Weekend getaway from Delhi

21 May09

The week end was approaching and on Thursday, we came to know that my sister has a scheduled holiday on Monday. So we decided to take a leave too and head to Dehradun. Here is an account of the extended weekend and extended fun that we had.

Day I

Route taken- Delhi-Karnal-Yamuna Nagar- Saharanpur- Mohand- Dehradun

The road till Karnal is a part of the Grand Trunk Road (which extends between Kolkata to Lahore (now just till Amritsar)) and is one awesome road. It was a wide road and not with very heavy traffic. From Karnal we left the National Highway and got on to a State highway towards Yamuna Nagar . The road is single laned with pot holes. But after some distance, the road improved, pot holes reduced but the traffic became very heavy.

Reached Dehradun by about lunch time, and then went to see our house. The place was looking great…the house is a part of a society that is built on top of a plateau, closed to the river Tong and another rain fed river. The weather was gr8 too…all cloudy...a welcome break from the dusty and hot Delhi weather.

(Tall teak trees and clouds)

We didn’t do much on the first day, only got the house cleaned, installed a ceiling fan and a few light points and connected the Cooking Gas that we had carried along from Delhi etc... and came back to stay in the officers mess of the Special Frontier Force.

Day II

We had planned to have a small pooja at our house, so that we could stay there whenever we visit Dehradun. After the pooja, it is customary to stay at the house at night. We had nothing much to do and had all the time to enjoy the weather and the place.

And what a great weather it was, dark clouds- away from the maddening and polluted Delhi, it was a pleasant and welcome change. We decided to go for a walk in and around the colony, as it had started drizzling.

As we came out of the colony gate we saw an unguarded mango tree with plenty of raw mangoes. We tried everything to pluck those mangoes-shook the tree and even pelted stones and did manage to get plenty of mangoes. By then it started raining heavily so we strolled back home for a hot cup of coffee sitting in the verandah and enjoying nature. Incidentally there are huge teak trees (may be 50 feet or even taller) outside our row of houses and they seem to be enjoying (like us) the rains and dancing to the tune of wild breeze.

(Trying to pluck some raw mangoes :))

It was so hard to resist such weather that, we decided to go for a walk again, did a bit of trekking too. We went for a long walk on the bank of the rain fed river and on the way back sat down on the parapet wall close to the river and Pa couldn’t resist telling us what he would do if we came to stay at this place for a longer duration.

(Thats Pa with his YOGA pose ;))

It rained all day. We generally can’t see stars in Delhi thanks to the pollution, but in Dehradun it was also impossible, thanks to the clouds this time. A local there told us that the weather has been similar for the pas

t couple of weeks with rains, nearly every evening.

Also Dehradun being on the foot hills of Mussoorie, one could easily see the twinkling lights of Mussoorie (in between the cloud cover) and it was a breath taking site. In fact I am feeling jealous of the residents of Dehradun who would be watching this everyday. I did try to capture the scene but because of the distance, cloudy weather and night time, the digital camera actually did not do justice to the scene, but anyway I am including a pic of the same here.

(Mussoorie at daytime)

(Mussoorie by night, not very clear though)

Day III

We had to start back today because we had just taken one day’s leave, but it was difficult to leave Dehradun when you think of the weather in Delhi.:(

We took a different route this time and followed the following route,

Dehradun- Mohand- Roorkee- Muzzafarnagar- Meerut- Delhi

Though this route was a bit shorter, but most part of the route was single laned and had heavy traffic without a road divider. After Roorkee, the road was in parts four laned with dividers and then use to suddenly change over to single lane at transition points the roads became nearly undrivable with more pot holes than roads. (The road and flyovers are under construction). So in all it took us more time to cover a lesser distance and a beautiful extended weekend came to an end.

We have been told to try a new route next time after Yamuna nagar via Ponta Sahib to deheradun, as it is supposedly an awesome route via jungles and ghats. So soon, we'll probably be heading to Dehradun via this new route.

Why did AIIMS need a private doc for PM's surgery

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to reveal how the decision to bring a private doctor, Ramakant Panda, to conduct Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cardiac surgery was arrived at. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, 76,was operated upon at AIIMS by an 11-member panel of doctors led by Ramakant Panda of the Asian Heart Institute (AHI), Mumbai.

The decision to ask for the information came on an appeal filed by Jagdish Chander Jetli, who had asked AIIMS why Panda was chosen to conduct the prime minister's heart surgery.

Jetli contended before the CIC that "The public has the right to know why a premier institute such as the AIIMS, which is staffed by the best doctors in the country and with the best of medical facilities, had to invite a doctor from outside to conduct the operation in its premises. This is a matter of great concern to the public and inviting a doctor from another institute has eroded the reputation of AIIMS."


Here is what the public had to say about this piece of news..most of them criticized the reservations for this, but a few defended the decision too...

Yan,India,says:Why was a SC/ST/OBC reserved passed doctor not selected for such an operation ??? That would have helped the backward community greatly. Any comments on "Practice What You Preach" ??

Atul Saxena,USA,says:Truth is bitter : We are loosing image of both Premier Institutes IIT's and AIIMS world wide because of reservation factor in teaching staff and education. Inviting outside doctor is indication that no body wants to die and if this facility is given to common public they will do the same what PM did. It is an indication to all of us to understand, India need change. No more miss-use of Vote collection tool. Uplift SC/ST/on the top of it OBCs without using reservation and there is a way to fix it. Sooner is the better for Progressive India.

R.Sundara Raman,The Netherlands,says:Get real. Can we take care of our prime minister with the best health care. Why should we bicker about this . Remember our TamilNadu chief minister M.G.Ramachandran was sent to USA on tax payer's expenses in the 80's. We should be happy that the treatment was in India.

S Sood,India,says:It shows that our Govt doctors are good for nothing.They are not raliable and dependable.What will happen to the public? This is misuse of Public Money.

Pankaj Maheshwari,Mumbai,says:With due respects to Dr Panda, it was a decision enforced upon by the then health minister A Ramadoss who wanted to underline that he was the boss and to settle scores with Dr Venugopal of AIIMS owing to his personal animosity with him who is the best cardiac surgeon. In his blatant use of power to satiate his own ego Ramadoss put the reputation of AIIMS at stake and sowed doubts in public minds regarding efficiency of AIIMS doctors.

Dilip S,Bangalore,says:I think this concern is fairly reasonable. It does make us lose faith in institutions that are we've been always told are some of the best in the world and not just in our country.

RR,USA,says:Simply because AIIMS is a play ground for politicians like Ramdoss, Arjunsingh etc and selection of a private doctor by PM/PMO reflects their confidence on their cabinet and prevailing quota/reservaion system in every "Centre of Excellence" in the country. There should be a law passed that President/PM,Governors and all Ministers, MPs, MLAs et., should only be treated by BC/SC and ST doctors in Sarkaari hospitals. Then either things will improve or the Country can get rid of the rubbish.

Basavaraj Vannur,Chennai,says: They don't rely on the doctors appointed based on quota. This is true about reservations and its effects. Mr, PM why this double standards?

Sharad Pandey,varanasi,says:well if it really happened due to a special request from the prime minister and family then i guess he has set a bad example as the head of the country.

AJ,California,says:Because AIIMS may be full of doctors from the SC-ST category!!!!!!! They may have entered through the back door using the reservation system but you cannot use them to operate on the Prime Minister! They should operate on poor people.

Bharat,says:My opinion is they were not sure about the capabilities of those SC/ST/Minorities candidate who got to be at AIMS thanks to Mr.Arjunsingh.

Vijay,Bangalore,says:Here is the reason that will come out.... We have AIIMS and then we have reservations. So when the PM required a coronary bypass, he suddenly panicked. They wanted a "Reputed Doctor" while the common man can make do with the reserved ones... Welcome to the jungle, and welcome to reality. How unfortunate, where caste plays a bigger role than merit. :( Oh country, my country, what has come of thou...

Sushil Verma,usa,says:If the Prime Minister of the country does not have confidence in the competence of Indian doctors, what kind of message it has for the people of the country.

K B Shahi FRCS,uk,says:There is nothing wrong in it. It does happen in all over the developed world. The cardiac surgeon who did our PM's operation has got special interest and experience of redo operation. He is the product of the same instition. He was the best in the eyes of PM and the institution. It does not mean degradation of our Institution from any standard.

My lessons in life- Aziz Premji

Respond instead of reacting
=============================
I am very happy to be here with you. It is always wonderful to be withyoung people. The funny thing about life is that you realize the value of something only when it begins to leave you. As my hair turned fromblack, to salt and pepper and finally salt without the pepper, I have begun to realize the importance of youth.

At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have learnt along the way. I hope you will find them useful when youplan your own career and life.

The first thing I have learnt is that we must always begin with ourstrengths. From the earliest years of our schooling, everyone focuses on what is wrong with us. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. Therabbit was enrolled in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hopvery well but could not swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit gothigh marks in hopping but failed in swimming. The parents wereconcerned. They said, "Forget about hopping. You are anyway good atit. Concentrate on swimming." They sent the rabbit for tuitions inswimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim? While it is importantfor us to know what we are not good at, we must also cherish what isgood in us. That is because it is only our strengths that can give usthe energy to correct our weaknesses.

The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far morevalue than five found. My friend was sharing me the story of his eightyear-old niece. She would always complain about the breakfast. The cook tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy.Finally, my friend took the child to a supermarket and brought one ofthose ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pourwater in the dish. After that, it took two minutes in the microwave to be ready. The child found the food to be absolutely delicious? Thedifference was that she has cooked it! In my own life, I have foundthat nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. Infact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we havestruggled to earn it.

The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time.Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy winning. But do not let it go to the head. The moment it does, you arealready on your way to failure. And if you do encounter failure alongthe way,treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don't beat yourself for it or any one else for that matter! Accept it, look at your ownshare in the problem, learn from it and move on. The important thingis, when you lose, do not lose the lesson.

The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility. Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wonderingwhether you deserve all of it. This brings me to the value ofgratitude. We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, ourteachers and our seniors have done so much for us that we can never repay them. Many people focus on the shortcomings, because obviouslyno one can be perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge whatwe have received. Nothing in life is permanent but when a relationshipends, rather than becoming bitter, we must learn to savour the memoryof the good things while they lasted.

The fifth lesson I learnt is that we must always strive forexcellence. One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than ourselves. Keep learning what they do differently. Emulateit. But excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must alsofeel the need from within. It must become an obsession. It mustinvolve not only our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem,which says that your reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth. Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.

The sixth lesson I have learnt is never give up in the face of adversity. It comes on you suddenly without warning. One can eithersuccumb to self-pity, wring your hands in despair or decide to dealwith the situation with courage and dignity. Always keep in mind thatit is only the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this incident with me. His eight-year old daughter wasstruggling away at a jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but couldnot succeed. Finally, it went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her,"Look, why don't you just give up? I don't think you will complete it tonight. Look at it another day." The daughter looked with a strangelook in her eyes,"But, dad, why should I give up? All the pieces arethere! I have just got to put them together!" If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem into its perspective.

The seventh lesson I have learnt is that while you must be open tochange, do not compromise on your values. Mahatma Gandhiji often saidthat you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off your feet by the breeze. You must define what your core values areand what you stand for. And these values are not so difficult todefine. Values like honesty, integrity, consideration and humilityhave survived for generations. Values are not in the words used to describe them as much as in the simple acts.

At the end of the day, it is values that define a person more than theachievements. Because it is the means of achievement that decide howlong the achievements will sustain. Do not be tempted by short cuts. The short cut can make you lose your way and end up becoming thelongest way to the destination. And the final lesson I learnt is thatwe must have faith in our own ideas even if everyone tells us that weare wrong. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Everymorning, the Customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting,grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. Thevendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, "Thank you, Sir." One day, the vendor's assistant asked him, "Why are you alwaysso polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don't you throw thenewspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?" The vendor smiled and replied, "He can't help being rude and I can't help being polite. Whyshould I let his rude behaviour dictate my politeness?

In my youth, I thought of myself as a rebel and was many times, arebel without a cause. Today, I realize that my rebellion was another kind of conformity. We defined our elders to fall in line with ourpeers!

Ultimately, we must learn to respond instead of reacting. When werespond, we evaluate with a calm mind and do whatever is mostappropriate. We are in control of our actions. When we react, we arestill doing what the other person wants us to do. I wish you all thebest in your life and career.

I hope you achieve success in whatever way you define it and what gives you the maximum happiness in life.

"Remember, those who win are those who believe they can."

(Address by Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Corporation, in the "Shaping Young Minds Program" (SYMP) organized by the All India ManagementAssociation (AIMA) in collaboration with the Bombay ManagementAssociation (BMA) on February 9, 2004 at NCPA in Mumbai on " My Lessons in Life. )

What the hell

For the past 2-3 days, my mobile phone can be only used as an alarm clock...

Because...my mobile doesn't have network.
Also I can't use my landline phone @ home to call anyone because though it has a dial tone..it is still not able to connect a call...
And I have to check my mails in office because the net @ home is not working...

The reason for all this-> MTNL employees are on strike.

Also elections now over, the power cuts are back again...before elections..when temperatures were touching 45...there was not a single power outage..and now at 40 degrees they claim that it's too hot so the consumption has increased..

Politicians ke ghar par power cut nahi hota..illegal colonies mein illegal power supply kabhi band nahi hoti...And it is ONLY the middle class people who have to bear the power cuts...

What the hell.

Elections 09: The Lessons

Election ke din agar aap vote nahi kar rahe..to aap so rahe ho- Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaign

This is the second elections after I became eligible to vote, however couldn't vote in the State elections as I was im Goa...so for all practical purpose, this was the first time I was voting.

Though I have to admit, none of the people who were standing for elections came to campiagn..though there are some 900 houses inside Asiad Village. Though some Congress worker had come earlier to distribute calenders with photos of Sonia Gandhi and Ajay Makken (the guy who is standing from this area..)

But I still went to vote (though because it's a secret ballot I can't tell you whom I voted for :P). The polling booth was infact waliking distance from my place. And there wasn't much of a line...voted and came back.

But watching the news giving the polling percentage, it was actually a disappointing figure..till 3PM it was just 38% voting in Delhi...which increased to 53% when voting closed. That still means that nearly half the population did not vote.

The reasons for not voting included missing names from the voter lists to the holiday on voting day. In fact school vacations are also on. In UP, election was on a Thursday, Friday was a holiday. The Monday before the elections was a holiday too. And the Tuesday and Wednesday of the week was also declared as holiday for Government schools (citing the reason that the teachers have to be on Election duty on Thursday and they might have some last minute work..) So all in all the whole week was closed for school children and 2-3 days off for most of the population of the state. So which person will not take 1-2 days leave and enjoy 9 days of holidays..and jab 9 days ki chutti hogi...to koi ghar par to baithega nahi...sab ghoomne hi jayenge..I think its high time we stop giving a holiday on election day. Voting doesn't take an entire day...Vote and get to work..SIMPLE.

In all countries that have democracies...the majority of voters are the middle class. Not many uneducated people vote...however in India is the exact opposite. Also with such a large population working in MNC and staying in the same place as the one where their voter id were made. This means that they are not able to vote as opposed to they do not want to vote. The EC should seriously consider making the procedure for transferring a voter id from one place to another easy, hassle free and fast so that more middle class people vote.

And now when the counting has begun..we will see political parties getting down and dirty trying to woo smaller parties...but according to the trends..looks like Congress led UPA would be back in power...

ST@ST: The PS Still Continues...

Somanchi has now become the joke supplier to the BITS_Trainees@ST... He got a little busy a few days back and was not sending any jokes. This resulted in decreased efficiency of our work. Mails flew around requesting Somanchi to send jokes and on a day when he was absent, here is a mail send by Mayank in sheer desperation ( inspired by 24)...

" Subject: RE:

Every Body This is Special Agent Jack Bauer.... It's a CODE RED ::: Put out an APB on SHASHANK SOMANCHI effective immediately...suspect is highly trained and heavily armed with jokes..Zero in on the suspect using laughing protection and extreme caution..USE NON-LETHAL FORCE suspect is to be taken into custody and ordered to release his 'biological weapon of mass construction' - his PJs into the ST Trainee List ASAP failing which he should be neutralized covertly. Consider all ST security personnel at your service. Redards, Agent Bauer(Mr. Anderson/Mayank Kr. Singh), Special Agent,Ex-CTU currently a trainee,STM.
"

Well PS still continues, and has such moments too...but it has become too drag now...maybe it has to do with the fact that its nearly 4 months now or the fact that we have been asked to start working on the final reports now.

Also another observation: My bus driver (see earlier posts tagged PS to know more about him) is similar to Michael Schumacher. Both of them love the rain to drive. Recently when there were rains in Delhi, and every vehicle was driving slow, our bus fellow got us home in record time, faster than any of the dry (as in not rainy :P) days..

Also had a gr8 start to the week..thanks to the news that Nimit, Meet, Lalit, and Prateek have got into BHEL in the second innings of BHEL Placement. Congrats to everyone who has made it…

Happy Mother's Day

>

Well It's mother's day...and I am at Faridabad, at my Grandparents place. And though the day doesn't seem much different from the rest of the days...because one can always take time out to tell your loved ones that you love them...

And yesterday I was watched Taare Zameen par (for the n th time now...) and this particular song still evokes the same emotion that it elicted the first time I heard it...

This one is dedicated to Mom with all the love in the world..

"

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin

Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa

Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin

Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa

Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa

Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa

Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa Mujhe
Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa
Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe
Sochu Yahi Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa

Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa
Chehre Pe Aana Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,Hain Na Maa
"

Love You Mom

This happens only in India..Part II

It can only be in India that a terrorist can raise irrelevant issues and stall court proceedings against him.
Ajmal Qasab, the lone surviving terrorist is making a mockery of the justice system of the country. It has been more than 5 months after he was captured and all this time we couldn't start proceedings against him because he did not have a lawyer. Now when he has a lawyer, all he seems to be doing is delaying proceeding by claiming Qasab was a minor when he committed the crime to his cheeky demands for things like Flavored toothpaste, perfume and permission to walk outside his cell..

Next he might want to contest in the general elections here...

And talking of the elections, you have to be a Gandhi to do this in India. Talking to media persons yesterday, Rahul Gandhitalked about nepotism in Indian politics and he wanted it to end.

This coming from a politician whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents were all politicians and came into politics thanks to this 'Vanshvaad'. Now he talks of how bad it is for the country...Waah re India..