supplies for siachen

Army convoy at khardung la

khardung la

Tibet

There's a massive demand for freedom in Tibet. Just shouting "free tibet" on a Lhasa street may get you ten years! Still, there are hundreds of posters like these around the city.

chang la!

Pic 1: at the chang la pass(18500 ft)
pic 2: at the pangong lake on the indo tibetian border
pic 3: road to pangong

in search of the buddha - days 3 and 4 (hemis, alichi and tibet)

Sorry for the lack of updates. There's a gprs blackout in tibet it seems. I did get a connection close to the border though.. Here are some pics from day 3 and 4. Will try to keep you updated!
Pic 1: with young monks in tibet
pic 2: the road to lhasa

In search of the Buddha - day 2 (Leh)

Buddha gets closer. We touched down at Leh today morning at 8. Leh is the largest town in the region of Ladakh and the largest district in India. Temperatures here hover close to zero with the nights being even colder.
Ladakh is not your everyday hill station. In fact its closer to a desert. The hills are barren. Brown draped in white. A study in contrasts. Leh is at an altitude of 4500 m and the oxygen levels are 30% less than normal, which makes breathing hell for the first few days. We spend the day acclamatizing to the conditions, which is a must for any tourist on their first day here. We spend the evening at the market which is small, but vibrant. The town has a mostly tibetian population with a few Nepalis. Buddhist monks and monastries abound in the region. Tomorrow we visit three of them. Thiksey, Hemis and Alichi.
Its getting colder and my fingers have started freezing. Signing off for now, but I'll try to upload more pictures later this evening. Till then, bye!

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In search of the Buddha - day 2

Leh city

Hey! No photography allowed!
The Leh airport.

In search of the Buddha - day 2

Finally reached Leh this morning. Check out these amazing aerial shots.

With cousin bro @ delhi

Day 1 pics (Delhi-Noida)

In search of the Buddha - Day 1

Indian airlines sucks. The hell on wings was scheduled to depart at six. The creatures at the check in counter manage to arrive for work at a little before 6. But when they do, they make sure they sit at the counter right NEXT to the one where all their passengers have queued up. The next few minutes are replete with absolute mayhem as the janta find themselves in a mad scramble for position. Its not over. These guys do not give up that easily. "I'm sorry sir, but this system's down. Would you please move to the next counter?" <stream of abuse follows as the mayhem builds up again>
The hell box will be late, they tell us. Nobody's leaving till seven. That's ok. This is India. And in India they dont give a damn. Half past seven and the thing finally arrives. <Let me remind you at this point of time that the air hostesses are NO chicks. In fact the company's air hostesses and aircraft have a lot in common. Both deserve retirement. Immediately.(buy em Mr Mallya!)

9 am: All hell breaks loose as the ageless monster lets loose a musical fart and climbs into the skies.
ok. We've a stopover at Kochi, but hell-in-the-air has is circling around Kochi for a good half hour now. Just as you get the feeling that the captain is dead at his stick, his voice starts to resonate inside the cabin . He's drunk. I'm sure."Ladies and gentleman, we're currently *hovering* over Kochi due to some *foreign objects* on the runway. We'll commence landing in ten minutes." Another half hour and the monster begins it musical fart again. We touch down at 10. A new speed record. Trivandrum to Kochi in 4 hours flat! (beat that Branson!). Old boy hasn't even come to a halt when drunk announces a change of hells in kochi. Till then I'll have to kill time in Kochi.
We leave Kochi at 11:30. On the flight I meet David. He's a freelance photographer from the UK on his first trip to India. A formula one freak, he's been to almost half the GPs this season. We connect instantly. The dude's even been touched by Schumi. That was in 2002. After he won the Italian gp at Monza when he was enroute to the press conference. Lucky boy David.

Its three when we reach Delhi. The flight to Leh is at 5 am tomorrow. Till then we'll stay at Noida. I'm on the way to Noida right now and just left Delhi. Hope to post again soon! See ya...

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F1 everywhere - The Force India F1 banner at the Kochi airport. Mr Mallya you rock!

Mikepitt's omanair flight to Muscat

In search of the Buddha

Ladakh. The land of the yak. The land of the Buddha. Red robed monks and ancient monastries dot the land of the llama. Temperatures dip to sub zero and the weather unforgiving. My trip to the land of the Buddha begins today... Follow the broken concept in his quest for spiritual salvation. May the Buddha bless you.

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L for lion. A for ass

"Two punjabi paneer pizzas and a coke".
"Okay sir, your name..?"
"Lakshya"
"WAAT?"
"Laksh-ya...."
"What ya"
"L - A - K - S - H -Y - A"
"Right sir. 30 minutes nahin toh free..thank you."
The guy at dominoes is either suffering from an acute bout of amnesia or his brains are stuffed with melted mozarella. Whatever the reason, he never gets my name right. A week ago my telephonic conversation with "Mr Stuffed Crust" was much the same. The only difference...? I had the time of my life thinking of acronyms for the blessed letters in my name.
"yeah.. Thats L for lion, A for ass.. K for..."
There's something in my name that makes people go berserk. And pizzaman's not the only one. My name was an instant hit with the staff at school. My chemistry professor.. a full blooded Tamilian from Tirunelveli used to call me "Laksyya". Over time it evolved and became "Lakspappa". He even composed a jingle to go with it.

Lakspappa, lakspappa
O lakspappa...
Why you got big zero
O lakspappa
Go and learn some chemistry
O lakspappa

And then as if "lakspappa" was not enough my vice principal initiated a detailed analysis on my name. Every now and then he used to jump at me with that sinister expression on his face..

"Do you know what your name means"
>I blink<
"Lakshya means aim. Unfortunately my son, the only thing I've seen you aim for is the toilet right after drowning your lunch"

As I stood before him... trapped, cornered and defeated; he dealt the final blow. His trump card.

"You are like an archer in a tornado... God bless you my son.."

In times like these.. I desperately longed for lakspappa.

N. B. If you are still having probs with my name.. Call me lakspappa... After all, as Shakespeare once said

"Whats in a name?"

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No more terror

45 dead in Ahemedabad. One in Bangalore. 21 live bombs defused in Surat. Bomb scares in Kerala, West Bengal and Rajasthan. What the hell is happening in my country? Terror has gripped the nation like never before. Homegrown terror networks have gained a foothold in almost every major city. Today, you watch the spectacle unfold on television. Tomorrow YOU could be the target. We've become a soft state, a perfect haven for terrorists to execute their sinister designs. Politicians will remain politicians. For the ruling party, its all about remaining in power. For the opposition, its all about making a comeback. The loser ultimately, is the common man: the aam aadmi.

What can I do?
Okay, you cant make decisions that matter most. Neither can you launch your own probe and track down those ba*t*rds. But you can do your bit to prevent such acts and help the victims in your own little way.

Donate Blood: Are you above the age of 18 and healthy. If yes, then DO make it a point to rush to the nearest hospital and donate your blood. Save a life.

Be alert: Report any unclaimed/suspicious object to the police IMMEDIATELY. Think not of what people'll say if its not a bomb. Think instead of how many lives you'd save if it turned out to be a bomb after all.

Watch those tenants: Got tenants at home, or do any of your neighbours? If you spot something wrong or fishy about them.. its time to give the cops a ring!

Its time we showed the terrorists our resilience and our strength. That's the way to fight back.

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Aredath

The world's biggest dodo is now into some creative writing. I've started work on my debut novel "Aredath". Its being written on blogger, so you guys go check it out at aredath.blogspot.com

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Travails with Raja Hindustani

The modern day autorickshaw has come a long way indeed. And with it, has its driver. Both have, over the ages evolved into a whole new species that lives on the edge, drives on the limit and breeds like a rabbit. Going by the sheer number of these vehicles that exist on our roads today, an auto driver would have to be born every minute... Hmmm... I wonder who's responsible?

Schumacher retired from racing a couple of years ago.. but his memories fail to fade from our roads. Well, I happened to meet one such "memory" today at East Fort where I was on the lookout for an auto. This guy was well in his twenties with his short hair neatly combed to one side. He was wearing a pink mundu with roses printed all over it... and a khaki shirt with the top two buttons missing. Adorning his wrist was a golden watch, which seemed a tad too loose for him. His auto was covered with graffiti.. with a few black patches visible here and there. "Kuttan loves Anju" read a headline at the back.. Next to it was a sticker saying "SPEED KING", with Mohanlal's latest flick "madambi's" poster occupying prime space below it. In front was the name.. "RAJA HINDUSTANI". The windshied was a riot of colours with streamers dangling from the top. At the bottom centre was Shiva doing the tandav in all his glory. Flanking him on the right was Christ and on the left was Mecca with Arabic lettering all over it. Over his head, just above the windshield was a velvet compartment that stretched from end to end. At the ends were tiny, little speakers from "Soni" which incredibly offered "500 W of surround sound".

As I waved to him, a look of annoyance spread right across his face as if a passenger was the last thing he wanted in his royal chariot. He gave the handle a sharp twist nearly banging a poor ol' cyclist who happened to be passing by, giving him the fright of his life... and finally stopping the thing a good five meters away on the other side! He poked his head outside and started watching with amusement the ultimate spectacle of me crossing the road.

As I approached, he shook his hands to know where I wanted to go. "PMG" I said.. Now I was at his mercy. It all depended on him. With one wave he could dismiss me and go, leaving me stranded to await the mercy of another great man to pass by.. But today, he was in a benevolent mood. He pointed at me to get inside and with a quick jerk, lifted the ignition stick as the monster fired to life. Half my ass was still exposed to the perils of the atmosphere when the black beauty took off with a mind numbing screech. Somehow, I managed to pull myself back inside in one piece. The world outside was a blur. Kuttan was twisting the throttle with full vigour. The other hand was flying on the clutch with gears being mauled with equal dedication. Hey did we cross East Fort?... I was just trying to figure that out, when Kuttan stamped the fuckin life out of the brakes and the auto went into a tailspin. Miraculously Kuttan countered the spin by gently feeding the throttle and leaning all the way to his right and brought RAJA HINDUSTANI to a halt just millimeters away from a merc's rear bumper. The merc driver glared at Kuttan and Kuttan glared back. We had reached overbridge. The lights were red. Kuttan halted beside the merc and glared once more. The merc driver who apparently had had enough glaring for the day looked everywhere else but at Kuttan.. Now our Kuttan was getting bored. Standing still was a challenge.. An insult to his machine.. Could he take off now? No. There was a constable on his right. Kuttan leaned back on his throne and gave a deep sigh as he went into deep thought. What was on his mind? Anju and her beautiful smile? Her pretty eyes? Her rosy lips...?

Kuttan jumped awake at the sound of a horn from behind. One glance at the traffic lights told him that they had turned green. This was HIS colour. It was time for action. He was in a drag machine and that merc was his enemy. Anju could wait. As the engine roared to life, Kuttan floored the throttle. He was bent low over the steering... His face, a picture of supreme concentration. The merc driver could only whimper this time as Kuttan whizzed past his car, nearly smashing his side view mirror into a billion pieces.

As the three wheeled monster glided along the streets.. Kuttan kept taking in the sights and sounds of the city all the time. He didn't miss the aroma of sambhar wafting towards us from a vegetarian restaurant at Statue. He didnt miss the foreign tourists taking a stroll at Palayam. And he certainly didnt miss those hot chicks coming out of the godamm university I belong to.

As the meter clicked away merrily, Kuttan kept humming a Tamil tune to himself as his mundu kept fluttering in the breeze like a flag on a polestaff. At PMG, our vehicle started to slow... and like an aircraft touching down, the auto taxied down the road and came to a halt somewhere near plamoodu, a few hundred meters from where I wanted to get off.

Kuttan twisted himself to get a good look at the meter and then at me with the expression on his face clearly indicating that if I tried to run away without paying up...... I hurriedly took out the purse from my pocket and handed him the money. He searched for change in his shirt pocket. He searched below his throne. He even searched everywhere behind the pink flowery mundu.. And finally with a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes, he looked back at me helplessly.... and then sped away into the distance.

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The T.I.M.E bomb

The cats will roar next year. B schools will be on the lookout for the best minds out there. So for you future corporate honchos.. Its time to gear up. T.I.M.E has kicked off its pattom and vazhuthacaud batches this week. The palayam and kannamoola classes begin next sunday. So shake your asses and register NOW!

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The phorbes list

The rich and the powerful have had enough of forbes and his bloody list. Its time for a new list, they say. And who better to do it than ahem... your fav blogger ;) Presenting the Phorbes list 08. Where glamour clamours to be...

1. Sania Mirza -
Topping our list is the Hyderabadi bombshell. For her tennis and nothing else... I swear. With all the publicity she gets... I wonder how she handles those balls!

2. Aamir Khan-
The perfectionist finds his way to no 2 on the list. Not surprising.. Of course, its not the first time he's been no 2 (oops!).

3. John Terry
Chelsea captain. In the list for his spirit of sportsmanship. He lets the best team win, all the time!

4. Warren Buffet-
Phorbe's billion dollar baby. Built his empire with the stock market. Basically he's a NYSE guy!

5. Himmesh Reshammiya-
The CAPacitor. He stores enough charge to discharge the entire nation.

6. Yijay Mallya-
Lives the playboy life. The king of turnovers. Bought one of IPL's most expensive teams and 'turned it over' into perfect phorbes material.

7. Britney Spears-
A kickass resume with an honorary diploma in haircutting. Spikes anyone?

8. Bill Clinton-
So what if Hillary loses. There's always Monika darlin next time...! In the phorbes list for his never say die attitude.

9. Shoaib Akhtar-
The ban-buster.
So what if you dope.
You can always claim that it was coke!

10. Rino Ravi
A big time forbes wannabe. Way to go chum, you've already made it to phorbes!

The sport I love.

Aggression meets speed in the insane world of formula one as the fast and the furious battle it out for that bottle of champagne. The sport is a perfect blend of technology and passion fuelled by the spirit of racing. Speed is the core element behind sport. In fact, in the middle ages sport WAS speed. While the number of sports multiplied in later centuries, one critical element remained costant. Speed. Sharapova's serve, Beckham's free kick, Vishy's checkmate, Shoaib's delivery.. all rely on speed. So where do you get to see speed in its purest form? Yeah. Racing.
F1's roots can be traced to Europe in the 1930's when motor racing was still a new sport. The sport was called grand prix racing till 1952 when it started being referred to as the formula one championship. Sixty years on the sport has grown to become the world's most popular championship spanning over 18 events and 6 continents.
Here in india f1 has a substantial viewership base second only to cricket. And with delhi all set to host its first f1 race in 2010 and a desi f1 team in the championship, cricket is in for some tough times ahead.
I'm a die hard ferrari fan. A tifosi to the heart. May the prancing horse rule the WDC this year..
GO KIMI!
GO MASSA!
GO FERRARI!

Season of rain and combined studies...

The rains failed this year. So did the combined studies.. As they say.. Seasons may come and seasons may go.. But combine studies? You stick with em forever! :)

No Tree No Love

No tree no love

The MIC campus is getting an expressway! (yup. A four lane monster leading to a cute li'l tiny gate!). So the (enterprising) authorities can now teach the government a thing or two 'bout the golden quad ;)
The construction has left the trees along the way in grave turmoil. Well, see the pictures and look for yourselves.. As a grieving senior put it "So many love stories have happened below those trees.. Hope the stories live long unlike those poor trees". But before I could ask him if his love story had also happened below one of them.. he had disappeared, vanished, perhaps eaten up by the same monster that he loved to hate.

The spirit of an entrepreneur

The spirit of an entrepreneur

One thing that's common to the college going desi junta is the love for a certain phobia called the "placement", which often makes most of em delirious with apprehension. No placement= no life. Getting placed in a major IT company is a law that at NO costs should be broken. Crap.
I have my life.. And I wanna live it king size. I live by my own rules. No one dictates terms to me. I am my own boss. I am an entrepreneur. (well not yet but wait and see!).
An entrepreneur is a true master of life. He lives in style and dies with honour. Entrepreneurship is passion for some. Passion that gets them going. Passion that takes hold of them and sets them apart. Its an adventure that takes them through the ups and downs of life. Its an art.. An art which when mastered, encompasses all glory. The road might be difficult.. yes but the views along the way are exquisite.
Entrepreneurs are a wide and varied lot. You'll find playboys and wannabes... Tycoons and the bankrupt... Dreamers and achievers.. But one thing which binds them is the will to succeed. The world will remember them even after they're long gone. They will be immortal. In life and in death.
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ReKord mayhem

Rekord Mayhem!
Record carnival came like thunder and went.. Like.. yup.. Thunder. To get your record certified is most definitely a record of sorts.. It requires courage, determination, stamina and yes.. Patience.. Lots of it. Cyrus nijo and broken went for the kill this week:) yup and the mission was a resounding success as not only the records were certified but new fashion statements were created (check the pics!). And I swear by god that was not because the security didnt let us in because of our colourful attire!

Technopark gets Yumm!

Technopark gets YUMM!
Friday was toxic. Good food and great chicks. It dont get better. Planet Yumm @ tejaswini is yumming away on the seventh floor. Chic king, papa pancho, dominoes, the passion fruit, kwiky's, mother's kitchen.. have put the techies to a massive binge drive.
Trivandrum has changed.. a brilliant example being yumm! So while i click away on my n73 why dont you guys go and check it out!