"PRO"fessional world. Made to rhyme with "CON"fessional ;)

The professional world is sooooooooo cool. And so different.

So.. Whats different??Hmmm.. May be the jokes.. You see - All those jokes about "your boss", now seem really funny. :)That reminds me - Have you heard that one??
Project Manager (Venu) is a person who thinks nine women can deliver a baby in one month while a developer (This is me!!) is a person who thinks it will take 18 months to deliver a baby. And.. The onsite Coordinator (And this is Robin. Robin Das.) is one who thinks single woman can deliver nine babies in one month.

What else?? Oh yes.. May be the PJ levels.. While few of my learned friends are wondering if theyshould resort to Kafka to find meaning in the madness, I survive on jokes.. Sorry, did I say jokes!!hehe.. Four challus a day,and the day is made. No amount of pressure can then rattle the Superman/woman in you. :) Highly recommended. That reminds me :

Scene : two of my five worthy apartment mates are on their sick-beds :
Anju to Thufu : Veedu oru sick room aayi maru aannu.
Thufu to Anju : How can that be?? We are all Hindus na..
Now if you can laugh 1 minute on that, oh boy!! are you professional or what!!

What else??
The way you talk and type. Its all a part of following the process.You start using manual grammar check when you chat.. All your starting letters in CAPS. "Goin"starts to become "going" and even "im" changes to "I'm".

Setting one's messenger status to busy is the norm.. :) Should have tried doing that when I was still in college. :D

And.. You get loads of free time with no ideas of how to make it productive. So you may even find enough time to blog. Like I just did.So thats that.

Hey!!

Aazhimala - 3rd Feb' 07

Lost somewhere among the famous beaches in Trivandrum - Kovalam, Shanghmugham is a lesser known name - Aazhimala.

Located almost 8 kms from Kovalam, this place is set aside from the usual humdrum scenario in all the other beaches. An absolute sensual delight, strangely enough, this place is mostly visited by foreigners.

We went to this place the first time on 15th Feb last year. While the college was raked up in fights among rival political parties and the college was closed for almost two weeks, we spent our time feasting on soul food - exploring places within and outside the college. Within the college, it included dancing on top of the dome of the planetarium(LOSE CONTROL - on the 14th of Feb)!! And the result of one such impulsive exploration beyond the college boundaries led to the discovery of this hidden paradise. :)

Following the last time's schedule we set off from college and hired a Tavera from Kesavdaspuram. To get to Aazhimala one has to go via Vizhinjam. Its a private beach with the Somatheeram resort nestled here..

Once there the first sight that meets your eye is the temple. The Aazhimala kshetram.

But, the alluring sight of the blue sea doesnt let one slow ones steps. The enchanting blue colour of the sea and the interminable music of the waves. Drawn to the beach with the magic of this combination - the first sight of the beach will jus make you wanna go WO!!!! - the sheer beauty, so real yet unreal.

Nd for all those mavericks who get their kick out of watchin the design left by waves in the sand - this is the perfect haven..With no one laughing at ur "mad"ness.

No Aana.. I aint talkin bout u men.. :)

Even one full day may prove to be pretty inadequate to catch the plethora pf designs possible..

The sea in its various hues - green one moment and blue the next. Nd boy!! were v smiten..

Nd for the those of us who some how cannot get the hang of these subtle expressions of beauty(and are not lucky enuf to have eccentrics cald frnds who tag along nd unravel the mysteries of the same).. Well.. there is always the option of rolling in the waves for hours on end wid this solemn nd wise expresn on ur face.. Leaving others to imagine u r brooding over the graver questns of life(the "who am i??" and "why am i here??" crap).. while actually u cant get ur late lunch out of ur mind!! Besides the other option of givin expression to ur sudden flashes of creative brilliance. ..

As Georgie says - Years later I'll look back at this snap, remember this place, that moment and think - THAT was life!! Nd those are my footsteps, moving away from all of it. To the life which beckoned. Away..

Hey Georgie.. Thanks men!! This is smthng i'll treasur for ages to come. Ages.. :)

Few Tips :

Shopaholics Attention please!!

Stay away. The only goods you get here are strictly -priced high to fool the foreigners - material.

If u r d make-frnds-wid-d-world-in-general-kind, keep ur frndshp antennae up nd on d lookout. A few chocolates wud only b an added asset. ;)

Dnt 4get to carry ur cam. Treasur these moments. In your memories and in ur albums - its safer that way. :)

So d final word : AWESOME.

nd d final two words : ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.... :)

Updating

So.. its been long. D mangalore post is somewhere gone with the wind. So its time to jus fast forward to the present. Coincidence or no coincidence - since the time i started off this travelogue i'm finally gettin to go places more than ever before in the past four years. Nd then again may be its the last semester factor. :) So i'm gonna update. Starting wid aazhimala... Strangely enuf d pics speak more than i cud ever put into words. Its been - a long joy ride. Nd wid no more plans in d offing, its sadly enuf comin to an end, along wid dis travelogue series. :(

traveLOGue - to be continued

So d traveLOGue has come to its stagnant phase. But not for long. With a trip to the aupicious city - MANGALore on the cards it'll be travel time again. And this time its again for matters of the heart. For friends and family with a probable visit t0 the Mugambika Devi kshetram.
So.. Mangalore - here I come.

traveLOGue - part 1

Hmmm.. And every once in a while its just the place that lures you there.

And that would be my stint in the hols in Darjeeling, Kolkatta and Chennai. Chennai - to meet friends, Kolkatta - to meet family and friends and Darjeeling - do i really need to name a reason why??

Well.. If you are the kind raring to go, with your bags all packed..then may be you should think it over and just cancel your ticket to Darjeeling - specialy if you are palnning to travel by the toy train. :) The TOY TRAIN commutes a distance of 80 km from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in a matter of around ten hrs.But if you are the kind ready to sit back and relax and enjoy the journey rather than the arrival - thats when the toy train comes calling.

Kooo chuk chuk chuk chuk chuk chuk.. :)

Hold on a second. If i just left you feeling that this trip to Darjeeling is meant for the arthritis ridden oldies who get there kick out of travelling at the speed of some 8 km per hr - wait till you find out what else the place has in store for the seeker. :)

Darjeeling is renowned for offering a view of the Kanchenjunga ranges and the Mount Everest set opposite one of the awesome"st" sunrises. It may sound insane that people actually get up at three in the morning and brave sub-zero temperatures to see the very same sunrise that they can catch from their bedroom window!! But the surprise lasts only as long as the wait for the sunrise. To cut matters short - gotta see it to know why.

Na... No one travels half way across India to catch a sunrise I know. :) So to charm the yet "un"-besotted there is the beautiful GANGA MAYA park and ROCK GARDENS. Catch the native scene, dance to the tunes of the traditional songs dresed in the many splendored traditional dresses. :) In the ROCK GARDENS the entire path to the hill top is paved. And the adventurous spirits can always try a hand (or is it feet!! ;) ) at some rock climbing.

Talk about rock climbing and talk about the TENZING ROCKS and GOMBU ROCK. :)

Darjeeing also offers immense avenues for trekking and rafting. For those with the shopping itch there is "maal" - mall. You could drop till you drop driving bargain over bargain.

To know it, to feel it you better book your own tickets.

P.S. its only because i dint go for either of the two. ;)

TRIVIA :

Place : Darjeeling

How to get there?

Road : From New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri it takes around three and a half hours. (Siliguri being the centre for all eastern trade in India).

Railways : From Kolkatta it takes around 14 hrs. And another ten hours by TOY train :).

Airways : No idea dude!!

Places of interest :

TIGER HILLS : the highest view point from where you can catch the sunrise and the scenic ranges all for a bare 40/- ;)

GANGA MAYA PARK and ROCK GARDENS

BUDDHIST MONASTERY

BATASIA LOOP : For a SHORT joy ride in the heritage toy train around a winding path. :)

TENZIMG and GOMBU ROCK : For the amateur rock climber in you. :)

TEA VALLEY : Savour the aromatic Darjeeling tea near these estates. Hmmm.. Simply superb. All the three of it. The locale. The tea. Anf the beauties serving it.

Forget the ROPE WAY. Its been closed.

Keep away from the museum unless you want to be saddled with sad figures like these. :)

traveLOGue

A good traveler does not know where he is going to. A perfect traveler does not know where he has come from either.
Going by these definitions may be its not possible to call oneself a traveler . People travel for various reasons. To see new places. To meet new people. But traveling need not always be for these reasons. The bit of traveling I do is usually to get back in touch with the old rather than to see something new. To catch up with friends and their lives. To see how time has worked its magic through them or how it has left one frozen defying the very passage of time.
After spending a humungous amount of time (the past three and a half years!!) trying to make friends out of acquaintances it is only now the realisation dons that friendship isn’t the norm. Rather it’s that rare phenomenon which makes it quintessential to treasure it when you discover it. So now, here is me treasuring my knowledge. And traveling is just one of the most fun ways to go about doing it.