and .. at last when the train entered the platform .. it was 9:45pm, 20 mins behind schedule.. OOh what a welcome...

I was carrying lot of luggage..struggled.. and reached the taxi line at Howrah station.. the taxies were queued up as ususal.. (one of the most common sight at the station) .. suddenly I realised.. those fellows where on strike... oooh..God.. so, had to carry those luggage to anothere taxi line (pre-paid) which was fortunately working. By the time I got in the taxi it was 10:05 pm... and my parents calling me up.. asking me excitidely where I am.. how close to the house... From Howrah station to the Howrah bridge is hardly 3 mins driveway...and when there is a rush, you expect to reach the bridge in 6 mins.. the luck was not with me.. so it took 40 mins.. flat.. the reason.. the traffic police not in position.. probably working on election duty.. great.. what a welcome.. to your beloved city...

Airtel a company for married people.

I had applied for Airtel broadband connection last weekend. Well you know why Airtel.. coz i am bit crazy about them. They promised that the connection will be availabe from Monday (13th feb). It was not so. I was provided the application number, billing cycle, and telephone numberSo I visited them today afternoon. Unfortunately they came up with various excuses. First they said the address verification is not done, then they said.. its worng.. and the last thing they said its not for Bachelors.. By god, i have never heard such crazy thing, in my whole life. Not for bachelors. Its my appeal to all the readers.. do remember that Airtel is only for married guys..

First Week

One whole week of 2006 is gone. My appartment in Hyderabad, is now all set up to welcome my folks. Quite decked up. Hyderabad is also getting hot..day by day. I feel like roasted chicken in the afternoon, when I go for my lunch. After mid-night its too cold. Man what a bad climate. Too bad.

The PBD (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas) just got over. Lot of VIP and NRI visited Hyderabad. The city looked like hell for the commoner's like us. Traffic jam.. traffic diversion...Well.. its India man.. cant help. This will go on till the month end. I think Indian govermnet should develop an Event City.. a city where all the VIP events should be held... man too much.

Back from Kolkata

Titir's marriage was fantastic.. really enjoyed it.. everything went well... me cambe back to Hyderabad today... trying to set in..

Saptami...the 7th day..

Today is the seventh day of Durga Pujo. Me going to Indira Park , in Hyderabad to have a look at the pujo.

Have a look at some of the idols (pratima).

Puja Approaching....

Hie folks its pooja time again. 3rd October is Mahalaya.. and after one week is the puja. This time will celebrate it at Hyderabad... happy puja to u all out there....

ExaminationI always kept pondering if IGNOU was as bad as people told me. My recent experience revealed it to be true. I was in Kolkata for the MCA viva, organised by the Regional Center. The external exainar is supposed to be some 'professor' from 'reputed university'.Let me describe the scenario.

As I enter the viva room, I see the 'professor' sitting in the room, with all our project reports stacked on the table beside him. He speaks in local bengali, and asks me to find my project report. Then he asks me to read aloud my enrolment number, my project report number and my porject name. After which he drops the report on the floor. Daam! Didnt even bother to read it once. My 12 months hard work.. developing an animation production software gone down the drain.

I prepare myself to face the first question. He asks his question. "Koto diye project ta kinecho?" ("How much did you spend to buy the project?"). God is this why I came down all the way from Hyderabad to appear in the viva ? Polietly I replied, " Kinini sir, nije baniyechi." ("Didn't buy it sir, developed it myself"). He was just not satisfied with the answer. He kept on telling that I bought it , and I kept on denying it. This really made me angry. Then when he saw that I was not accepting his view he went ahead with his next question. "MCA kore ki hobe, chakri toh aar pabe na. Ki bolo ?" ("What's the use of studying MCA, you wont get any job".). Again, I replied that I was already working. I kept on thinking from which planet he is . Has got no idea about computer science, no knowlegde and conducting the viva. God, am working as a production manager, providing consultanc in Hyderabad. What is this?

And that 'professor' kept on asking me such dump, stupid questions. At the end of the viva, he concluded that I really dont have any knowledge and signed off.

So, is this what our goverment wants. Mockery. Enjoying playing with students. We have a rocket scientist as our President, an economist as our Prime Minister. At the end a common Indian like me would like to ask can incidents make me say "Mera bharat mahan" ("India is great") ?

Visitng Kolkata

I will be on a days visit to Kolkata on 4th September. Will travel to and fro by train. Will be back in Hyderabad on 6th morning.
I will be boarding Faluknana today evening.

New Number

I got my new cell connection. The new number is 9866623354... Do update your address book.

Check this out...

Check out this website http://www.logogle.com/ . Its wonderful.

First ride in MMTS

Yesterday, was my first day in MMTS(Multi Modal Transport System), the first of its kind in Hyderabad. I travelled from Lakri-ka-pool station to Boraabonda Station. The train travells very slowly, but its fun.

In Hyderabad

Today is my 3rd day in office. Grasping stuff. Created a first draft and had the first discussion with boss. Lets see where things head towards.

Out of Kolkata...

At last am out of Kolkata. Again headed towards Hyderabad. Got a job there as Production Manager. Quite interesting, and seems great.

Howrah Bridge

A cargo steamer got stuck beneath Howrah Bridge. For the first time in its lifespan of 67 years such incdent happened. The gateway to Kolkata.. in torouble.. lot of people went to the spot.

Its really hot this summer...

It was really hot this summer in Kolkata. The temp went upto 40 degree, with all time high humidity. We are still wating for the rains...

Aaah... back from Mumbai......

Amu
Watched Amu at Nandan. The movie is based on 1984 Sikh riot. Konkona did a wonderful performance. A movie worth viewing.

Coming back
Today I am leaving. Boarding the train back to Kolkata. It was a nice trip. Meeting old people, and specially the care Sumona di and her family took had moved me a lot. This time leaving was more difficult than the previous time.

Sankranti
Today is Sankranti. We visited Balaji temple at Chirkoor. 'We' consist of Sumona di, Ananda and me. I have never been to that temple. Its far away from Hyderabad. Quite crowded. We offered our puja and by the time we reached back home it was evening.

Visiting Companies.
I visited lot of companies in and around Hyderabad. Lot of changes. Both in the city and with the companies. Few of them had a friendly approach, as they used to have before the change in goverment, but most of them were rude. That was quite a shock for me, as am not used to such rude behaviour in Hyderabad. The city seemed to loose its caring nature as well.

Reaching Hyderabad..
I was all excited. Comming to the city 11 months after I have left it was really wonderful. Yeah, I am back in Hyderabad. Good to see it again. I had dropped Sabyasachi in a hotel, and then got to didi's house. She was there to welcome me. We met after 11 months. Though I met Rajiv da in between, still meeting Sumona di was something different.

At Kolkata.

The train was late by 2 hrs. When we reached Howrah station. But it was a happy journey.

Packing

The packing started. We are boarding the train tonight. Today is Dussera. On this day Ravana effigy is burnt. Our train was at 8:00 pm from Hatia, and the station was 15 min from MECON quarter. Still we decided to leave MECON at 6 pm. And thank god we took that desicion. Due to Ravana badh all the autos were booked, and the roads blocked by stream of people. It took us 1 hr to cover a distance of 15 mins. Just imagine.

At Ranchi.

We booked another car and went to visit falls around Ranchi. The first one was Hundru Falls.Hundru falls is about 40 km. aways from Ranchi town. The Swarnarekha river falls from a height of 320 feet making a wonderful scene known as Hundru falls. During rainy season it takes a formidable form. To view the falls one has to alight the steps. And how many ? Well one has to go down 736 steps and one small bridge.
After Hundru we visited Jonha falls. Jonha is 36 km from Hundru. It got a newly built road. There is also a hospice Tourists rest house which accommodates Lord Gautam Budha’s temple. This falls is named after Gautam as Gautamdhara. Here one can alight the steps and can go so close to the fall that it could be touched. This one looked much better than Hundru, as the falls is much broader. River Ganaga Nala flows to form the falls.

At Ranchi

Decided to take rest. This was a rest day. So, we spend singing songs, listenig to songs and playing indoor games.

Way back to Ranchi

We started our journey from Netarhat at 10: 30 am. On the way we stopped at Birsha. This place is 25 km from Netarhat. Birsha is a place on Koel River river bank. The place could be viewed from our hotel at Netarhat.

At Netarhat.

156 Kms from Ranchi is Netarhat, the queen of Chotanagpur. The name Netarhat has a history behind it. During the British periods, the British soldiers were looking for a cool place. While doing the survey they came upon a area in the hills, covered with dense forest and small streams. Seeing the sight they were very happy, and described the place as "Near the heart". The phrase "Near the heart" gradually got transformed and took the form Netarhat. It is situated at a height of 3,7000 ft above sea level and is a hill station of Jharkhand. Netarhat is a beautiful resort during summer. Dense forests, serpentine roads, cool bracing breeze, moonlit nights truley makes it near the heart.This place is an out of this world experience.

We reached Nerathat around 4 pm. The journey was quite long more than 5 hours. This is mainly due to bad roads. We boarded at Prabhat Hotel, a Jharkhand Tourism hotel. We had our lunch, and then took the car to Mangolia Point. This is a point from where one can see the sun set.
The most stunning thing of Netarhat is the silence. The place is amazingly silent after sunset.

2nd day at Netarhat.

The sunrise point was from the hotel where we had lodged. From the balcony we could see the Koel River flowing downhill, and the range of hills. Amazing view. After breakfast we visited Netarhat Dam, and Netarhat lake. Both were 2 km from our hotel, so we decided walking through the jungles. The lake serves as water reservoir for the place.
Far off from Netarhat, one can visit many falls. Among them are Lodh Falls (70 kms from Netarhat) and Sadni Falls : (35 kms from Netarhat). we had a problem with disel. The nearest petrol pump from Netarhat is 55km away at Ghagri, on Ranchi - Netarhat road. And since there was a shortage of dilsel in our car, so we decided to visit Sadni falls. To visit the falls one has to cover jungle, then bauxite mines (now owned by HINDALCO), then again the jungles. Let me mention that the jungles in Netarhat is so dense that sunlight can hardly penetrate. Also the road condition is poor,( on the way we say people re-building the roads, they should be over in another year). After travelling 30 kms we came across a team of workers. And since the road conditions were detoriating drastically as we were approaching the spot, so we decided to stop tha car and ask the supervisor. When we put forward our query, he recommended us not to go. As the place is disturbed by the extremest. In last 5 years not a single tourist went there. So, alas we had to turn back. It was very sad that we couldn't see the falls, being so near to it.
In evening we went to see Upper Ghagri Falls.

Ranchi

At Ranchi.
The train journey was good enough.It was quite cold. Actually, Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is set on Chota Nagpur Plateau, quite a pleasant place. The Gypsy was waiting at the station. We boarded the car and was headed to MECON staff quarters. My pisha (uncle) works at MECON.We are not supposed to meet them, as they went to Mumbai. So the whole quarter belonged to us. A huge quater was waiting for us. Spacious rooms with huge balcony. The best thing at Ranchi is the sound polluton was less, and my ears were getting good rest. After lunch we went to one of the posh locality of Ranchi, and booked a car for our onward journey to Netarhat.

The Journey Begins.
Our puja trip starts today. Our means we (my family) and my maternal uncles family. We are going to Jharkhand. A new state in eastern part of India. We will board Ranchi-Hatia Express and travel to Ranchi. The train is scheduled to leave late night.