Hari weds Nayana

Hari wed Nayana on Wed 2 June 2010, Bangalore

The ceremony

The dos and don'ts

See! Shooting star!

The rest of us (I'm clickin')

Highlight: Clyde's neck was locked at 27º from the mean position arresting the rotary degree of freedom.

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How some people sleep

Some sleep at work...

Some let their mind stray...

Some doze off in the back seat

On a get-away...

Some so horny; suck parts of their own

And some forget they were talking on the phone

Some get entangled...

Some knocked out...

But this dude is the strangest...

beyond doubt.

At the registrar's office he fancied his bed....

Slept as a bachelor and woke up WED!!!

Credits:

Pari

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Vacation '07/'08 - Goa & Pune

Its been long since i've written so here goes... i just had a fabulous and much needed holiday in India ! Met a lot of the old folks... Everyone's more or less the same. Some of the girls have straightened their hair and/or put on weight.
We did some karting again, and needless to say who was the overall champion: me :)... although a certain driver by the name of Yuri might respond to this blog trying to say how he had been leading. But my friend, the idea is to keep your kart on track rather than in the tyre wall. Anyway, you drive your Alto quite well mate, and thanks a million (I really mean it !) for taking me back home the day I was totally drunk. I'm going to remember that night for a long time now, specially since i had to explain to my mom why i don't need to join AA.

Goa, India

Anyway, had a good time at the dances inspite of not being able to put to practice what i'd been learning. But i haven't given up yet... restarted my dance classes with the British women. Mari, i'll teach you some more cha-cha-cha next time. Hopefully next time i'll take someone other than sisters or sisters-in-law as well... Oh, but I did manage to get in for the bacardi blast... with a French girl. And using a little bit of what my French teachers had thought me in school, i know her name is Sirielle. Well, "Rendez-vous à Paris, Sirielle !"
Anyway, the highlight of the holiday was the trip to Pune. It was great driving on Indian roads again, although some of my friends think i've lost touch ! But the roads were good. Its great to see India's infrastructure improving. You could almost compare the highways to the motorways here. Did quite a lot of shopping for export.
It was fun staying at the Engico home in Pune. It seems to be the 'hudda' for our batch. There's a lot i can write here, but i'll let the photos do the talking...

Pune, India

(besides i think i've caught the norovirus here and don't feel all too well).
Back in Goa, i found myself at the annual mando festival, which reminded me of my roots... and it was fun hearing the politicians speak and the spontaneous Konkani humour from Dr. Bhikaji Ghanekar.
I just wasn't feeling like coming back at all, and as if the heavens read my thoughts, i got an extra day thanks to Air India's troubled services, so spent the night at the Jajurs @ No. 903 in Mumbai !!
It was fun travelling in the Mumbai locals and getting lost in India's population...
I'm back in England and its cold and windy and rainy and horrible. We had our first snowfall yesterday and did some masti and fell sick. As a matter of fact i haven't seen the sun since i left India...

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Thump thump thump we go....

For all those of you who didn't know, Clyde n myself rode down my bike to Goa in May this year.. And the time for getting it back was nearing.. Clyde - busy as ever couldn't confirm on the date until one day before we actually went.. :-)

Friday, 5th of October I collect Clyde from the airport and we head to Dadar where we would be boarding the train... We reach with one hour at hand, so get into a restaurant for some kebabs n beer...After a 20 min wait, the waiter comes n pisses us off saying beer is not cold... Now we get desperate and walk real fast in a mutually agreed direction with two bags and a helmet in our hands.. Find a place finally.. pretty expensive.. in fact way too expensive... but what the hell!! We get in.. Ek chicken tikka, do beer.. thanda.. jaldi lao..train ja raha hai..

We gulped down in a hurry and made it to the platform well in time, but the train was delayed by an hour!! It was due to a bomb scare at CST.. and we had overheard about it on TV in that restaurant...
Had we been a little more attentive, we could've possibly put down a couple of beers more ;-)

Train journey pretty uneventful, and we get to Goa...

I spend most of the day with my bike checking this and that and getting some stuff rectified by a mechanic..

October 7 - The auspicious day

Cool n cloudy day... seemed like it could rain.. Fingers crossed...Started from home at about 9:15 and headed to Clyde's house who was ready n waiting for me... packed up the bags n headed to the next halt - a petrol pump at Pernem... There we fill up the tank to the brim and mount the big bag on it so the pillion's hands get freed...I rode till Sawantwadi, Clyde took over..

Then we stopped in Amboli for some bhajiya and omlettes.. Normal Amboli scene with some sober monkeys socialising and many anti-social humans making killos.. Other than a guy spitting from inside a Sumo right onto another guy's feet, there wasn't anything really exciting..

All along the way the clouds did exactly what we wanted them to do.. protect us from the sun.. Otherwise we would have been roasted papads by evening..

Ajra, Uttur, Gadinglaj, Nippani and onto the Highway.... where we zoomed past some 100cc toys .. Kolhapur.. we stop for lunch.. home made alu parathas n chatni under the trees by the highway.... Satara... Umbraj.. Indoli... that's where the clouds let out a few drops n cooled the atmosphere further... It was 3:45 in the afternoon, but looked like an average 6:30pm.... The last halt was about 70 km from Pune - tea break and rider switch... Clyde took over and rode home.. We were in Pune by around 6:30... No rest.. excited.. we discussed the ride, had dinner outside, came back n watched a movie... not realizing that tomorrow was a Monday.. and my office was still 200 km away..

Having slept at 1:00 AM and woken by 5:00 I was in no state to ride till Mumbai.. Edwin was kind enough to drop me right until my office gate...

We had a short high tea halt atop Khandala Ghat....

What a ride... Will soon go thumping for another.. and yeah.. keep you updated

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Swirl Sniff Sip

When in Rome do as the Romans do. But when in Nashik, do what we did. Have some fine wine.

I have always enjoyed the taste of wine on my palate but this experience was quite different. Mostly my knowledge of wine was limited to Vinho Porto but this was some eye opener. So, if in Nashik do not miss out on the wine tasting at The Tasting Room @ the Sula Vineyards. Six fine wines combined with a little bit of education(and bias if you are female) for Rs.150 only...definitely a steal. Optionally one can opt for the Rs.100, five wine option. The wines on offer for the six wine option were ...
White (Blanc)
1. Sula Sauvignon Blanc
2. Sula Chenin Blanc (this one we unanimously liked and recommend)
3. Sula Late Harvest Chenin Blanc (a little too sweet)
Rose
4. Sula Blush Zinfandel
Red
5. Dindori Reserve Shiraz (one of their finest)
6. Sula Zinfandel

The tasting includes a super micro mini tour of the vineyards where-in you get to see the crushers, the fermentation chambers, storage tanks and the bottling plant.

Ok back to the wine tasting and the informative bit. I hope most of this information is true and the guy across the bar wasn't giving us 'pilla'. The only i-know-something-about-wine-thanks-to-Wikipedia soul was Melissa and she kept the guy busy with her questions about "corked wine", "wine legs" and what not. I dunno if it were the questions or that she was the only girl amongst us .... but rounds 1 to 6 she always got served the patiyala peg while we din't. Grrrrr.

During the tasting session we learnt a few things about wine drinking...here are 10 random things i noted down.

1. Wine on the palate is usually dry, semi-dry or sweet and as we learnt very sweet too.

2. White wine is served chilled (6-10C) while red wine is served at room temperature or like the guy put it..European room temperature(15-18C)

3. How does one hold the wine glass? While drinking white wine one must hold the glass by the stem so that body heat isn't transferred to the wine while for red wine one can hold the stem or the bowl(you rather not). Well well Wikipedia tells me, ISO has standardized a series of glasses for wine tasting. Beat that!!!! ISO 3591:1977

4. The different wines would classify as white, red, table, rose, cooking, sparkling....and the list goes on.

5. The Swirl, Sniff and Sip - Once served you must swirl your wine glass(not a good idea with a full glass) to help oxidise the wine and sniff immediately to drown in its aroma. And yes then importantly sip it or if in a hurry ....gulp. :) The sniff part gives one an indication of how the wine would taste. e.g. Dry wines would have a more pungent aroma. And yeah if you wanna feel more intellectual after you swirl take a look at the legs(of the wine). I think its an indication of the alcohol content.

6. The color of the wine doesn't come from the grape juice coz it's clear but it comes from the presence of the skin during fermentation and the time duration of the presence. At Sula it's 16 hours for Rose wines and 6 days for Red.

7. The alcohol content for most wines @ Sula is 13%.

8. The year usually indicates the year of harvest while the name is usually derived from the Grape variety.

9. The taste of the wine not only depends on the grape variety but also the climate, the soil and the yeast culture used....and yes the storage(e.g. oak wood barrels) and the time.

10. One round of tasting sure gives you a nice feeling in the head...round 2 would leave you just right.

We were so into the place that we went back at night. This time however you have to buy by the bottle, pint or glass. The wine tasting hours are between 11:00 am and 5:30 pm. After that the Tasting Room is open till 11:00 pm for service and purchase(on the weekends) but make that 10:00 coz the lazy and politely rude(by switching the lights off) bartenders shut the place down. So you need to get there by 9:30pm if u want to slip in a drink. The eats on the menu are nothing to boast about but one can find handy cheese dips, assorted nuts, cheese, crackers and wafers. I would personally highly rate the tasting experience but not the wine-dining one unless you are one for the ambiance.

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Nashik ... a city to fall in love with

Destination Nashik. Hildon, Clyde, Mel and myself decided to spend the weekend away from the noisy city of Pune. En route to Nashik we went to a place called Bhandardara which boasts of being one of the most beautiful hill station in Maharashtra, with it's still virgin landscape unadulterated like most other. One can enjoy breathtaking views of the peaks, valleys, lakes and waterfalls besides boating and swimming in the dam waters. The must-not-miss place for sure is the Bhandardara Dam. Bhandardara is a must visit for all, nature lovers or not, with the rainy season being the best time of the year. The roads in Bhandardara are excellent and the drive worth it. But the road getting there from Sangamner aint the best.
Places to stay: Ananda Valley(tad expensive), MIDC (Lake View). Restaurants aplenty including the MIDC canteen.
How to get there: 190 Kms from Pune. Detour off Sangamner(150 kms from Pune) and drive for about 50 odd kms.

Nashik is a further 70 kms from Bhandardara. The route passes through Ghoti(a village where-you-feel-you-are-lost) just before hitting the Mumbai-Nashik highway(NH4). On this highway one always feels like he is in the wrong lane. Worst piece of highway to be driving on. 22 kms later comes the pilgrimage city of Nashik.

Having little knowledge about the city and no map in hand we set out on a find-the-vineyards adventure. Our globe-trotting navigator Clyde ably guided us to a hillock which he "claimed" to be the landmark to the Sula Vineyards. And this wasn't helped by the lack of knowledge of the locals about the place. One rick driver and few signboards later we found our destination. The Sula Vineyards are closer to the Mumbai highway towards Ambad->Gangapur. If one is coming from Pune then you need to get right across the city to get there(about 10 km from Dwarka Circle). More about the vineyards in the next post. May i add there ain't any hillock landmark for the vineyards :P.

We all instantly fell in love with the city. Broad clean roads, fewer pedestrians, lesser traffic, much lesser noise amidst the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations...and at first look a city better planned. Well i do come from Goa but 3 years in Pune has made me learn to value all this. The weather at this time of the year is great but the best time to visit would be the winter months and you better be well equipped. And yes the Pune-Nashik highway is nothing short of picturesque

Places to visit: Infant Jesus Shrine on the Pune Nashik road, Sula Vineyards - The tasting room, DadaSaheb Phalke Memorial, Trimbakeshwar(about 40 mins+ from Nashik)
Things to do: Wine tasting(very informative and happy experience), Gliding at the Deolali flying club(Pune Nashik road, Rs. 300 per head, flying time 10 mins), Pilgrimage to Infant Jesus Shrine/Trimbakeshwar.

Places to Stay: 5 Star - The Taj

Affordable(Pune-Nashik road): (Rs.700 -1800 for an AC room) Panchavati Elite, Kamat, Dwarka, Shanti Inn(Opposite Fame Cinemas - This is where we stayed, new, clean, safe and very good AC rooms :) ), NasiKlub(you need to know a member to stay here)

EatOuts: Panchavati Elite, Kamat's, Ginger, McDonalds are some of the ones i know of.

Nashik Photos

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Farmagudi to Panhala

Two hill stations .... (I for one think that Farmagudi was no less than a hill station) ... 300 kms apart.... a bunch of Engicos... some c*p and well the same ol' days. Being engrossed in our so-called-busy lives gives most of us little chance to meet up. So in the backdrop of Tour de la Kashmir attended by 2 Engicos we decided to do one of our own. The place of choice was Panhala, about 27 kms from Kolhapur. Equidistant between Pune and Goa this was the best spot for the touring parties from Goa and Pune to meet up. While Clyde, Melissa, Hildon and myself made the smooth and picturesque drive down the Golden Quadrilateral ..... Gaurang, Carl, Anant and Parijat took the more bumpier and scenic route thro Ambolim.

For those who haven't been to Panhala....its a must visit during the rains. Breathtaking views splashed with plenty of green and stone, lots of cloud cover and rain and nice cool weather. Its sure was great fun catching up with college mates and also reliving those good old times. We checked in at the not-so-posh yet homely Hotel Hill Top in Panhala. In spite of having 3 rooms ... all the 'killos' in one room like in the hostel where bed space maximization was at its best. That round of 'mhendicot' and some planned 'teen paana' that never happened. That bonding .. that feeling like we were back in college. Just the perfect way to de-stress from our hectic lives. The following day we were all spotted in Kolhapur buying the traditional Kolhapuri chappals. For bargaining strategies please contact one Mr. Gaurang Kamat. It almost got to a point where the shopkeeper was willing to pay Gaurang to buy his merchandise. lol. Lunch and beers at Opal was followed by the long drive back home.

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Engicos scale Sinhagad

Well I'm very sure we aren't the first of the lot but an event nonetheless to blog about. On Sunday we celebrated Hildon's birthday with a short trek to Sinhagad Fort. Since the trekking party comprised of only Engicos i thought i'd put this post up. Well besides the birthday boy there was Rawlins (Hildon's bro and 2 years junior engico), Clyde, Melissa, Amit Natekar and me. I called it a short trek coz we did the long bit by car and the short bit by foot. Sinhagad fort is located 30 odd kms from Pune and can be seen from almost anywhere in Pune. Its situated about 700 mtrs above sea level and is a historical and popular tourist spot specially in the rains. For a change this Sunday was very clear. Though a bit hazy one can see almost entire Pune City and some of the dams around like Khadakwasla. Well for sure you cannot expect good food atop a fort so we had to do with some nice Kanda-Bhaji, bhakri, omlettes,buttermilk, kulfis and a lot of masala mangoes over lunch. Also the odd bhutta. Brought back good ol' memories of aunty's gaada outside the college gate.

Parking can be hard to find and if you aren't the walking types then i would suggest that you make your way up pretty early in the day. Although the road isn't that great it sure is a treat for driving with 10 kms of curves and climb combined with some breathtaking views along the way. For the more adventurous kind there is a trek you can do or the rappelling organised by some of the adventure groups from Pune. As a part of the celebrations we almost birthday bumped Hildon off the fort...true Engico sytle.

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