Dilip's Train Of Thoughts

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Journey…

Walking along a alleyway,

Making her own pathway,

Crammed with stones and fire,

Covered entirely by barbed wire,

Preventing passage to either side,

People staring from inside,

Indifferent to anyone outside,

Thwarting her entrée, to the elite.

She sensed people on the right to be scornful,

And those on the left to be merciful,

Choosing the left option was not exciting,

While, the right option was never ending.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Seeking Sponsorship…

As you guys might be aware, I am planning to take part in the Athens Marathon happening on Oct 31st 2010. I am looking out for any kind of sponsorship deal that would assist me in travelling to Greece and take part in the historic event.

Please let me know if you or anyone whom you might know be interested in sponsoring my participation in this event.

Your contact can be anyone from the print media or online papers/magazines/websites. Preferably from marketing otherwise anyone in that area is fine. I am ready to meet/talk to him/her. Also contacts in sports apparels / energy drink manufactures / Pepsi / Coke / Telecom companies like Vodafone / NGOs will also be very helpful.

Do let me know if you know someone.

You can reach me at:

Email: dilipadiga82@gmail.com

ph: +91-9845254694

Thanks for your time!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

A Venture - ‘Backpacking To Europe’

Hello!

I have started a website catering to people who want to go backpacking to Europe! I hope to provide them with services that will enable them to go backpacking anywhere in Europe seamlessly and effortlessly with as minimal budget as possible!

Here is the actual Website: http://backpackingtoeurope.com/

I am really hoping you will not only tell your friends about this but also someday use my services!
Thanks!

Friday, July 09, 2010

A ‘Classic’ Ride!

This weekend I rode the ‘Royal Enfield - Classic’ for about 700Km and every minute of it reminded me as to why people go all the way to Himalayas to ride in their ‘bullets’. The ride to Coorg and back was one of the best biking trips I ever had.

Two of my colleagues (Vamsi & Mani) and me decided to go on a biking trip to Coorg. Thanks to my friend Srini, I was able to take his ‘almost brand new’ Classic on this trip. It was totally an unplanned trip - the only thing we had decided was the time of departure…Generally the best trips are those which have no specific destination or an appointment to keep. You are free to go where you like and do what you like.

We left Bangalore at 5 in the morning and reached Virajpet at around 11. The road was excellent. But the best part of the journey was riding from Virajpet to Madekeri. The route was very scenic. Further, the sights, the scenery, the fresh wind and the smell of nature are unparalleled when one is riding a bike. No words will be able to explain the feeling. One just has to ride in that route to get that experience. All through the journey the rain was playing hide and seek – the drizzle adding to the aura of the entire experience.

It’s very different when one is travelling by a bike. The places you visit, the route you take and the kind of stops you make is very different. For example very near to Virajpet we made an unscheduled stop as it started to rain heavily. Next to where we stood was a ‘hotel’ if you can call it one. We just decided to step into it and have our lunch. It was one of those places that looks very unhygienic and where you wouldn’t have stopped if you were in your car. But we did and we had awesome rotis and curries all for 66 bucks!!

The rain never seemed to give way, so we carried on and were totally drenched by the time we reached Coorg. The initial euphoria of riding in the rain gave way to cursing myself for having chosen this route for the biking trip..;) Trembling in the cold and having a fully wet attire right from wet shoes, made me think of all the hot soups, masala chats, spicy food that I could have had right at that point of time instead of riding in that rain.

But reaching Coorg was worth it and we had a gala time going around the place, first for finding the right accommodation (we had only two requirements – hot water facility and ESPN on TV for the football match later in the night) and then for shopping for all the chips and food that we could buy for our evening snacks.

After an awesome evening of fun, the next day we left for one of our colleague’s estate at Coorg. After some wonderful snacks and a cup of coffee we headed back toBangalore via Kushalnagar.

Overall a wonderful trip – the highlight being the ride through the lush green scenic surroundings, stopping at multiple places having ‘chai’, getting drenched in rain and of course the joy you feel when people come to you and comment about how good your bike is (even though its not your bike..:)), how they always wanted to buy one and how they wished they were also doing such a trip – A phenomenon that happened at multiple places involving multiple people.

The rest of the snaps can be found here... 

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

A Safari drive!

Driving a Tata Safari is like riding a mammoth and when this mammoth moves - people give way. A few hours drive on a safari was sufficient for me to realize that you need an SUV to drive like a King (ok, if not a king maybe like a Don!). Also those few hours were sufficient for my friends to comment on my driving skills, which is what this post initially was all about…But then as the post dragged on the main theme changed…Now the post really doesn’t have a theme…:)

Last weekend I was on a trip to Chikmagalur (a 5 hour drive from Bangalore. Further that’s not ChikmaNgalur! My friend gets pissed off if you make that mistake…). We had booked a homestay that was worthy to be called “home”. A total retro looking home renovated in such taste that it made us exclaim ‘wow’ in unison as soon as we landed there. I have been to many homestays and this one takes the cake for its location, style, hospitality and of course the hosts.

It could be seen that a lot of effort, time and money went in renovating a ‘few generations old’ home to look like the way it looked. Also the hosts were magnificent when it came to greeting us and talking to us. Topping all this was the fact that the weather was perfect. The only negative point, if you can call it one, is the lack of activities around the place. But since we mainly went there to chit-chat and relax, it was a perfect locale. In all, a beautiful place to sit outside in the garden, listen to music, read your favorite book and sip that strong cup of coffee.

The main part of the trip of course was to attend one of my friends wedding at Kukke and hence by 12 the next day we had to leave. Though I am sure my friend and his would-be wife would have loved to come to this place rather than get married in that humid Kukke..:).

With 3 days well spent and having driven a good part of the distance on my friends Safari while returning, I have realized it’s so simple to comment on someone else driving skills. I have been guilty of that before and I am sure I will continue to be guilty of that in future. But there are other factors like first time driving a diesel car, driving a mammoth, and adjusting to the condition of the car itself which needs to be considered before giving a verdict on anyone. But if you yourself are a driver you will never spare a second before commenting on someone’s driving skills.

Like many things that people comment about you, any ‘not-so-good’ feedback is always treated with a tinge of “Who cares” or “As if you know better”. But when the initial rebel attitude wears out the calm open mind actually can assimilate the various comments and analyze to reach a proper conclusion - and that’s where I am right now.

Friday, June 11, 2010

The ‘Gymming’ Business..

Looking at the number of Gyms and fitness centers that have mushroomed recently inBangalore one would feel its one of those profitable business. But they too are dogged by many hindrances that are seen in many businesses today - the most common being Competition and Attrition.

One just has to visit a gym to understand their business model and the troubles they face. To the naive, it might seem a very profitable business given the number of fitness sensitive people one finds everywhere today. The sheer number of people who sign up for these fitness centers is astonishing. But how many actually continue to attend after the first month is unfortunately a very small number. The gym I visit is frequently thronged with new faces everyday and many of them do enroll the very first day itself. But hardly any of them continue after the first few days/weeks. “Customer Attrition” at a different league! But how does one motivate people? - and that too for something as strenuous and boring as a gym? Even a discount in the rates doesn’t suffice to entice people.

The other problem is the competition. In my area alone I see some 4-5 full fledged modern gyms (price ranging from Rs. 800-3000 per month) and many assorted smaller gyms (prices ranging from Rs. 250 – 500). Even though its early days and half of these might close within a year there is still the problem of plenty, considering that the majority of their target audience is in the age group of 15-35. Because of the competition the prices too comes down. The other day after my quarterly payment was due I was offered an Rs.6500 annual fee if I could pay immediately (and of-course I didn’t miss the golden opportunity as it amounted to an annual saving of Rs.3700). But for how long these guys can sustain if they continue like this?

The investment costs for such gyms runs in lakhs (my estimate came up to approx. 10-15 lakhs for a decent establishment – equipment, music systems, AC etc) and of course there is the operational cost (cost of trainers, electricity and maintenance costs). Also there is the infrastructure cost of setting up the whole setup and paying monthly rentals. It will atleast take 1-2 years for them to break even.

One should not only have lots of patience but also the right business acumen to turn it profitable. Many things like renting out the space for aerobics/Yoga during afternoons (when the strength for actual gym is very low), offering family packages, offering special programs for reducing or increasing one’s weight, selling accessories like deodorants, energy drinks, and appropriate food items should be taken up. I hardly see these in many gyms. Also one should even try becoming an agent or distributor for the gym equipments in one’s area. Many people don’t like to go to gyms but would like to buy equipments and use it at home (atleast that’s what they hope for when they buy!) and so there is tremendous potential there. Considering the amount of competition and the problems of sustaining the customer base, one really needs to constantly innovate if one doesn’t want to shut shop.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Times Green Championship!

The day started at around 4:40 AM. I had to get up that early to reach the venue by 6AM. The event was the “Times Green Championship” and the venue was Vaishnavi Group, Sarjapur Road.

A lot of effort had been put in from my side to get here. The previous day I had to take my car to office, so that I could go to my friend - Rajiv’s house to collect his 30K cycle!!. Had to drive all the way from Whitefield to BTM layout to collect the bike and then to Madivala to get it serviced and repaired. Reached home pretty late and by then I had driven about 80Km in peak city hour traffic with a cycle in the boot. I hit the bed as soon as I landed home.

It took me almost 45min on that morning to reach the venue. Looking at the parking lot gave me the first taste of how well this event was organized. The entire parking lot was full of slush mud and there was already a Qualis sliding and struggling to get to the parking lot. The organizers were desperately trying to put saw dust and crushed stones to make it more tolerable. I didn’t want to take any risk so parked at one of the side roads. It took me about 15 min to get the cycle ready (had removed the front wheel to get it to fit into the car). I was all set by around 6:10 for the 60Km event which was scheduled to start at 6:30. However it got delayed and eventually started around 7:10. Another example of how well the event was organized.

I was joined by my cycle enthusiastic friends Babu, Harish and Nalla. There were quite a few participants, but the best attraction was watching the Indian team contingent for Commonwealth games participate in this event. Just goes to show how many such events happen in India - for them to participate in such small events. They were just awesome and the pace at which they rode was a treat to watch. Anyway we were off to a good start with no crashes anywhere. That’s when my troubles began.

With a cycle that costly and reputed to help you go fast I was struggling big time. I had to really pedal with all my strength to go forward. But I pedaled on and on and it felt like one of those herculean tasks that never gets you anywhere. It took me almost 3 hours to finish the 63 Odd Kilometers. The time really didn’t do justice to the reputed bike. Only later when I showed the cycle to my friends, who are more regular cyclists, did I realize that the brakes of my front wheel were actually touching the rim of the frame. It actually was slowing me down big time and I was like not only going against the road friction but also against the brakes. The only thing that saved me I think was my marathon experiences as otherwise I would have given up long time back. Many actually didn’t finish the race but there is always something that makes one feel like dirt if one doesn’t finish the race so there I was pedaling even after I was beyond the allotted time limit of 2.5 hours.

The organizing itself was pathetic to the core. There was no water available all through the race. As an amateur in cycling I had totally forgotten to carry water bottles and I struggled right from the beginning. Instead of spending so much on hoardings and advertisements, the organizers could have kept some water spots at couple of places along the route. In the third leg of the race I had to resort to buying Tender coconuts from one of the villagers to quench my thirst and reduce the dehydration which was causing me to cramp up.

At the end of the race I was dog tired and had about 3 bananas, biscuits and couple of bottles of water to get back my energy. I returned the cycle to friend the same day and reached home with the utmost satisfaction of completing the race and enjoying the ride despite all the hiccups and troubles. Maybe that’s what makes these events so much more interesting. It’s the surprise elements and your reaction to them that pushes you to keep repeatedly trying. 

Thursday, June 03, 2010

StartupCity - Entrepreneurs meet, B'lore 2010

The last weekend there was an Entrepreneurs meet – SiliconIndia StartupCity, atBangalore, conducted by SilionIndia. It was their 3^rd event in Bangalore and 5^thoverall (the other two events were in Chennai and Mumbai). The sheer number of people who thronged the event made it seem more like a fest or an expo rather than a forum for entrepreneurs. Apparently there are about 1000 startups in Bangalore alone. Just goes to show how many people lately have thought about entrepreneurship as a career option. It was quite an experience for me as it was the first time I even had a chance to look at so many entrepreneurs and so many Venture Capitalists (VC’s) at the same time.

When I first registered for this event I was very skeptical about what I would encounter, but like many things that you do for the first time, you later start questioning as to why you hadn’t done it before! The event was an amazing way of getting to know the pulse of entrepreneurs in India, especially in Bangalore. It was a great forum to understand what it takes to become an entrepreneur, the effort involved, the amount of patience required and ofcourse the ability to sell your idea. It was also heartening to see so many VC’s lending their ears to people who were pitching their products or ideas for some seed money.

The forum was also an excellent opportunity; to not only meet the VCs but also to get an understanding from them as to what they expect from future entrepreneurs. Insights about the way one should go about choosing a VC, how one should prepare for meeting them and also how one should try to sell their idea/product.

The best part of the entire event was the stalls that were put up by budding entrepreneurs to showcase their products/portfolio. There were some very cool/amazing ideas mixed among many ideas/products that I thought would never click or soon be redundant. One of the major drawback or disadvantage that I saw was most of the stalls were all websites/Apps/Technology related, but again coming from Bangalore one cant expect too much more than that!

If ‘YOU’ are a budding entrepreneur or have aspirations of becoming one (even if its anytime in the next few decades!), then my honest suggestion is never to miss such meets. They not only enrich your experience but also give a nice understanding of the kind of ideas floating around. It also is one of the best places to network. It’s an excellent opportunity to mingle and get to know many of the future entrepreneurs whose help/advice/services one might use in future and the icing on the cake is the opportunity to meet the VCs. If one has an idea/product/any sort of offerings, one could have preregistered and presented in front of the VCs or even do a cold call on them (though may not be a preferred method of approach). The entire experience was worth the time and I suggest you to not miss the next event happening around you.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

The day I was declared dead – Part 2.

Like I said in my previous post, it was an exciting day and I couldn’t have asked for better results. It was like a dream sequence being played. But, by the time I reached home I was dead exhausted. And that’s when all hell broke loose.

The first set of calls to enquire about my ‘death’ came in around 9 PM when we were having dinner at home. I still remember the first call from one of my ‘then’ best friend to find out whether I was still alive. It was bizarre.

The news had spread among some of the students, teachers and the principal of our school that a boy had died later in the evening after the sports day and somehow it was universally believed that the boy was me. It was a relieved voice on the other side when my friend heard my voice. Thankfully he didn’t think he was talking to the dead. Multiple calls came in that night and by the time another hour had passed, we realized there was indeed a tragedy wherein one of my classmates had died. Now, I don’t want to ponder or dwell over the cause of his death but lets just say it was an unnatural death. So there we were a bunch of 15-16 year olds many of us witnessing death in close quarters for the first time. Atleast it was quite an experience for me!

Anyway the next day the school had declared a holiday and many of us went to our friend’s home to pay our last respects. It was like a big adventure. We didn’t know how to reach his home (it was quite a distance from school), how to react in such situations, how to behave and what to do. But still all of us went. Only when I reached my friends house I realized what death means to the person’s immediate family. My friend was all at peace on his deathbed, but the madness and hysteria surrounding his body was a sight I will never forget. It was indeed painful.

It was at his home that I realized the sheer number of people who thought I was the one who had died the previous night. My principal came to me and said that, after he had heard about a student’s death, he was cursing himself the previous night for allowing me to take part in the long distance running. He straight away had assumed that I was the one who had died. Many of my teachers also said the same thing. Somehow they just plainly concluded that after my adventure that day, it just had to be me who had died. All of us had a hearty laugh about it later.

So many things happened on those two days that it’s etched in my memory. I still remember each moment, each conversation and the feelings associated with the sad demise of my friend. And to be honest more than the loss of my friend, it was even more painful to watch his near and dear ones go through the pains!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The day I was declared dead – Part 1.

It was the year 1997-98 and I was in my 10^th. And as everyone who comes from a middle class family would know it was ‘supposed’ to be the defining moment of my academic career (or so everyone made me believe it by repeatedly saying ‘You just have to do well in your 10^th board exam and your life is made’. How many times have we not heard that after 10^th? :)). Anyway the point is, it was the year in which I was supposed to make sacrifices in other areas of interests so that I could get that coveted rank for the state. So that year, everything else was put on hold.

One fine day I get up in the morning and I realize that it was the school sports day and given the fact that I was supposed to be studiously studying to shape the defining moment of my life I thought I will bunk school that day. Under normal circumstances my mom would have been very happy to see me studying instead of playing, but like most moms my mom too has a tendency to surprise one and all. She said, I quote, “You better get out of the house and take part in that sports competition. You will never ever have another sports day in your life!” and I was like staring at her dumbfounded. Even though I was a sports freak playing most of my time during schooling, I hardly took part in any serious sports events. Don’t ask me why but I was totally indifferent then (One of the things I do regret now, is not to have taken more active interests in sports competitions involving events such as badminton and TT which I was very good at).

So coming back to that day, I was in a dilemma whether to go, but such opportunities of playing guilt free were hard to come by. So that fateful day I was in school taking part is activities I had never taken part before.

It was one of those defining moments of my life.

I was never a runner and the little bit of running that I had done was while ‘running between the wickets’ in cricket. So you can imagine! But that day was different and I took part in all the athletic events especially running. I was very thin and apparently looked fragile too, so when I said I would be taking part in the 1500mts running race people started advising me against it. Right from my principal and teachers to other batch mates, everyone was against the idea. Some gave friendly advice while others mocked.

But it was a different day and I felt like there was a Kenyan or an Ethiopian soul residing inside me and so I didn’t care. When the time came to actually run, I did really feel intimidated by others around me who towered 6 feet and looked all athletic in their outlook. But having enrolled I couldn’t have just quit especially in front of all my friends. So I started running and to my surprise I was among the people in the front most of the time. In the last 500mts I could feel myself getting tired but many things around me made me continue (Before I digress, more about the motivation behind running and actually completing these events in a different post). And so in the last 100mts I actually ran faster, sprinted, overtook atleast a dozen other competitors and finished 1^st!! FIRST!! I couldn’t really believe what I had achieved. It was one of those moments when you are the happiest kid in the world. I was congratulated all around. The same people, who made fun of me, now were praising me big time. It was especially gratifying to beat the ‘professionals’ out there. After this I was inducted into the 4x100 relay team and won the first place there too. At the end of that day I had two other prizes to boast of and this was from a person who didn’t even want to go there in the first place and didn’t even know he had the ability to run!

But the euphoria was short lived and the day really didn’t end there…

PS: I didn’t realize it then, but now when I look back at this event, it was really one of those moments that change your confidence level, your outlook and your life in general. Thanks to my mom for this!

Few years down the line when I started running marathons, I was again told I was crazy and that it’s really difficult and a different ball game. But all I did was to look back at this incident and I just smiled. There are things in this world which even we wouldn’t know about ourselves until we actually go there and try. Now running marathons has become a passion and each one gives a different experience in itself. The thoughts, the will and the desire to succeed beyond your normal comfort zone is a thrill or a high that one can never explain. One just has to experience it! The euphoria is worth it and addiction to such moments is worth your time and effort.

PPS: The last weekend was the Sunfeast 10K run in Bangalore and I clocked my personal best of ~46 min (- according to the official timings, though I thought it was more like ~44 min..:)). It was the first time I had run complete 10K without stopping. Like I said it’s a kick that cannot be explained…Especially everytime you better yourself…And marathons/running is one extra avenue for me to achieve that feeling..:)

Friday, April 23, 2010

The last rites. Really?

Burning in the hallow of fire,

Priests chanting around the pyre,

Flowers adorning, covering the big attire,

Marking the end of life, or beginning of a satire? 

Under the shadow of time, filled with life’s maze,

Recalling the animated video with a haze,

Helping in bringing out the new face,

For the eudaemonia of the next phase.

A phoenix born on that day,

Sparked by a matchstick from her tray,

Made her to sway, losing the fray,

And now, nothing could stop it from being mirthful and gay.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Restiveness!!

At the crossroads of time,

Life seemed all worked up, but fine,

Illusion broken like dribbling china,

Shrieking like a proud Hyena,

Forced away from freeways,

Testing the forbidden lanes and oneways,

The agitated neurons, never in denial,

Makes the summer heat seem genial,

Frustrations, reminisce of the yore,

Are flying down to haunt me to the core.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Kicking off a Campaign!

When I heard from my friend Sunil about IISc Science and Technology run to be held inside their campus, I was all too excited. The registration was free and running inside IISc was going to be one heck of a route as it would be encompassing the entire green campus that IISc was famous for. I would also be traversing through some of the memorable building where in I had spent 6 months of weekends few years back (I had taken up a course on Image Processing there). So it felt like going back home after many years. The building where we used to have our classes, the hotel, the place where we used to have our samosas brought back fond memories. Felt nostalgic to be back!

The run by itself was great. Took me about 45min to cover the 10K. And this was after I had jogged from my home to IISc covering a distance of about 10K in 50 min. I took about an hour to come back home. So overall ran about 30Km and the best part was at the end of it, I didn’t feel tired at all. Maybe it was because of the two breaks I had before and after the actual race. The race was very well organized and despite the registration being free each of us got a free T-shirt (better than many of the corporate T Shirts we get). The route was very scenic with canopy of trees all through. There was hardly few seconds in the entire route where we were exposed to direct sunlight. I knew that the IISc campus was huge and it was green inside but I had never imagined it to be this huge (there was hardly any repetition in the 10K route) or for that matter that lush green. It was definitely one of the best places to be for a Sunday morning run. And I just hope this race will be the beginning of my preparation for my Athens Marathon.

My snap at the start of the run..:D

For those of you who haven't been able to spot me, i am in 7th Row, 6th Column..Just behind the lady in pink T-Shirt..:D 

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Thanks!

Heartfelt thanks to all for the overwhelming response and support to my Athens post. I am truly touched and honored. From people who wished me to people who actually made contributions to the sponsorship I am truly grateful. Special thanks to the two people who contributed 100 Euros and 80 Euros each as sponsorship amount. The amount represents much more than just money to me. It’s a kind of encouragement that makes the entire experience even more memorable.

The idea is to get some sponsorships from the corporates too – hope to start from the company that I work for and then maybe move on to Sports apparel manufacturers or Mobile service providers. Or maybe even write articles in magazines about our experiences, in exchange for sponsorships. Any help in terms of ideas or contacts from any of you guys would be appreciated. Hopefully, this experience of getting sponsorships would be as good as the Athens marathon itself (I have no doubts about how good the marathon would be..:)). Will keep you all updated on my progress!!

Friday, April 09, 2010

Simply Fly!

Have you ever wondered how entrepreneurs succeed and make money? Have you wondered how one can start a business from practically nothing? Have you ever wondered how your actions (past or present) will help you someway or the other in the long run? Well, for some of these answers I recommend reading Captain Gopinath’s autobiography “Simply Fly”. Nope, I don’t have the habit of writing book reviews and so will not dwell too much into the details of the book. But believe me when I say it is one truly amazing story. 

I am a sucker of good autobiography books but this one takes the cake! It’s not because he is better than most but it’s just that he hails from a very familiar background - with a middle class background from Karnataka he went on to do amazing things. He made such a big impact to the aviation industry that he is considered as the father of the low-cost airline industry in India. 

I had always wondered how he made millions from nothing. But I never knew how he got there nor did I know what he had to do to get there. When you read the book you will realize it was never a walk in the park. But his perseverance and his ability to keep trying various things has taken him where he is now. My respect to him has increased manifold after reading his life story.

Hailing from a remote village near Hassan he became an army captain. Fought in the Liberation of Bangadesh war and was later posted on the Sino-India border as a ‘watchman’. After all the spiritual enlightenment he could get there, he took early retirement from Army because he got bored with it! This was not before he extensively traveled across India and also went on a backpacking trip to USA on a meager $500. At the age of 27 he suddenly felt the urge of becoming a farmer and invested heavily on farming. He had to take a huge loan and a much bigger risk to start this venture. The breadth of his experience in these activities, his learning and his achievements is simply astounding. 

If one has the notion that one has crossed the age of taking risks or one is too old to try new things, then just throw that notion away. He demonstrates how foolhardy it will be to think like that. All one needs is to have the will and desire to achieve success and wok hard towards it! From farming he goes on and tries his hand at garage/motor workshop business, dealerships, hotel business, agriculture consultancy and even politics before plunging into the aviation industry. One must hear from the horses’ mouth to get an idea of what he learnt, the risks he took and the success and failures that followed. Half the book tells you the story of how Deccan Aviation (the charter company) was born and how it gave rise to the more famous/publicized Air Deccan (LCC – Low Cost Carrier).

The book gives a very deep insight to the life of a first generation entrepreneur and it is Simply Amazing! A must read for anyone and everyone who can appreciate grit and valor, risk, disappointments and rewards - especially for all the future entrepreneurs out there!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

A wild Leopard sends shivers through my spines!

Visitors who flock to India’s tiger reserves have only one question on their minds: "Will we spot a Tiger?" The meager number of Tigers, leopards and panthers left inIndia makes sure that most leave disappointed. Never mind the herds of elephants, deer and other ungulates that crowd the verdant forest floor, only if one of the big cats was sighted is the trip deemed a success because they have so become few and far between.

Having been on 3 such trips to wildlife reserves before, my expectations was rock bottom. I hardly cared. I had convinced myself that there was nothing special about watching one of the big cats in the wild. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

We (friends from office – Mani, Srini, Ramdu and Ranga) landed at Pollachi (TamilNadu) on Thursday midnight. This was one trip in which we had no reservations anywhere and to be honest we didn’t even have a plan! The only thing we wanted to do was get into the Tiger reserve and spend some time either at Topslip (Tamilnadu) or at Parambikulam (Kerala). Thankfully we got a decent room and we hit the bed straightaway. By Friday afternoon after a lot of negotiations and influence we got permission to stay at Parambikulam. They didn’t allow our Scorpio inside and hence had to use their transport. The idea was to spend a day there and then decide on our next plan. 

After a heavy lunch we relaxed in the forest cottage for sometime and then left on a safari to the forests. We went to the Parambikulam dam and had a bamboo boat ride where we spotted wild elephants. After this we witnessed a tribal dance (I don’t wasn’t to talk about this!). By the time we headed back to our cottages it was almost 7.30PM. The forest was pitch dark, but it seemed like it was the most active then. For the first half of our journey nothing major happened. We flashed our torchlight in all directions, but to no avail. The maximum one would see were bright shiny eyes with none of us having any clues as to what that animal was. 

But just few minutes before we reached our camp, everything seemed to happen at once. Suddenly we saw a flurry of activity. We spotted a wide range of animals from bison, wild boars to herds of deer. Even some sambars crossed our track. But none of these incidents came anything close to what we were about to witness next.

Just couples of seconds after all these animals were seen, someone exclaimed that there was a leopard in the bushes. It took me few seconds to get the direction right and then I saw it! It was one of those amazing moments in your life that will be etched in your memory forever. Even now when I think of it, shivers run through my spine. The leopard was hardly 10 feet away and it was standing majestically and was staring right back at us. There is something about a wild cat, with its tail held high, that can never come when we see them in cages or in tamed conditions. This one had an aura around it as if it was the master and we were its subjects. The vibes are just too much to bear even for someone who was sitting inside the comfort of a vehicle. The driver used a flashlight to focus on the animal and we were able to watch it for a few seconds. I tried capturing the moment with my camera but everything came black. 

In the thick forests of southern India, leopard sightings are rare. They are extremely shy animals who run away from everything other than their prey. So spotting a leopard, especially the ones lasting more than a few moments are rarer still. After sometime we could only see two shining eyes and that was the end of the most glorious moments of our trip.

Only when we reached our cottages (less than a minute away from the leopard!) did I realize how tantalizingly close the leopard was. In a matter of seconds it could have easily come over to where I was. The thought made me feel extremely happy to have witnessed such an animal in its true environment but also made me sad that the future generations may not even have this small opportunity. 

After a thankful night in the cottage we went trekking the next day morning to the forests. After the previous nights experience we had some expectations. But a three hour trek didn’t yield anything and we headed back to our cottage. 

We were back to Pollachi by afternoon and with nothing much to do we headed to Ooty. Reached there by evening and the weather was splendid. It was so cold that we had to use rajai/blankets in the night! That’s summer at Ooty for you!! The next day I and Srini got up at 5.30 and went for a hike for about 2 hours. It was a satisfying walk considering the amount of food we had the previous night..:)

We left Ooty around 9.30 and were back in Bangalore by 6. We made several stops in between enjoying the journey on the way. Sadly we didn’t spot any major wild animals both at Mudumalai and Bandipur. The only major incident was the sighting of a rouge elephant (if an elephant is not part of a heard then mostly it’s a rogue elephant and it’s considered to be dangerous) next to the road at Bandipur. A maniac/drunkard actually stopped right in front of it and was taking snaps. He was making loud noises and the elephant was visibly irritated. It was disgusting to see such irresponsible people. The elephant took two steps back, shook its head vigorously and made a trumpet noise!! It should have charged him and beaten him up. Would have served him right!!

Anyway, the entire trip was a satisfying experience with spotting the leopard being the highlight of the trip. The group was great, the humor was awesome and all the narration of exciting stories of Kenneth Anderson from my friends (I should make it a point to read his books) was the icing on the cake. 

Some of the snaps from the trip can be found here... 

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