The Lone Ride !!!

I was coming back from Sri Lanka to Chennai with a very heavy heart as my Girl Friend for the last 5 years had very seriously mentioned about breaking up. Though it all had taken its toll on me. I was certainly not in any frame of mind to do anything at all. No Office, no friends nothing. I kinda just wanted to get home and be with mom.

So after i got to Chennai the very next day I rode to Bangalore on my bull. with so many crazy thoughts coming back to head. I was crying inside the helmet, behind my shades. The tears would not stop, the feelings and emotions were definitely getting the better of me. Some thought or the other would pop up. So many feelings like love, anger, disgust, insanity, lost, destroyed, pain and many random things I had never felt in life ever before.

So the pain was getting on my nerves. But I as kind of doing what I loved doing the most. That is to be on my Bull's saddle. I was simply riding it to get home and chill with mom. This was not my first solo ride. Its been a month since I did this ride. I did ride a few 100 kms before I travelled back to Colombo. Its almost 15 days here now and I am kinda getting better with the pain and everything reducing in the head.

Apart from just the riding, my yoga and meditation have also helped me to cope up with the stress. It has been a crazy few days. The pain n the memmories are still there.  Let’s hope they heal fast and help deal with the demons.

But this definitely was the most loneliest ride I have ever had in my life ever. I had ridden non stop from Chennai to Blore in about 4 hours.

Ladakh - The dream that eludes !!!!

This is one dream that has certainly been eluding me and a few close friends for a very longtime now. We had planned to get to Ladakh quite a few times and never even got close.
Now that i work in Bangalore and my friends are abroad, I had given up on Ladakh fr a few years until suddenly out of nowhere Praneet's call lands on my cell and he begins with the customary superlatives and then mentions Ladakh and says that I have to get to Delhi by the weekend and we shall drive to Ladakh. These words were like music to my ears and I kinda felt the rush of a few thousand orgasms.
I had a different battle/ war to fight at home to get the necessary permissions to travel to Ladakh. I was allowed to go on one major condition, i.e I would not ride a 2 wheeler in the entire trip.
I reached Delhi and began calling Praneet, he was in some place with loud music and so he cut the call and sent me a message asking me to get to RSVP in JayPee Continental. I took a cab and reached the place only to be greeted by Praneet, Nishu, Divya, Silvia and a few more friends. We danced and partied all night and by the time we got back to the guest house, it was around 7 in the morning.
We slept, took rest and then in the evening we went to Red Fort, a place that I had not visited in my 2 years stay in Delhi. A nice place, but the heat was killing us ( Me, Praneet & Silvia ), we had to get to the airport to pick up Deniz and Rubina.
We picked them up, got to the guest house and then headed tp party. The evening was so much fun, dancing and chilling. Once done we headed back to the guest house to crash.
We began in the after to head towards Shimla. We took our first break to eat at a customary dhaba near Karnal. We had our shares of Lassi's and Parathas. We also stopped en route at a place which was called Tiger Trails, we had to take a winch to get to the other side of the hill. It was a nice ride and we had a jollyful time. Then we started on our way to Shimla. We reached there quite late and managed to find the place designated for our night stay there. We drank, ate and had a joyful time. Deniz was at his dragoneous best, spitting out fire and made our evening worthwhile, while all this was happening, Rubina was busy removing her making up.
We got up and went our way to explore shimla, we checked out of the place too, we had our break fast in a very dingy place in the corner of a cross road, Deniz would vouch for the fast that the restroom probably had a better view than most places in shimla. We also walk to Mall Road, climbed up the small view point and clicked loads of pics everywhere.
Then we headed to Manali, the distance to Manali wasn't too much but just that we had to encounter winding roads and the scary sound on the tingling waters of River Beas. We drove slowly and cautiously to get to Manali. We stopped at a few places where the view was amazing. We took our time to reach Manali. We had our difficulties in locating the place where we had to stay for the night.
We crashed in our respective rooms and drank, ate and made merry before we all crashed. In fact I slept much earlier than the rest.
Then we continued on our way to Leh, the drive was through Rohtang, we had an amazing time while the weather began to get more cooler and the winds began to get more chillier, we began to see the snow clad mountains and also snow covered on most parts of the roads, it was an amazing experience in itself. We were all clicking ourselves to glory with the DSLR's. We stopped at a very nice point from where the view was breathtaking, all we could eat there was Maggi, Break Omelet and Chai Tea. While riding on our way to Rohtang just before we reached there the mountains had come crashing down thereby closing the roads. We were left with no option but to return back to Manali. Disgusted as we were, we wanted to still continue on the ride and see a few more places. So after much discussion and contemplation we decided to drive to Dharamshala/ McLeodganj.
We started the next day, the ride to Dharamshala was simply beyond the mind to even fathom, we were like the only souls in that part of the country driving through the mountains, it was so much fun, we reached dharamshala very late in the night. we couldn't see much of the countryside in the night, but the view in morning from the balconies of our hotel rooms was simply awesome. We had sumptuous break fast before we left to the Dalai Lama Monastry. That was another place that got ticked off the Bucket List. We also drove around the super tiny roads of the town in Mcleodganj. All that was so much fun. Once done with all this we decided to head to chandigarh.
The drive to chandigarh was very much a descent from the Himalayas to the plains. It was a long drive, praneet's mother did not like the idea of us driving to get home in the middle of the night, so we kind of drove a little quicker to make it back to Chandigarh. We in fact got to Parwanooo. The town from where Praneet belonged. We slept well there after our customary celebrations.
Then the next day morning I took my Bus to Delhi and then a flight back home in Blore. the other continued on a tour around chandigarh and then Delhi before they headed to Thailand and other places.

We all have our itineraries booked for next year, this time around we hope to scale the peaks and cross the passes that will get us to Leh/ Ladakh.

Things to Note - You will need a Whole lot of guts, adversities are a way of life up there so the temperament to withstand them is also the key, all necessary medicines, Diamox should be treated as a compulsion, eat less but eat many no of times, keep smiling, enjoy everything you see and feel, beauty is in abundance, every nook and corner calls for a click and will keep you mesmerized. Take your time, switch off your mobile phones, no laptops and all other electronic goods, for you are as close as you can get with Nature.

Cost - Around 50k per head for a round trip including airfare, food and stay. Around 10 days.

Pack less and travel light. Carry camera with loads of extra memory cards and batteries.

As Ladakh has been one dream that has been eluding us for a long time. We are wanting to get to the top of the world and so We are already considering to book our air tickets for next year.

Praneet, Silvia, Rubina and Deniz have a special mention as they made this trip a memorable and fascinating one. I now know that I have friends in different parts of the globe.

Ladakh - The dream that eludes !!!!

This is one dream that has certainly been eluding me and a few close friends for a very longtime now. We had planned to get to Ladakh quite a few times and never even got close.
Now that i work in Bangalore and my friends are abroad, I had given up on Ladakh fr a few years until suddenly out of nowhere Praneet's call lands on my cell and he begins with the customary superlatives and then mentions Ladakh and says that I have to get to Delhi by the weekend and we shall drive to Ladakh. These words were like music to my ears and I kinda felt the rush of a few thousand orgasms.
I had a different battle/ war to fight at home to get the necessary permissions to travel to Ladakh. I was allowed to go on one major condition, i.e I would not ride a 2 wheeler in the entire trip.
I reached Delhi and began calling Praneet, he was in some place with loud music and so he cut the call and sent me a message asking me to get to RSVP in JayPee Continental. I took a cab and reached the place only to be greeted by Praneet, Nishu, Divya, Silvia and a few more friends. We danced and partied all night and by the time we got back to the guest house, it was around 7 in the morning.
We slept, took rest and then in the evening we went to Red Fort, a place that I had not visited in my 2 years stay in Delhi. A nice place, but the heat was killing us ( Me, Praneet & Silvia ), we had to get to the airport to pick up Deniz and Rubina.
We picked them up, got to the guest house and then headed tp party. The evening was so much fun, dancing and chilling. Once done we headed back to the guest house to crash.
We began in the after to head towards Shimla. We took our first break to eat at a customary dhaba near Karnal. We had our shares of Lassi's and Parathas. We also stopped en route at a place which was called Tiger Trails, we had to take a winch to get to the other side of the hill. It was a nice ride and we had a jollyful time. Then we started on our way to Shimla. We reached there quite late and managed to find the place designated for our night stay there. We drank, ate and had a joyful time. Deniz was at his dragoneous best, spitting out fire and made our evening worthwhile, while all this was happening, Rubina was busy removing her making up.
We got up and went our way to explore shimla, we checked out of the place too, we had our break fast in a very dingy place in the corner of a cross road, Deniz would vouch for the fast that the restroom probably had a better view than most places in shimla. We also walk to Mall Road, climbed up the small view point and clicked loads of pics everywhere.
Then we headed to Manali, the distance to Manali wasn't too much but just that we had to encounter winding roads and the scary sound on the tingling waters of River Beas. We drove slowly and cautiously to get to Manali. We stopped at a few places where the view was amazing. We took our time to reach Manali. We had our difficulties in locating the place where we had to stay for the night.
We crashed in our respective rooms and drank, ate and made merry before we all crashed. In fact I slept much earlier than the rest.
Then we continued on our way to Leh, the drive was through Rohtang, we had an amazing time while the weather began to get more cooler and the winds began to get more chillier, we began to see the snow clad mountains and also snow covered on most parts of the roads, it was an amazing experience in itself. We were all clicking ourselves to glory with the DSLR's. We stopped at a very nice point from where the view was breathtaking, all we could eat there was Maggi, Break Omelet and Chai Tea. While riding on our way to Rohtang just before we reached there the mountains had come crashing down thereby closing the roads. We were left with no option but to return back to Manali. Disgusted as we were, we wanted to still continue on the ride and see a few more places. So after much discussion and contemplation we decided to drive to Dharamshala/ McLeodganj.
We started the next day, the ride to Dharamshala was simply beyond the mind to even fathom, we were like the only souls in that part of the country driving through the mountains, it was so much fun, we reached dharamshala very late in the night. we couldn't see much of the countryside in the night, but the view in morning from the balconies of our hotel rooms was simply awesome. We had sumptuous break fast before we left to the Dalai Lama Monastry. That was another place that got ticked off the Bucket List. We also drove around the super tiny roads of the town in Mcleodganj. All that was so much fun. Once done with all this we decided to head to chandigarh.
The drive to chandigarh was very much a descent from the Himalayas to the plains. It was a long drive, praneet's mother did not like the idea of us driving to get home in the middle of the night, so we kind of drove a little quicker to make it back to Chandigarh. We in fact got to Parwanooo. The town from where Praneet belonged. We slept well there after our customary celebrations.
Then the next day morning I took my Bus to Delhi and then a flight back home in Blore. the other continued on a tour around chandigarh and then Delhi before they headed to Thailand and other places.

We all have our itineraries booked for next year, this time around we hope to scale the peaks and cross the passes that will get us to Leh/ Ladakh.

Things to Note - You will need a Whole lot of guts, adversities are a way of life up there so the temperament to withstand them is also the key, all necessary medicines, Diamox should be treated as a compulsion, eat less but eat many no of times, keep smiling, enjoy everything you see and feel, beauty is in abundance, every nook and corner calls for a click and will keep you mesmerized. Take your time, switch off your mobile phones, no laptops and all other electronic goods, for you are as close as you can get with Nature.

Cost - Around 50k per head for a round trip including airfare, food and stay. Around 10 days.

Pack less and travel light. Carry camera with loads of extra memory cards and batteries.

As Ladakh has been one dream that has been eluding us for a long time. We are wanting to get to the top of the world and so We are already considering to book our air tickets for next year.

Praneet, Silvia, Rubina and Deniz have a special mention as they made this trip a memorable and fascinating one. I now know that I have friends in different parts of the globe.

Bouquet Girl !!!!!

This was when I saw a pretty girl with a bouquet, walking close to Forum Mall, she just got off the Auto and glanced towards me when I smiled and she smiled back too. I took it one step ahead when I asked her if it was her Brother's Bday ??? She turned around smiled and nodded to say No. Her smile was even wider and she blushed more by the passing second.

This is definitely a moment to remember for a lifetime.

Was fun !!!!!

Kavya's Wedding

Kavya is one of my oldest friends from childhood. We probably hadn't met for like at least about 10-15 years. We have been in touch through facebook for about a year now. It was good to know that she was getting hitched. I went for the reception and forgot to get my camera along. I just attended the function. It was fun when I got on stage with my Parents & Mallesh Uncle, her Dad. He stopped me on my tracks and asked kavya to recognize me and she instantly recognized me and it was all smiles and the party continued.

I got back the next day and this time with all the ammunition to click away. Though a new kid on the block with a camera. I was kind of happy for some decent pics I managed. It was fun clicking in a wedding, that too one of my best from childhood. It was just awesome.

Some of my Fav's are just put down below.

These are some of my favorite pics apart from the others that i clicked.

My Tryst with the Monkey Clan

The Surprise Birthday Gift to the UNKNOWN

This was more of helping a awesome friend in crisis. I received a call sometime on Monday while I was driving. It was Varun, who was like how far is ITC Windsor manor from your home/office and do you know any Cup Cake shop in Bangalore, I was like yes there are a few in Indiranagar and then there is always Just Dial. I asked why ?? and he said, its one of his friends Birthday tomorrow i.e Tueday and that he wants Cup Cakes to be delivered to her.

I said ok and asked him to give me a reminder call on Tuesday morning, which he promptly did. I made a few calls and found out that Bite Me Company was Open in Indiranagar and that I could get the Cup Cakes from there. I called them up and asked them to make sure there are Half a Dozen cup cakes for me.

In all this I had forgotten to ask Varun his friends name. All I remember was him telling me that he has a friend working in ITC Windsor Manor, Bangalore and that I had to make sure she got her Cup Cakes for her birthday.

So with this vital information I got the Cup Cakes and rode to ITC, there I reached the reception and there were these guys who were staring at me, as I was wearing these fully formal clothes with my helmet in one hand and this Cup Cake parcel in the other. I was like, dude its one of your colleague's birthday today and she should more or less be a pass out from Manipal. They had this weird sarcastic look on their face and then one of the guys looked at me and said yes we have a Girl whose birthday it is, but she is on leave. I said wow, he was like do you know her name and I was like, no shit - I dont. But then he was kind enough to call her up and then I spoke to her - NIDHI and told her I am Varun Vishvesh's friend and that I was there at her Office's reception to hand over her Bday cake.

She was like thank you so much. You may please leave the cakes in the recption and that she would collect it from there in the Evening.

All this major confusion happenend because Varun's Phone concked off wherein he wasnt able to charge his phone and so I was not able to get in touch with him. But then I thought having known his request and his wish to surprise his friend, i dint wanna play spoilsport to the surprise and so I just went ahead with delivering the Cup Cake.

having done that, i now know that Varun and his friends are very happy and that NIDHI also got a pleasant birthday surprise.

Once again, Happy Birthday NIDHI !!!!!!

Thanks to Varun Vishvesh for an eventful tuesday !!!!

Shivgange - Ride & Trek

As planned on the previous ride, I was all clear on where i was headed to this weekend. All I wasn’t sure was, who would partner me if at all someone would join in. This time it was Ravi who somehow managed to scrape some time off on a sunday from his busy schedule that he adheres to all week as vasu Sir was on some pre planned work at home.

We started at about 12.15 near Vasu Sir’s house. We both headed on to Tumkur highway and continued on our merry ways untill we realized that we both had to fill petrol. We stopped for Gas and then vroomed on.

The road was awesome, we reached Dabbaspet and took the left to Shivgange and reached there by around 1.30 pm. We parked our bikes and started the climb.

The climb has a few temples, Devi Temple and Shiva Temple to begin with before the actual climb to the Top begins. On the top there is a beautiful statue of Nandi carved out of single. The climb to the top is about two kilometers from the parking lot. But this is actually more of a steep climb that most trekking enthusiasts will enjoy. The climb was very steep, but was manageable.

The climate was very windy and cool yesterday and so we were able to cover the distance more easily. We enjoyed the trek, as it began drizzling on our way to the top, the camera wasn’t put to action. But once the rain stopped, we began clicking and manged to get a few decent snaps.

The descent downhill was as mush scary as the ascend. My legs began disco dancing (shaking) after a certain point of time, because of the jerks my knees had to encounter.

It was fun spending a sunday enjoying in a different way.

Shivganage – 65 kms from Blore

Time Taken – 1.5 hours

Route – Blore – Dabbaspet – left to Shivgange

Road – Decent roads.

PS : Photos will be uploaded soon.

When Going to that - Kahin Bhi Le Jao Place !!!

The day began very late for Me and Raghav at his place.

We began discussing and wondering where to go and enjoy the day. while i was sipping my morning chai, Raghav was lost in his own thoughts to decide where to go. He then came up with this crazy idea of going to Agra on a long drive, the idea was good but considering the distance and time constraint i convinced him to drop the idea. I then sugested we go to Murthal Dhaba on Karnal High Way to have Paranthas and Lassi. The idea seemed to be okay and it looked like we were going there.

Then when we got to Aashna's place to pick her up, she like took forever to get ready and in between her getting ready she disapproved the idea of a dhaba and wanted to go to some place sporty. So then we got back to square one and began discussing on where to go. Then when she finally was like ya I got all the matching stuff done and have covered myself in 3 shades of make up.

We decided to like at least hit the road before we went about discussing.

I was like kahin bhi le chalo yaaar, bahut bhoook lagi hai !!!!

I suggested Eatopia for a place, i know it looks like a Harry Potter railway station but then I was too hungry to be discussing and not knowing where we were going. Then it was like no no on every suggestion and was like we have to go to some place else. Lot of joints from vasant kunj/ vihar came up, even saket was sugested, CP was a huge NO, Even GK was also in consideration. Then out of no where Raghav suggested American Diner. I had never been there, with my obsession for food and this suggestion of a new joint was always greeted with a huge grin and a sign of approval from my side.

It then all of a started to pour down from the heavens. The climate became simply scintillating and the idea of the drive seemed more apt and appropriate.

We drove towards Indian Habitat Centre and headed to The American Diner. Where we had to like wait for about 25 mins before we went in and then another 10 mins before we got the table.

We utilized the time to like roam around and see the place as well as enjoy the weather. We clicked a few pics here and there. And then even got a pic clicked on the counter at the joint.

The food there was amazingly delicious with Aashna ordering some Fettucheeney Stuff and we went for the normal Soup and Burger Stuff. It was like a nice time spent in a very kool place with lovely company from Raghav Mehrotra and Aashna Gupta. We kept picking on Aashna for the entire day, she was game for it all and it was simply simple.

We also headed back to noida and had tea and maggi at Amity noida in "Balli Maggi khaoge to Balle Balle ho jaoge". Here Aashna was like shivering to death before the Chai like eased her life a bit. The maggi was like before from college times. After all the food and chai we had the shopowner refused to even charge us for the food that we had considering the bond we shared when i used to study in that college, but then we still convinced him to accept the money. It was out n out fun.

Thank you guys for that Amazing Day, which will be etched in my memories forever.

Pics from the Exploration trip