I have been born & bred in amchi mumbai, but thanks to my cousins, education and work I have traveled to some parts of this huge country and seen little of the outside world too.
It all started with visits to my native place - Mangalore. - One visit a year, that too during the hottest months: April & May. Trips to ideal ice-cream were the highlights of those visits. If i remember correctly, the first place outside Bombay i would have seen is Mangalore. Bangalore, Mysore, Madras & Pune were next in line, again thanks to my cousins. Bangalore was the first place i flew to as a kid and the excitement just to get onto that airplane is something i will remember. Another incident that will stay with me forever is my fall from the topmost sleeper of the train, en route to Madras. I was so insistent on sleeping on the top, that i was allowed to do so. I was so short then, that i managed to roll through the two supports that hold the sleeper to the roof of the train and managed to wake up quite a few passengers from their afternoon siesta. It took an ice-cream & a cup of coffee to stop me from howling. Am not sure if the bump i sustained on my head has something to do with how i am today. Anyways, your guess is as good as mine. Visits during school days were limited to these places. But the next 7 years was just the opposite.
Between my 12th and my engineering a CM camp took me to Rishekesh, Haridwar, Uttarkashi & Gangotri. The drive from Delhi to Uttarkashi through Rishekesh & Haridwar is just amazing. Aarti at the banks of the Ganges at Haridwar, Dips in the hot water springs en route, evenings spent on the banks of the freezing cold Ganges at Uttarkashi and the dip at Gangotri (I still don't believe that i actually took a dip!!).
I spent my engineering days at Surathkal and Mangalore. My stint with HAL saw me spend a month in Bangalore again. I just love this city. I saw more of the beautiful state of Karnataka during my trips to Sringeri, Hampi, Bellary, Coorg, Kudremukha etc. The search for shoes & slippers for my feet - which are a foot long each - saw me search the shops of Kasargod, in Kerala. Praises to the almighty that size 12 footwear are easily available today. I saw a bit of Thrissur during my 3 days visit for the CHYK conference. Baikal fort was another place that i saw in Kerala. Traveling in the local state transport & private buses in Karnataka & Kerala is an experience by itself. I would love to see more of Gods own country.
Untill this period most of the places i had visited was south of Bombay. After my engineering began my association with the north & the north east. Bhopal was the city where i spent 2 wonderful years at the Indian Institute of Forest Management. For my field work i was attached to the Chattisgrah forest department, with whom i spent a month. This is where i got the first feel of the vastness of a forest. Night drives into the Barnavapara Sanctuary; cycling in the Kanger Valley National park; visits to the underground limestone caves; night stay in a tent on the outskirts of the park with the sounds of tribal drums at a distance though the night, royal treatment of the forest department... the list could go on. :-)
My first internship took me to the beautiful state of Assam. In my wildest dreams i had never thought that i would see the north-east. Two months during the beginning of the rainy season was an amazing experience. The incident one night at Nalbari is something that i will write in another post. I learnt the meaning of the word 'fear' here. I don't think i have heard my heart beat any louder... ever. The warm hospitality of the people that i interacted with will stay with me forever. I was always made to feel at home. I wish i could see those people once more. Tea gardens, bamboo grooves, open fields, fish curry, the pond behind my room., morning cold water bath with one bucket of water, the evening milking of the cow, chicks & ducks.. are my memories of Assam.
My second internship as well as DSDS 2008 took me to Delhi & Gurgaon. With Swaroop as company during those two months, it was just awesome - we ate in almost every restaurant in Defence colony market & South Ex; Saravana Bhavan at Connaught place; Kathi rolls at Khan Market and Back to back movies at PVR Saket. The trip to Chandigarh, late night show of Saawariya at some run down theater in Ambala, Goldemn Temple & Jalinawala bagh at Amritsar & the Wagha Border was an amazing experience. Swaroop, lets make another trip.
My first job after IIFM took me to Africa. After a transit at Adis in Ethiopia & a two day halt at Dar in Tanzania i finally reached Mozambique where i spent 10 months. Nampula, Quelimane, Maputo and Pemba was like Mangalore, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi duroing those 10 months. My return trip was made via South Africa with a 6 hour halt at JoBerg & the United Arab Emirates. I spent three days in Dubai & Sharjah. My memories of Dubai would be the time spent with my dear akka & the Nikon D90. Not to forget the food that i hogged on... my my.
Now that i am finally back in India and back to work, here start my travels again. And this time i am happy that i will be seeing more of India. I leave tomorrow for Nagpur & Gadchiroli...
It all started with visits to my native place - Mangalore. - One visit a year, that too during the hottest months: April & May. Trips to ideal ice-cream were the highlights of those visits. If i remember correctly, the first place outside Bombay i would have seen is Mangalore. Bangalore, Mysore, Madras & Pune were next in line, again thanks to my cousins. Bangalore was the first place i flew to as a kid and the excitement just to get onto that airplane is something i will remember. Another incident that will stay with me forever is my fall from the topmost sleeper of the train, en route to Madras. I was so insistent on sleeping on the top, that i was allowed to do so. I was so short then, that i managed to roll through the two supports that hold the sleeper to the roof of the train and managed to wake up quite a few passengers from their afternoon siesta. It took an ice-cream & a cup of coffee to stop me from howling. Am not sure if the bump i sustained on my head has something to do with how i am today. Anyways, your guess is as good as mine. Visits during school days were limited to these places. But the next 7 years was just the opposite.
Between my 12th and my engineering a CM camp took me to Rishekesh, Haridwar, Uttarkashi & Gangotri. The drive from Delhi to Uttarkashi through Rishekesh & Haridwar is just amazing. Aarti at the banks of the Ganges at Haridwar, Dips in the hot water springs en route, evenings spent on the banks of the freezing cold Ganges at Uttarkashi and the dip at Gangotri (I still don't believe that i actually took a dip!!).
I spent my engineering days at Surathkal and Mangalore. My stint with HAL saw me spend a month in Bangalore again. I just love this city. I saw more of the beautiful state of Karnataka during my trips to Sringeri, Hampi, Bellary, Coorg, Kudremukha etc. The search for shoes & slippers for my feet - which are a foot long each - saw me search the shops of Kasargod, in Kerala. Praises to the almighty that size 12 footwear are easily available today. I saw a bit of Thrissur during my 3 days visit for the CHYK conference. Baikal fort was another place that i saw in Kerala. Traveling in the local state transport & private buses in Karnataka & Kerala is an experience by itself. I would love to see more of Gods own country.
Untill this period most of the places i had visited was south of Bombay. After my engineering began my association with the north & the north east. Bhopal was the city where i spent 2 wonderful years at the Indian Institute of Forest Management. For my field work i was attached to the Chattisgrah forest department, with whom i spent a month. This is where i got the first feel of the vastness of a forest. Night drives into the Barnavapara Sanctuary; cycling in the Kanger Valley National park; visits to the underground limestone caves; night stay in a tent on the outskirts of the park with the sounds of tribal drums at a distance though the night, royal treatment of the forest department... the list could go on. :-)
My first internship took me to the beautiful state of Assam. In my wildest dreams i had never thought that i would see the north-east. Two months during the beginning of the rainy season was an amazing experience. The incident one night at Nalbari is something that i will write in another post. I learnt the meaning of the word 'fear' here. I don't think i have heard my heart beat any louder... ever. The warm hospitality of the people that i interacted with will stay with me forever. I was always made to feel at home. I wish i could see those people once more. Tea gardens, bamboo grooves, open fields, fish curry, the pond behind my room., morning cold water bath with one bucket of water, the evening milking of the cow, chicks & ducks.. are my memories of Assam.
My second internship as well as DSDS 2008 took me to Delhi & Gurgaon. With Swaroop as company during those two months, it was just awesome - we ate in almost every restaurant in Defence colony market & South Ex; Saravana Bhavan at Connaught place; Kathi rolls at Khan Market and Back to back movies at PVR Saket. The trip to Chandigarh, late night show of Saawariya at some run down theater in Ambala, Goldemn Temple & Jalinawala bagh at Amritsar & the Wagha Border was an amazing experience. Swaroop, lets make another trip.
My first job after IIFM took me to Africa. After a transit at Adis in Ethiopia & a two day halt at Dar in Tanzania i finally reached Mozambique where i spent 10 months. Nampula, Quelimane, Maputo and Pemba was like Mangalore, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi duroing those 10 months. My return trip was made via South Africa with a 6 hour halt at JoBerg & the United Arab Emirates. I spent three days in Dubai & Sharjah. My memories of Dubai would be the time spent with my dear akka & the Nikon D90. Not to forget the food that i hogged on... my my.
Now that i am finally back in India and back to work, here start my travels again. And this time i am happy that i will be seeing more of India. I leave tomorrow for Nagpur & Gadchiroli...
