Home away from Home
Eight of us here in the office decided to go out of Bangalore for weekend outing. We decided that we shall go to Horsley Hills which is around 130 KMS away from Bangalore. It’s located near the Border of Karnataka and Andhra. As usual we did not do any booking in advance and we goofed up a little bit but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as suddenly we decided to travel to Coffee Estate which is around 30 KMS from Sakleshpur (around 220 KMS from Bangalore). I started making calls to the book the home stays and we were fortunate enough to get the rooms at such short notice.
After getting the confirmation regarding the stay, we started by 3:15 PM on a lousy Friday afternoon and by the time we reached Nelamangala it was around 4:45 or 5 PM and we were thinking what way to start the weekend gateway. Traffic was really bad and to reach Nelamangala from ITPL it took almost 2 hours! By then we had lost some patience and we were cursing why we decided to go that far and was it really worth an effort to drive all that way.
We stopped in Nelamangala for 15 mins or so pick up few things (cans of water, beer, some snacks to eat on the way) and after picking up these essential stuffs, we started to drive towards Hassan which is one of biggest towns in that part of the Karnataka.
What a drive it turned to be coz it started raining and I was driving car as all my other colleagues started having booze in the car and I was not drinking as I had very bad throat and cold and I did not want to aggravate it. Again coming back to the drive, it was actually difficult to drive at times because of the rain and traffic coming from the other side but it was superb to drive in that rain and it was getting darker and darker as the clock ticked by. It was quite a challenge to drive in these conditions but I somehow managed it.
As we travelled we had quite few interesting conversations and colleague of mine had ipod which he had connected to the music system in the car and he had beautiful collections of songs including gazals, old Hindi song which he kept on playing and it was nostalgic. At some point of time all of us started feeling hungry and we stopped in Kamat which comes before Hasan. Here we were joined by other colleagues who had started little late from office.
When we started from Kamat it was around 8:15 or 8:30 and it was still raining cats and dogs. Visibility was poor and we had to drive very carefully as the traffic was quite heavy on this road. By around 9:45 or so in the night we reached outskirts of Sakleshpur and rain was not giving up on us. It was still raining. We took out our maps and searched for route which will lead to Coffee Valley Estate. After confirming with our hosts about the exact location of the Estate, we resumed our journey. What a journey it turned out to be at night 11. Thick Coffee Plantations on both sides, no lights what so ever, roads not in good condition, not a soul in sight, Cell Phone signals barely available but it was awesome feeling. Kind of déjà vu.
Finally we reached our destination. Our host was waiting patiently for us in the gate. We went and parked our car and he showed us to log huts kind of rooms. Rooms were well furnished and the best part was it did not have TV. What a way to kick start a weekend outing.
After we settled down, we started our booze session. Again our gracious host served us hot food which we devoured without blinking an eye lid. Hot food in the mid night! We never expected this. God blessed us that night. We were Home away from HOME. After a good food and a very very good drinking session which was filled with fun and frolic, we called it a night. What an evening it turned out to be!
In my next blog pertaining to this, I’ll write some good experiences we had in the beautiful estate. Till then, happy reading.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday Morning Blues
Monday's...Why does Monday come? I know there are 100's of people who have written and commented about Monday Morning Blues...i'm No different. Getting up on Monday itself is a herculean task.
In a jiff you reach Saturday but weekends are even faster. By time you get up and blink, half the Saturday is gone. Then you start attending one or other pending works which we keep for Saturday’s and end up coming by 2 or 3 in the afternoon and then have lunch and catch up on some sleep. Siestas are great. They give you lot of energy but on some Saturday’s you don’t end up sleeping. I suggest we get these Siestas on daily basis; we will be more efficient and productive in work. I’ve heard in quite few countries (like Taiwan) people just sleep for an hour where ever they are. Coming back to Saturday evenings, we end up going out, having a drink or two, spending thousands of rupees for nothing and we justify later that we did enjoy these outings. Hmmm…mater to think about but you end up sleeping late on Saturday and sleep is also not good as alcohol induced sleep is bad. You end up with some night mares or going to loo ‘N’ of times to empty your bladder and you end up getting early on Sunday. What a disaster.
Coming to Sunday’s; Sunday's are dedicated to oneself. That's what we think but we end up attending one of the never ending social gatherings. These gatherings take the sting out of the weekend as you to rush through with your daily chores (you don’t even get a decent time to read News paper leisurely) and drive down to these lunches and pooja's. Can it get worse than this? No way. Can we avoid attending these gatherings? No way. I would be labeled as Social Stigmata, a fit for nothing coz i dont respect customs and what not?
OK, let’s take it for granted that we do attend these gatherings. By the time we come back from these gatherings it will be post 2 or 3 clock in the afternoon. You try to catch with some sleep but there is always a question whether to sleep in afternoon’s especially Sunday coz there is notion that if you sleep in the afternoons you don’t get sleep in the night. I’m not sure how true it’s for the rest of the world, but for me of late this is the case. So you end up watching some never ending movie on Star or HBO which gets repeated time and again and but you seem to njoy them as we have less options. Going out is ruled coz you end up in a traffic jam and if at all you are successful in avoiding the Jam, then you end up being in one of those crowded malls where you feel instantly feel out of place and after a while you end up feeling out of place. You come back home and have dinner and try to go bed. That’s when it hits you hard. You are tried but you don’t get sleep. There is something wrong with body. You know what’s wrong? Yes. Next day is Monday and you need to get back to office and to reach Office you have to navigate through never ending traffic jams.
Is this not a Monday Morning Blue?? If this is not Monday Morning Blue, then what is it?
In a jiff you reach Saturday but weekends are even faster. By time you get up and blink, half the Saturday is gone. Then you start attending one or other pending works which we keep for Saturday’s and end up coming by 2 or 3 in the afternoon and then have lunch and catch up on some sleep. Siestas are great. They give you lot of energy but on some Saturday’s you don’t end up sleeping. I suggest we get these Siestas on daily basis; we will be more efficient and productive in work. I’ve heard in quite few countries (like Taiwan) people just sleep for an hour where ever they are. Coming back to Saturday evenings, we end up going out, having a drink or two, spending thousands of rupees for nothing and we justify later that we did enjoy these outings. Hmmm…mater to think about but you end up sleeping late on Saturday and sleep is also not good as alcohol induced sleep is bad. You end up with some night mares or going to loo ‘N’ of times to empty your bladder and you end up getting early on Sunday. What a disaster.
Coming to Sunday’s; Sunday's are dedicated to oneself. That's what we think but we end up attending one of the never ending social gatherings. These gatherings take the sting out of the weekend as you to rush through with your daily chores (you don’t even get a decent time to read News paper leisurely) and drive down to these lunches and pooja's. Can it get worse than this? No way. Can we avoid attending these gatherings? No way. I would be labeled as Social Stigmata, a fit for nothing coz i dont respect customs and what not?
OK, let’s take it for granted that we do attend these gatherings. By the time we come back from these gatherings it will be post 2 or 3 clock in the afternoon. You try to catch with some sleep but there is always a question whether to sleep in afternoon’s especially Sunday coz there is notion that if you sleep in the afternoons you don’t get sleep in the night. I’m not sure how true it’s for the rest of the world, but for me of late this is the case. So you end up watching some never ending movie on Star or HBO which gets repeated time and again and but you seem to njoy them as we have less options. Going out is ruled coz you end up in a traffic jam and if at all you are successful in avoiding the Jam, then you end up being in one of those crowded malls where you feel instantly feel out of place and after a while you end up feeling out of place. You come back home and have dinner and try to go bed. That’s when it hits you hard. You are tried but you don’t get sleep. There is something wrong with body. You know what’s wrong? Yes. Next day is Monday and you need to get back to office and to reach Office you have to navigate through never ending traffic jams.
Is this not a Monday Morning Blue?? If this is not Monday Morning Blue, then what is it?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Springs and Summers
Folks,
Spring and Summer is fast approaching. Lazy winters are passing by. Winters gives you diseases. It’s nice to see Spring. Trees blooming, leaves all over the roads and kinda of happiness spread over. Summers is kind of rejuvenating. You get up early and complete your daily chores. Looking forward to a nice mug of chilled beer in the evening. Pleasant walks in the parks in the weekends. Holidays. I guess there are lot more advantages of Summer than winters.
Why is Winter so depressing? This feeling is not mine. I've heard this from numerous people. Why is that we all think the same? Seasons come and Seasons go. People enjoy seeing Rain. They get a high in getting wet. People enjoy Summers and Springs but Winter?
All they think about winter is having hot food, a Good rum or whiskey and get under the blankets and sleep for hours together. Can we change this? Probably yes. Getting up early. Going for a early morning jogs. Beat the chill hollow by sweating it out. I may be wrong but what is right? People have worse feeling in winter. They think negatively most of the times. They don’t like going to work, students don’t like studying (exams are starting in couple of months), Old people cannot get up from bed and they fall sick, etc.., etc.,
I hate winters. I'm looking forward to Springs and Summer where there is fun and frolic.
Folks, keep your comments coming in. Thanks a lot for spending couple of minutes reading my blog.
Spring and Summer is fast approaching. Lazy winters are passing by. Winters gives you diseases. It’s nice to see Spring. Trees blooming, leaves all over the roads and kinda of happiness spread over. Summers is kind of rejuvenating. You get up early and complete your daily chores. Looking forward to a nice mug of chilled beer in the evening. Pleasant walks in the parks in the weekends. Holidays. I guess there are lot more advantages of Summer than winters.
Why is Winter so depressing? This feeling is not mine. I've heard this from numerous people. Why is that we all think the same? Seasons come and Seasons go. People enjoy seeing Rain. They get a high in getting wet. People enjoy Summers and Springs but Winter?
All they think about winter is having hot food, a Good rum or whiskey and get under the blankets and sleep for hours together. Can we change this? Probably yes. Getting up early. Going for a early morning jogs. Beat the chill hollow by sweating it out. I may be wrong but what is right? People have worse feeling in winter. They think negatively most of the times. They don’t like going to work, students don’t like studying (exams are starting in couple of months), Old people cannot get up from bed and they fall sick, etc.., etc.,
I hate winters. I'm looking forward to Springs and Summer where there is fun and frolic.
Folks, keep your comments coming in. Thanks a lot for spending couple of minutes reading my blog.
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