Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Life of a Navodayan - Part 1
It's at a new place now - check out: https://vipinwrites.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/life-of-a-navodayan-part-1/
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Few "Bangalore Facts"
- Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.(as of 2005)
- Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.(Point to be noted)
- Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.(Did someone say, smoking is injurious to health???)
- Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city.(does that mean, most number of engineers as well?)
- Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
- Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same locality.
- Bangalore was the first city in India to receive electricity.
- Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India. (so more corruption???)
- Bangalore University has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
- Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians, 15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
- Bangalore Police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
- Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India. (so damn true..!)
- Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world and also the dubious reputation for the highest 2-wheeler thefts.(its obvious then. Ants are always there around sweet)
- Bangalore is considered as the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris. (Quite possible. You know what I mean, right?)
- Bangalore is rated one of the Cleanest cities in India.
- Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
- Bangalore has the richest people in India. The line of poverty is the least of all cities of the world.
- Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations (from India).
- Bangalore's Lalbagh botanical gardens is credited to have one of the most diverse man made collection of flora.
 |
| Night View of Lalbagh |
- Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
- Bangalore has highest number of cocaine addicts in India.
- Bangalore has the highest number of software professionals in the world taking the first place from Osaka, Japan.
- Bangalore has the most number of gardens in a city. Hence called Garden City. Nearly 40% of Bangy's landscape is gardens/parks & 15% lakes/ponds.
- Bangalore has produced the maximum international sportsmen in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
- Bangalore is the only city in India with maximum number of temples, mosques, churches & gurdwaras.
- Bangalore University produces maximum number of doctors in India. (They help the people mentioned in the 3rd point above)
- Bangalore was founded in 2nd Century and still has the same infrastructure drainage & sanitary systems - the oldest in the world.
- Bangalore is considered an antipode of Boston, in terms of IT.
- Below is a Bangalore Survival Kit which I found from Google Images.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Bangalore - The cool city
Few places in the world have an amazing power to attract people and Bangalore (also rendered Bengaluru) is one among them. I didn't know the past/present/future of this city when I first fell in love with this city. It wasn't love at first site, it happened even before visiting the city for the first time in May 2009. Bangalore has always been a dream city for many. This city which is also known as the Garden city is indeed a cool city - the people, the place and of course the climate being cool.
A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the second fastest growing major metropolis in India. Bangalore has another known name - the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter.
For those who are curious to know from where did this name "Bengaluru" come from; here you go! The earliest reference to this name was found in a stone inscription found in Begur. In the inscription "vīra gallu" (literally, "hero stone", a rock edict extolling the virtues of a warrior), Bangalore is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought and it was known as "Bengaval-uru", the "City of Guards" in Halegannada (Old Kannada).
Another popular, anecdote recounts that the 11th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda-kaal-uru" (literally, "town of boiled beans"), which eventually evolved into "Bengalūru".
On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award winner U. R. Ananthamurthy to rename Bangalore to Bengaluru. On 27 September 2006, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change. And from then its "Namma Bengaluru".
As mentioned earlier, Bangalore is a "cool" city by all means. Owing to a higher elevation, Bangalore enjoys a more moderate climate through out the year. The coolest month is December with an average low temperature of 15.4 °C and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 32.8 °C.The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C(recorded in March 1931) and the lowest ever is 7.8 °C (recorded in January 1884).
Bangalore is currently twinned with four sister cities.
By the way do you know what it means? Have you ever visited a city abroad and thought to yourself how much it reminds you of another place? New York City may feel like home, but there is something familiar about the fast paced lifestyle in London that makes you want to live there. Imagine those cities networking together and helping each other out; to promote tourism and cultural understanding. This is the main concept of Sister Cities International; connecting international cities in many interesting ways. So, twin towns or sister cities are cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.
This cute cool city has inspired my life and of many others'. Where ever I go, I will come back one day to be in this city. It is a Pensioner's Paradise.
A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the second fastest growing major metropolis in India. Bangalore has another known name - the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter.
 |
| A building in Infosys campus, Bangalore |
Another popular, anecdote recounts that the 11th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda-kaal-uru" (literally, "town of boiled beans"), which eventually evolved into "Bengalūru".
On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award winner U. R. Ananthamurthy to rename Bangalore to Bengaluru. On 27 September 2006, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change. And from then its "Namma Bengaluru".
As mentioned earlier, Bangalore is a "cool" city by all means. Owing to a higher elevation, Bangalore enjoys a more moderate climate through out the year. The coolest month is December with an average low temperature of 15.4 °C and the hottest month is April with an average high temperature of 32.8 °C.The highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C(recorded in March 1931) and the lowest ever is 7.8 °C (recorded in January 1884).
Bangalore is currently twinned with four sister cities.
| City | Country |
| Minsk | Belarus |
| San Francisco | United States |
| San Jose | United States |
| Cleveland | United States |
By the way do you know what it means? Have you ever visited a city abroad and thought to yourself how much it reminds you of another place? New York City may feel like home, but there is something familiar about the fast paced lifestyle in London that makes you want to live there. Imagine those cities networking together and helping each other out; to promote tourism and cultural understanding. This is the main concept of Sister Cities International; connecting international cities in many interesting ways. So, twin towns or sister cities are cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.
This cute cool city has inspired my life and of many others'. Where ever I go, I will come back one day to be in this city. It is a Pensioner's Paradise.
Monday, December 10, 2012
World will end in 2012. Here are the 7 Reasons!
Society seems to be fixated on the End of the World, and yet, after countless "Doomsdays" that have come and gone, humanity (and the planet) is still here. Below are the 7 factors or facts, which are claimed as scientifically proved, that claim the End of the world. Let’s see what they are.
1.Mayan Calendar
Mayans fought battles fiercely because they believed that death on the battle field secured them eternal bliss, whereas capture by the enemy was regarded as worse than any death. The same warriors were good in mathematics and astronomy as well. Thousands of years ago, they could manage to calculate the distance of Moon from earth as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. So when there calculation about lunar cycle was so accurate, its likely they have got the end of the world right as well.
According to the Popol Vuh, we are living in the fourth world. In the Maya Long Count, the previous world ended after 13th b'ak'tun or roughly 5,125 years. The Long Count's "zero date was set at a point in the past marking the end of the third world and the beginning of the current one, which corresponds to 11 August 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. This means that the fourth world will also have reached the end of its 13th b'ak'tun, or Mayan date 13.0.0.0.0, on 21 December 2012.
2. Sun Storms
Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of trouble. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.
3. The Atom Smasher
Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.
4. The Bible says…
If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.
5. Super Volcano
Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple – it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.
6. The Physicists
This one’s case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely University have been crunching the numbers. and they’ve determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming their calculations prove, that we’re all going to die, very soon – while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.
7. Slip-Slop-Slap- BANG!
We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so – and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.
1.Mayan Calendar
Mayans fought battles fiercely because they believed that death on the battle field secured them eternal bliss, whereas capture by the enemy was regarded as worse than any death. The same warriors were good in mathematics and astronomy as well. Thousands of years ago, they could manage to calculate the distance of Moon from earth as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. So when there calculation about lunar cycle was so accurate, its likely they have got the end of the world right as well.
According to the Popol Vuh, we are living in the fourth world. In the Maya Long Count, the previous world ended after 13th b'ak'tun or roughly 5,125 years. The Long Count's "zero date was set at a point in the past marking the end of the third world and the beginning of the current one, which corresponds to 11 August 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. This means that the fourth world will also have reached the end of its 13th b'ak'tun, or Mayan date 13.0.0.0.0, on 21 December 2012.
2. Sun Storms
Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of trouble. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.
 |
| This image provided by NASA TV shows a double prominence solar eruption of super-hot plasma |
Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.
4. The Bible says…
If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.
5. Super Volcano
Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple – it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.
6. The Physicists
This one’s case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely University have been crunching the numbers. and they’ve determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming their calculations prove, that we’re all going to die, very soon – while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.
7. Slip-Slop-Slap- BANG!
We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so – and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Mouli - on the blog!
Shyam was running to Mouli's room. Mouli is staying at the 1st floor of an apartment which is hardly 200 mtrs away from Shyam's room. Shyam ran to the door and stated knocking the door. He started with just knocking, then he changed the "mode" to kicking. At this time Mr. Mouli was performing his rituals to his all time favorite Kumbhakarna. Mouli had no clue about what was happening at his door, he kept sleeping..oops performing the ritual. Shyam got pissed off. He moved to the window and started hitting the window glasses. This time Mouli jumped from his bed thinking that the whole building was crashing down. It took 2-3 minutes for him to realize that everything was normal except someone knocking (kicking) the door. He asked himself "Who the hell is this, that too this early morning. Above all that was a Sunday and Mouli was really pissed off because he usually perform his "kumbhakarna seva" comfortably on Sunday mornings without any disturbances (when he says "this early morning" what do you think? It was 11AM already then).
Mouli had decided to finish him off, whoever was there outside, he was killing him. The moment he opened the door, before he could even open his mouth, he had to close his ears. That "nice" were the words coming out from Shyam. What a way to start the day? Mouli was blessed. Shyam's words were so powerful that Mouli only asked "dude, whats up?". But Shyam realized that he was over acting. He felt little bad for Mouli. But he didn't show that. If he had shown that, Mouli would have said what Shyam did.
Mouli asked, "Why the hell did you scream like that, *(&;;%$^#@..? Shyam just said only one sentence, "that RASCAL is writing a blog and you're his main character". Mouli didn't have to think twice. From the word 'writing" that too Rascal, he got to know. He screamed, where is that *#$@;;^%%$^? Shyam was happy. He was smiling. His mission was accomplished. Mouli didn't even brush his teeth; he was storming towards my apartment.
And at this time, without knowing all those dramas, I was performing my version of Kumbhakarna Seva. They both reached near my gate and luckily the sound of they opening the gate was loud enough and Brooz started barking. (Brooz is my house owner's pet dog and we are friends.) I woke up and saw them entering the apartment. I suddenly had few 100s of butterflies in my stomach. I could sense the reason behind Mouli's "early" morning visit.
I shouldn't have given my laptop to Shyam without logging off from my FB account. That pig might have seen my posts. Whenever I posted something about my blog, I set the privacy that Mouli or Shyam does't see it. Moreover these morons had no interest in FB those days. But anyways, I had no options but to get my ass kicked. As expected I heard the knocking (or say kicking) sounds at the door. I opened the door though I didn't want to, and trust me everything was really quick after that. In another few seconds I was on the floor and Mouli was performing all his "martial arts" skills on me. That "game" continued for 4-5 minutes. You may think that it was too short for a game, but Mouli knew better that I had plans for my future.
All these while that *&%$@# Shyam was taking all these as a video in his mobile with a smile. I wanted to crush that ****** like an ant. But Mouli did a great job and I couldn't even walk properly. I was murmuring, "I'll get your a** kicked someday soon"! Mouli was tired after the fighting session. Shyam was watching the video again and again, and was laughing his stomach out. He liked my expressions it seems.
I took my laptop out and connected to internet. I opened my blog and asked Mouli to take a look, because I knew that by then he also would've developed an interest in reading the post about him. Mouli took the laptop as if he was not interested . Seeing him looking at the screen, Shyam switched on the TV and I went to bathroom. For some reason, I did't want to be there in front of him when he was reading the blog (yeah...what if he start the martial art session all over again).
When I came out of the bathroom,, Shyam wasn't there. I asked Mouli where did he go, but he didn't respond. Mouli was keeping his head down and my laptop was there on the bed. I went to him, kept my hands on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry buddy. I didn't mean to offend you but...". He got up and looked at me. His eyes were wet I saw. He said, "I'm sorry for hurting you. When Shyam told me that you wrote about me and that too on a blog, I thought you wrote something else. Something like our college life..or about my "friends" (I knew what he meant by friends there). You write well. Keep it up and I like your blog."
I took a deep breath as he stopped. I told him thanks and he left the room. I knew that he was going to continue his Kumbhakarna seva. I felt better. I even expected Mouli to take it seriously, but everything went well. As Mouli was crossing the road, I called him from my window and asked- "dude, do you know what would be next post?". He smiled and said, "about Shyam?". I laughed and said, "No, your college life and friends".
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Ramoji Rao - The Haunted Film City?
Whenever I call my friends who stay in other states, they ask me when will I visit Ramoji Rao Film City and I could never visit the place till now. But now that I hear that the hotels there are haunted; I should visit the place someday soon but no stay in those hotels; not because I'm scared of ghosts but because I have an ego problem with them and so I don't want to "see" them. Before getting into the Ghost story, let me tell you few things about this place.
Ramoji film city is situated in Hayathnagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. It is the second largest integrated film city next to Prayag Film City of Kolkata. It is also a popular tourism center containing both natural and artificial attractions including an amusement park. The facility was opened in 1996 by a producer named Ramoji Rao.
Every year, the studios attracts over a million tourists and creates revenues in billions of rupees. Located at the entrance of the film city are the 3-star hotel, Tara and a 5-star hotel, Sitara for the film production units as well as for tourists. Once inside, there is Hawa Mahal, an intricate miniature Golconda Fort, which is on a hilltop from which one can have a Bird's-eye view of the whole studio. The vintage Film City coaches shuttle visitors around the studios on a guided tour. There are several settings in the studios which lead the visitors from streets of the Mauryan Empire or the Mughal Empire or even the American Old West. There's also the famous Hollywood sign displayed on the hills at the studios.
So the story take a turn here. Some sources (don't ask me who it is) say that the film city has been built upon the war grounds of Nizam Sultans (sorry I'm not that good in history and hence not much clue about those Sultans). Few witnesses reportedly said that they had seen lights kept on top falling off, the guys who sit on the top holding the lights were pushed down and many had severe injuries. Majority of the incidents say that the so called Ghosts are "settled" in the hotels. The food left in rooms get scattered around, strange script-like marks left on the mirrors which resembles Urdu, the language used by the Sultans.
One funny (or scary) part of it is that the ghosts' favorites are girls (yeah..what you're thinking is right, ghost hunting ghosts). They trouble girls so much that they even tear their clothes, knock the bathroom doors from out side,, and shadows in the changing rooms (crazy ghosts).These stories though well known are not revealed officially due to business reasons.
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