Author

Kanupriya

Yercaud: A Passage To Tranquility

October 5, 2008
After some 40 days of planning and some 80 mail exchanges, finally the trip to Yercaud happened 🙂 
 Considering it was a group of six professionals with varied work life, planning definitely took some time as arranging day offs on the same weekend was sort of a Herculean task, but at last we did it! And what a trip it was
 absolutely enchanting, delightful and a complete break from the regular hustle-bustle of the city life. If I have to describe the trip in just one phrase, I would say it was simply a passage to tranquility.

Just came back from a three day trip to Yercaud yesterday. As decided we left for Yercaud on 2nd Oct’08 morning, though we had all the intentions to start early morning by 5:30 am but call it our laziness or the last night get-together aftereffects which went on till 2 am, we managed to leave Bangalore only by 7:30 am :). We took the Hosur Krishnagiri road and stopped for a quick breakfast at a small road side dhaba after Krishnagiri. Though the distance is hardly 230 Kms from Bangalore but since we drove leisurely and took lots of breaks in between, we managed to reach there in approx 7 hours, however normally I guess one can easily manage to reach there in 5.5 hours.

The drive was awesome esp. the ghat route after Salem which was full of greenery and natural beauty and to add to that the vehicle used was an SUV one which made the driving experience all the more wonderful (thanks to this couple friend of ours for using their own Dicor :-)). Uphill driving was relatively easier as compared to places like Ooty and there are 20 hairpins to be crossed to reach Yercaud. It was quite easy to locate our hotel “Star Holidays” (that’s the only place wherein we could manage to book our rooms because of long weekend rush) which was on the main M.G. Road itself (oh yes, there was a M.G. Road there as well which was hardly like a small lane :-)). First impression of the hotel looked impressive, small cottages with cute li’ll balconies. We decided to check-in, get freshened and then leave for lunch as well as some sightseeing. Hmmm, now came the most difficult part i.e., finding a god hotel to eat. Almost every place was damn crowded with little food options left as lunch time was almost over. After some deliberations, we decided to settle for Shevroys. Food was ok but better than what was on offer at Star Holidays. Once our pet-pooja was done, we decided to roam around in the town and the first thing which one could notice was the Emerald Lake which was just in the center of Yercaud. We went for self-pedaling boats and it was quite a pleasant experience to just boat around on your own in the placid water. Rest of the evening we decided to spend in our hotel balconies itself, well overall it was a great evening except for the dinner served by Star Holidays Restaurant which was really bad.

Warned by last night’s food and service experience, next day we decided to venture out for breakfast to nearby areas and oh we landed up in Club Mahindra’s property which was hardly a kilometer away from our hotel. What a lovely place it was! Adorned with French architecture, the property boasts of amazing landscapes and dĂ©cor. Breakfast was awesome and service guys were really hospitable. After a good cup of tea and sandwiches we left with an intention to come back again for buffet dinner. Next targets were Pagoda Point, Lady’s Seat, Gent’s Seat and Children’s Seat. These places were good but not well maintained, lots of dirt and litter here and there 🙁 and because of hot climate, we decided to quickly move to our next destination – The Servarayan Temple which is situated on top of Servarayan hill. Temple is inside a small cave and the surrounding areas were fabulous with a very pleasant climate – Don’t miss this place at all and try to go there in the evening to enjoy the sunset and lovely weather. The day ended with a scenic drive back to hotel and some fun n frolic in our same old cottage balconies. Next day, it was time to return back to Bangalore – but no our holiday was not over yet as we had decided for a stop over at Hogenakkal Falls which was enroute to Bangalore.

The drive downhill was lovelier as the ghats were full of fog – wow, it was truly beautiful. After almost 3 hours of easy driving we reached Hogenakkal, now Hogenakkal experience definitely deserves a separate post as it was really a marvelous experience. So, I will post the details of Hogenakkal later on. And with loads of enjoyment, full jollity, hila ke rakh dene wale PJs (trust me, some of our group members can win world level prizes if there was ever any PJ competition) and lovely songs by some of the good singers in groups, the trip ended on a beautiful note. We all reached back safely to Bangalore last night with lovely memories, exquisite reminiscences and only one sad thought – Why do Holidays end so soon 🙁?

Quick Facts:
My Recommendations:

  • In case you are looking for a vacation spot with lots of tourist attraction and places to see, then Yercaud is not the right place for you. But if you want to have a serene and peaceful trip and if you love the silent retreat with nature then definitely visit Yercaud.
  • In case you are willing to shell out 3k-5k and if you can manage to get the booking, try out Sky Roca or Club Mahindra for stay, otherwise the place is full of economic options like Star Holiday or Shevroys. Though Star Holidays was having a beautiful property but the service was hopeless and food quality pathetic. Try to have food at other places, we tried out Hotel Silver breakfast (a small dhaba just near to Star Holidays on M.G. Road) and tea as well as Dosas were amazing. Other places like Indieco hotel (Club Mahindra property) also serve you good lunch and dinner buffet at Rs. 175/- person and breakfast buffet at Rs. 120/- per person.
  • Incase you are not an expert driver for hairpins and uphill route, drive bit carefully. Though its not as difficult as Ooty but its not as cakewalk as Yelagiri too.

About Yercaud: Yercaud is a small hill station situated amidst the Shervaoyan Hills in the Eastern Ghats, close to the town of Salem in Tamil Nadu. It is at an altitude of 1,500 metres from mean sea level. Yercaud has been named so because of the lake located at its center – in Tamil “Yeri” means “lake” and “Kaadu” means “forest”.
Distance from Bangalore: Approx 230 Kms (we started from HSR Layout)
Driving Route: Bangalore – Electronic City – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharmagiri – Salem – Yercaud
Road Condition: Very good as on Oct’08
Climate: Pleasant with bit cold esp. in the morning
Ideal duration of trip: Not more than 2 days

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves!

September 27, 2008

I sometimes wonder what would my reading world have been without P. G. Wodehouse :-)? I somehow can’t seem to be ever bored of his marvelous pieces. Just finished off “Stiff Upper Lips, Jeeves” by Wodehouse yesterday and I think its one of the best of Wodehouse which I would have read ever. Infact I read a Wodehouse after a long time and as usual it was full of brit style humor and a very-very interesting read. Throughout the book, not even once you get turned off and instead of feeling monotonous about Wodehouse, the book just leaves you wanting more and more of him :-), so much so that I’ve already decided to buy another one of him during my next book shopping 🙂

The story is also of Bertman Wooster (as is the case with most of the Wodehouse’s) who hates his Uncle Watsyn but somehow lands at his place Totleigh Towers to sort out certain nuances of his life. And in his noble effort to play the raisonneur, how he ends up messing his own life. It’s a funny read to go through the complications and impediments of Bertie and his interactions with Jeeves. As earlier I won’t like to divulge the exact details of the story in the benefit of those who want to read this book, but I can tell you very confidently that if you like reading good humor, you will surely love this book. And this is a very short read as in it’s hardly a 200 page book, so you can quickly finish it even between your tight schedule and work life. To summarize, “Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves” is an example of Wodehouse at his best! It’s a definite must for all Wodehouse fans and for those who have not read any Wodehouse till now I think it’s a must must & must as humor like Wodehouse is very rare to find these days.

BTW, I also read some other very good books mainly Indian Fiction and Business Books reecently, but guess will leave my comments about those for some other day. Well, daily traveling in Bangalore traffic and out of city tours have atleast one advantage – you get time to read more :-). So, more traffic jams mean more books and more tours also mean more books. I’m now off to this new book which I bought from Mumbai airport other day– an Indian Story written by an American author. Hope this turns out to be good too!

Balika Vadhu : Finally there is something to watch on TV

September 22, 2008
Ah, after a long time managed to reach home today early at sharp 8 pm, not bad considering that it was Monday today 🙂 and the first thing which I did was switch on Colors Channel on television. Now TV and me! Quite unlikely, but yeah I did so happily and was glad that finally I would get to catch on “Balika Vadhu” on its normal time today otherwise either I will have to catch it in late night show or on Saturdays when they repeat the whole week story at one stretch. Isn’t it sounding strange that I am talking of catching up on some television soap? Well its definitely sounding strange to me atleast!!!!!!

I have been planning to express my thoughts about this particular television soap since long, but somehow never managed to do so. I think after a loooong time there is some program on television which has got me hooked on to TV again, its Balika Vadhu which airs on Colors channel from Mon-Fri at 8 pm. Well, I hardly get to see it at its normal time but this serial is so damn addictive that I wait to catch up on its late night repeat telecast. This soap is about a very different but real life theme, its about child-marriage and this issue has been portrayed in such a sensitive way that it just leaves you spell-bound as a viewer. The main protagonist Anandi is an eight year old girl who has been married to almost equal aged Jagdish and the soap shows Anandi’s transition from a child to a bahu in such a poignant way that it just stirs and shakes you from deep within. The innocence of Anandi just makes you wonder how these child marriages must be affecting lives of so many girls like Anandi. All the characters have done a wonderful job and they all look so real, be it the role of Anandi played by Avika Gaur or the role of Dadisa played by Surekha Sikri, honestly speaking Surekha Sikri has done an amazingly authentic role so much so that sometimes you feel like hitting the screen after seeing her. Infact today when I was watching the serial I get this SMS from one of my friends who was also watching today’s episode saying she feels like smashing dadisa right now :-). See, I’m not the only one who feels like this 🙂

So, its not only me rather many of my friends and colleagues as well who have got hooked onto this serial and trust me this list includes some guys as well :-). This serial has definitely converted lots on non-TV watchers into TV watchers again! Well, you need to watch it to agree to my this strong statement. No wonder this serial has managed to score such a high TRP of 4.22 in just 3 months only leaving lots of nonsensical saas bahu operas behind. I only hope it remains as engaging and gripping as it is now and not turn into yet another television trash in times to come.

Weekend with “The Last Lear” and “50 first dates”

September 21, 2008
Why do weekends end so soooon :-(??? Well, another weekend just went by but nonetheless it was a relaxed and lazy weekend for me, something which I was desperately longing for since last so many days. Just spent time reading book, watching movies and ah cooking some of mine and hubby’s favorite dishes – mint chicken curry and baked fish. The kind of foodie we both are, weekends are generally spent with some good food. Watched two very good movies as well – “The Last Lear” and “50 First Dates” and I just loved both these movies. Here is my take on these movies and I’m sure these will strike a cord with all those who like watching good movies

The Last Lear: I think this is one of the best movies of Amitabh Bachchan I would have ever seen and Preity has never acted better than this. Again as I say I wont go into details of the story much as I want all of you to watch this movie J. In short, Amitabh plays the role of reclusive yet passionate theater artist whose life is all about Shakespeare and his plays but because of some reasons he backed out of his dream role of King Lear and never went back to stage again. Arjun Rampal who is a young generation director decides to make a film on fading talent and he offers this magnificent role of a joker to Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh in his endeavor to give his best takes a very emotional decision and ends up risking his life into a paralytic situation. I just loved the ending scene of the movie where Amitabh even his memory is lost, is able to recall those very captive words of his master, Shakespeare! Though Rituparno Ghosh has given some wonderful masterpieces to Indian Cinema but I think this is one of his best directorial works ever. Every actor in this movie has outshone his / her previous performances, be it Shefali Shah, Divya Dutta or Arjun Rampal. One may find the pace of the movie bit slow but I think that is very much required by the story. I can summarize this whole movie experience in just two words – INTENSE & BRILLIANT and a must watch for all those who are open towards some serious cinema viewing, but in case you are looking for a light hearted movie then I don’t think this would suit your taste, rather watch movie like 50 first dates of a DVD at home 🙂

50 First Dates: Well, this movie got released in 2004 only but somehow never got the chance to watch the same, watched it today on a DVD and found it to be a very sweet movie. “50 first dates” is a romantic comedy having Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as the lead actors. It’s a story of a guy who never gets hooked on to one guy and finally when he falls in love truly with this girl, then he realizes that the girl suffers from a brain injury and hence has a short term memory problem. Determined that he is for his love, he finally he manages to convince the girl and after a series of incidences finally they get settled happily in married life. A very very sweet romantic movie which touches your heart at the end J. In case you have also missed out on this movie like me, please do watch it, I’m sure most of the people are gonna like this movie for sure :-).

Hmmm time to log off and hit the sack now, afterall its Monday morning tomorrow and another hectic week ahead :-(!

http://helpbihar.in: Interesting Example of Viral Marketing

September 20, 2008

One of my friends forwarded me the link http://helpbihar.in which is a campaign for helping Bihar Flood Victims. Its an initiative started by www.planindia.org and the conceptualization and design is done by Quasar – an interactive online agency. This site asks you to fill answer for some simple questions and for each correct answer sponsors would donate Torches, Candles, Milk powder, Match Boxes, Chlorine Tablets, Nylon Ropes, Tarpaulin Sheets and Biscuits to Bihar Flood Victims. Sponsors name and logo is mentioned in the right hand side of each question and some of the sponsors observed by me were Godrej, Chevrolet and Cadence. For each correct answer you get to know what you have donated to help the Bihar Flood Victims. The more people answer the questions, the more donations go to flood victims.

Initially I had some doubt on the authenticity of this campaign and hence I directly asked it from one of my business associates who works for Quasar and he confirmed that this is very much a real campaign and the donations are being given by the sponsors to Bihar Flood Victims. The site has this message displayed on top – “The more people play this game, the more help goes to flood victims. So click here to invite your friends. My first reaction as a user after submitting the answers was to send this to all my friends and acquaintances. Me and many of my friends have donated money and clothes to victims as per our means and resources but when I sent this link to them not only did they answer the questions themselves but most of them have forwarded this link to all in their contact list. When I put this link in my status message in all chat engines, almost 50% of my contacts in my list pinged me and asked, “what is this link all about”. A very very effective viral marketing example I must say! This definitely has the power to encourage individuals to pass on this message to others and hence has the potential for exponential growth and influence. And the best part is that it immediately connects to you and sending it to others is very spontaneous and intuitive. I liked this concept a lot and I think Quasar has done a wonderful job as far as conceptualization is concerned. Its really good to see such innovative viral campaigns not only for product promotions but for serious social causes like helping flood victims etc.

BigB’s blog statistics – Bigadda or BigBadda?

September 17, 2008

I had written earlier about BigB blogging on www.bigadda.com and initially I had read some of his posts as well but then in due course of time I stopped visiting his blog. But today I dropped into his blog again mainly because of some noise in media about his recent posts and oh the look and feel has changed completely from what it used to be during its initial days but nevertheless this new look is quite impressive! And the first quote by Harivansh Rai Bachchan is as always soooo good! But what caught my attention was the fact the current post is of day 151 and almost everyday there is atleast one post posted on that blog. Wow, this is really regular and good! As I said in my earlier post if it is BigB genuinely writing these posts then it is praiseworthy. Even if he is narrating and some content writer from BigAdda is writing it on his behalf then too I think its commendable, though because of so much of personal touch I am forced to think that its BigB who is writing all these posts. What caught my next attention was the post of day 140 which mentions the traffic of his blog since April’08, here is a snapshot of some of the important figures available on his blog:

  • Unique visitors since April08 – 1,05,0,520
  • Unique visitor for Sept 08 – 37,509
  • Average number of visits per day – 16,000 +
  • Total number of visits since April08 – 2,37,0,000
  • Total page views since April – 1,14,00,000
  • Average page views per day – 100,000

For once I think Bigadda has not hyped up this figure much. Considering the number of comments which any post is receiving on this blog (on an average each post receives somewhere between 700-1000 comments), I am sure 16000+ daily visitors is sort of a real figure. And 11.4 million pageviews is a very striking figure considering its hardly a six month old blog. Not many websites also achieve this kind of figures in such a short span. Good for Bigadda, atleast they have one differentiator now which can bring more traffic to their website. Otherwise there was hardly anything on their website (apart from those “lets catch up” ads on which they wasted few crores to get some one time visitors, LOL :)) which can make anyone visit their site again. With a 16,000+ daily visitor count, I am sure BigB’s blog is contributing to a major % of their daily traffic. Infact recently bigadda has changed their UI, considering the % contribution and the fact that this is Bigadda’s only strong point, I am wondering if apart from UI, Bigadda should be have gone for a re-branding exercise as well and changed it to BigBadda 🙂
Overall very remarkable statistics considering its just a blog, but afterall its BigB’s blog.

Aamir in Tata Sky Ad

September 16, 2008

I had written earlier in July about Jhingala’s counter strategy and now that Aamir’s ad is out, I have a mixed reaction. Not that I didn’t like the same but at the same time it’s not something which made me say wow! The ad as we have seen features Aamir Khan in a half man half woman (ardhnarishwar) role. Here is a short description of the ad & the video from youtube:
Aamir plays the role of a Punjabi bride AND groom who are fighting over which satellite connection to have? Bride says if he will not get the SKY connection for her, she will go back to her house in London. They fight over TATA or SKY and then dramatically groom says, its India where Tata and Sky are already married to each other and hence by having TATA SKY the consumer not only gets the world class technology from SKY but also reliability and best service from TATA.

Well, as a consumer I think it has definitely caught my attention but I think it has its plus and minuses.

Message: I think the message is clear and emphasizes the strength of brand very clearly. I’m sure not many people were aware that TATA SKY is a 80:20 joint venture between Tata Sons and BSkyB, a Rupert Murdoch company and this ad very subtly conveys this message thereby accentuating the tech supremacy of the product.

Creative Idea: Hmmm, for this I do have a mixed reaction
Am wondering if there could have been any better creative idea for this campaign. Well, starting was sort of ok but I didn’t like the cheesy bollywoodish style ending of the same and the ending line which sounded something like “jo family dekhe Tata Sky saath who rahe hamesha saath saath”! Ummm knowing the excellent creative ideas which Rediffusion DY&R comes up with, I think it could have been bettered up.

Execution elements: I think this was brilliant! Whatever the creative idea was Aamir has lived upto it beautifully. Once again you can’t resist from praising Aamir’s acting and performance in this half man half woman role. BTW I think he is looking quite cute as Punjabi bride, LOL :D. The ad definitely has got a recall value because of its execution and presentation style.

The ad is making noise all across, now its time to wait and watch if this brand campaign boosts up the figures of Tata Sky as against DishTV whose last campaign (SRK announcing Set Top Box Free!) was pure n pure sales promo campaign.