Infinity to Tirupati

Time sure does fly. In a matter of 10 days I'll be returning to Singapore. The past 6 weeks have been topsy-turvy to say the least. Experiencing the Indian way of life has been a huge eye-opener and coming from a place where the basic necessities - uninterrupted water and electricity supply, well built roads and perfect public transportation system - is in place, it felt like a fish out of water. Gradually I began to adapt and like a chameleon, I am now more than comfortable with my surroundings. Out of all the 6 weeks I've been here so far, the week that just passed was the best, as I finally visited a place that I never imagined I would so soon.


The week began with me working out of the BCP (business continuity plan) site for Tech Ops in RMZ Infinity. To be honest, this office complex was much better than the current RMZ Titanium site. It looked very modern and was a rather trendy place to work in. It had 5 office blocks and a commercial space just below the office blocks which had a supermarket, food-court, pub cum bar, banks and bookshops. It felt like going to work in an office in Science Park Drive. Take a look at the pictures below

The Main Entrance

Block E and D

Block A

                                                                      

Block B and C

Thomson Reuters is present in Blocks A, D and E

               The working area which similar to the Singapore office                                        

There was always a place that I had wished to go in India for a very long time. When I knew I was coming over to India, I had to grab this God given opportunity to visit this place. The place I'm talking about is none other than the Tirumala Venkateshwara Devasthanam that is located on the Tirumala mountain range in the town of Tirupati. This is the richest and most visited place of worship in the world with between 50000 to 100000 pilgrims visiting daily (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirumala_Venkateswara_Temple). This happens to be one of the holiest Hindu places of worship and every Hindu worldwide will try to come at least once in his/her lifetime to this place. Twice during my stay in Bangalore I had planned to go but it never came through. Since time was running out, I made it a point to visit this place by any means possible. It takes a 5 hour bus ride from Bangalore to get to Tirupati. Lucky for me, Satish also wanted to go to the temple thus we planned to go together.

                           The bus that was to take us to Tirupati                                                    

                                    Satish and I in the bus                                     

     

Our journey began at 2130 IST as the bus left Bangalore for Tirupati. I slept along the way and we reached our destination around 0345 IST early the next morning. We stopped at a lodge to rest and freshen up before hitting the road once again at 0500 IST. If you were to go to Tirupati, before embarking on the long climb up the mountain range, it is imperative to visit the Padmavathy temple which is at the foot of the mountain range. Padmavathy whom is also referred to as Alamelu is the consort of Tirumala Venkateshwara. There is a legend as to how both the deities temples ended up at the foot and the top of the mountain which can be read here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_Tirumala.

The main gopuram of Padmavathy temple   

                               The main entrance to the temple                                                         

Both the temples had a strict policy of not allowing any electronic items within it's compound meaning no phones, cameras, Ipods etc. While entering a body search is done to ensure that everyone complies with the rules. There is no room to bribe your way into being allowed to carry any of the banned items inside. When it comes to God, everyone seems to have a sense of duty and reverence. After finishing prayers at the Padmavathy temple, we were taken back to the initial lodge where we had stopped for breakfast. All this was part of the package that we had paid for. With breakfast over, we hit the roads again to the Tirupati main bus stand. To travel up the winding and steep mountain, you could use your own vehicle or those coming on packaged trips had to use the local bus service which uses buses that are built for the climb. The climb takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the volume of vehicles visiting the temple.

There are three ways you can have access to the Tirumala Venkateshwara temple complex - the free darshan queue, Rs. 50 darshan queue and Rs. 300 darshan queue - and this three ways will take you between 90 minutes to a full day to enter the temple ground. As the number of pilgrims swells by the day, the temple management had to come out with these special queuing systems. The free darshan queue is the longest and takes up the most time, sometimes up to a day. We opted for the Rs.300 "Seegra Darshan" line which took us 90 minutes to enter the temple. Once inside the temple ground you're ushered by volunteers to the Sanctum Sanctorum where the main deity - Tirumala Venkateshwara - is. It is a magnificent structure which is made of pure gold and words can never describe it's beauty and glory. Mind you this temple was built nearly 2000 years ago and the grandeur of it is amazing. It is a sad thing that photography is not allowed as seeing is believing. After finishing prayers, we had to move on to collect the one item everyone who visits this temple looks forward to - laddus. Laddu is a sweet Indian delicacy that can be found in any Indian restaurant or sweet shop but the laddu here is special due to it's size and taste. Another interesting fact is that the laddu served by this temple has been patented and no other temple can use the same recipe thus making it even more special.

Tirumala Venkateshwara Laddu

After leaving the temple ground, we rushed to the locker where we had left our belongings to retrieve my camera and take some shots of the temple area. Since there was no photography within the compound the next best thing was taking shots from the outside.

The entire temple complex

Part of the gold gopuram of the Sanctum Sanctorum which is partially visible to the left

Tirumala Venkateshwara temple

All in all it was a memorable day as I had visited a place that I was looking forward to during my stay in India. As I never took shots while on the way up, I did so while returning down the mountain.

Notice the winding road

Vehicles making their way down

View of Tirupati town

This was indeed the best week of my stay as it was fun, enjoyable and spiritual. I hope to make a return pilgrimage to this temple once more within this year but this time I'm bringing my family along. There are some things that can be expressed by words and there are some are best seen to be understood.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

Tiger Tiger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile His work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger Tiger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

" The Tiger - a poem by William Blake (1794)"

Above are two items that I would like to highlight - the coat of arms of Malaysia and a poem by William Blake circa 1794 - that display the tiger (panthera tigris) and speak highly of it. Today the number of tigers in the wild have dropped from over 100,000 in the early 1900s to just over 5,000 currently. Their range from Siberia in the north right up to Bali has now dwindled to tiny pockets of protected forests in Asia.

Malaysia is home to the Malayan Tiger (panthera tigris malayensis) a sub-species that was officially ratified in 2004. Up to that period, the world believed that the big cat of our Malaysian forests was the Indochinese Tiger (panthera tigris corbetti). Now isn't this something to be proud of? We have a gift from Mother Nature that we can call our own and this is our national treasure. Today roughly around 500 of these majestic beasts roam the dense forests of Peninsular Malaysia. Their numbers used to be much much more but illegal poaching, reduction of natural habitat, reduction in natural prey such as sambar deers and wild boars and human tiger conflict have put paid to their numbers. 

With the creation of national parks, there is some form of protection offered to these beasts who reign supreme over our forests. They are the apex predators of the forest and it is up to us to maintain this status quo. With the initiative of this Tiger Blogfest, it is hoped that the general public take a keen interest in the protection and well-being of this natural treasure. For starters, spread the word around and keep your circle of friends informed on the plight of our national treasure. Also please shun all form of medications that are made of tiger body parts as it has been scientifically proven that there is no truth in their supposed medicinal properties - remember when the demand stops, the reason to supply stops - also please refrain from using tiger body parts as ornamental decorations.

Let us take the first proactive steps beginning today to ensure the well-being of our national treasure so that it's beauty and mystery can be enjoyed by the future generations. Let the roar of the king be heard forever in our forests and may he rule supreme for generations to come...

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The tiger is our national animal. Our heritage. But today only less than 500 of them

remain in the wild. As Malaysians, we need to stand up and protect our heritage.

Speak to your children. Speak to your leaders. Everyone of us can make a difference.

For further information, please visit MYCAT (www.malayantiger.net), WWF Malaysia

(www.wwf.org.my) and Department of Wildlife & National Parks (www.wildlife.gov.my)

HARIMAU KITA, WARISAN KITA!!!

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Tiger Blogfest 2010

As a concerned nature lover, I've decided to participate in the upcoming Tiger Blogfest 2010 that was initiated by a fellow blogger from Malaysia who goes by the nickname Monyet King (http://planetofthemonyets.blogspot.com/2010/03/tiger-blogfest-info.html). This is a great effort and something that we should partake in and help in spreading awareness for the tiger. The majestic beast which rules supreme the rain forests of Malaysia and Asia. If something isn't done to stop the illegal poaching, I'm afraid the future generations would only have old episodes of National Geographic Channel or only pictures to know what this beast looked like. There is no point in having it on our nation's emblem if nothing is done to protect it. What pride there is when our national heritage is in danger of being totally wiped out?

Let's do our part for the tiger and educate others on the need to protect and conserve this majestic beast.

Below, I'm reproducing details of the Tiger Blogfest 2010 obtained from Monyet King's blog for the benefit of others intending to join.

===============================================
Tiger Blogfest 2010 – Preliminary Instructions

Period

19 – 23 April 2010 [Why ? Because 22 April is Earth Day]

What to do

Post at least one piece in your blog about the need to protect the tiger. You can plan and prepare ahead of time. Your first posting must be made on 19^th April, preferably before 9.00 a.m.

You are encouraged to post additional articles during that week. But you can just stick to one post if you cannot spare the time. It would however be nice if everyone can post two pieces, one on the 19^th April and the other towards end of that week.

What to write

Post anything that you are comfortable with as long as it carries a message about the need to protect our tigers. You can choose to write a story about the tiger, post a technical paper, compose a song or a poem, draw cartoons, etc. etc. Preferably in English or BahasaMalaysia.

Comradeship

All participating blogs should carry (1) the Tiger Blogfest 2010 logo; and (2) a common message about protecting the tiger. Both these items will be provided to all participating bloggers.

List of participating blogs

The list of participating blogs will be displayed at several tiger and nature-related websites. We are targeting 100 blogs for this inaugural Tiger Blogfest. [we already have unofficial confirmations from 22 blogs]

Other activities

Still being considered :

• Link to a petition, urging the Government to expedite the implementation of the National Tiger Action Plan
• A talk on tiger conservation – all participating bloggers will be invited

Note : The final instructions will be emailed to allparticpating blogs (i.e. those who register)

Interested ?

If you are interested in doing your bit to help protect our tiger and participate in this blogfest, please contact Planet of the Monyets at gbm.ere@gmail.com to register your blog. [and if you want help beyond just writing about the tiger, do let me know too... tiger conservation could do with plenty of help]
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Lying Low, doing nothing

The first 3 weeks I was in India, I was going around exploring but the same can't be said for the week that just passed. It seemed more subdued and quiet. For a start, I suffered food poisoning and was really low on energy. The only high point was that I managed to catch the Clash of The Titans movie and have an Indian cinematic experience. Do you believe that they have reclining seats in Indian cineplexes? It's true and the Indian populace have good cinematic etiquette; no phones ringing, no talking while the movie is going on and no running-commentary on the goings on on-screen.

The week ended rather quietly and I never planned any outings with the guys and since it was a weekend off for my team, most of the people in my team went back to their hometowns. I was lazing away in my room and making full use of the hotels facilities. For a start, I spent quite a lot of my time at the poolside either reading or swimming. The TV had some interesting shows going on and I can't remember when was the last time I was hooked onto tv for a long period of time.

All in all, things seem to be slowing down and now as my 5th week is nearing a close, I'm beginning to feel the slight tinge of missing home. Probably it's the loneliness in a foreign land or what but I seem to miss my dear wife more. Miss the smile of her face, the smell of her hair and her loving touch.... Well in 3 weeks, I'll be home and the first thing to be done is to hug her and feel her warm embrace...

Before signing off though, I share the one song that always makes me feel good, the lyrics-less Life in Technicolor by Coldplay...

 

Bangalore, India... Week 3

As I continue chronicling my stay in India, I realized that 3 weeks had passed just like that. Time sure flies and I'm beginning to warm up to this place. I was initially unsure on how the experience would be but was looking forward to it since it would be the first time I left the comfort of Malaysia/Singapore to be in a totally new place for a long period. Another factor of note is, there are many colleagues who are Indian nationals in my office who were recommending places that I could go to once I was here.

At the beginning of the 3rd week, the guys in my team planned a trip to a theme park that was 30km outside the city. The park was called Wonder la Theme Park. On the day, the plan was to meet in the office for breakfast and then leave. The park opens only at 1100 IST. So that morning I left my hotel at 0815 IST and picked up Satish who lived on the way to office. Rajesh was already in the office as he stayed nearby. Rajesh, Satish and I had breakfast and hung around the lounge until 0930 IST before we left. The reason being to avoid getting stuck in the notorious Bangalore morning rush hour. At 0930 we left in Rajesh's white Maruti 800 which closely resembles the Perodua Kancils found on Malaysian roads. On the way, we fetched Abhilash first and then Mallikarjun. As I had mentioned earlier, this park was outside the city and the journey took almost an hour.

We followed the road signs to the park and when we thought we had reached, we realized that we had to drive further 5 km inland through some uneven, forested road to get to the park.

At last, the park entrance came into view.

                                    

The guys who planned the trip (l-r) - Satish, Mallikarjun, Abhilash and Rajesh

The park consisted of dry rides and water attractions. We reached around 1045 IST and after finding a parking space, we proceeded to the ticketing counter to purchase tickets. Currently the summer school holidays are going on and as expected, the park was teeming with school going children and their families. The was a snaking queue waiting to  tickets at the cash counters and sensing that we'll have to wait long, Rajesh bought tickets using his credit card. While waiting for the 1100 IST opening time, we took more pics.

 

Abhi and I

                                      

The un-official Coke model

                                    

Crowd waiting at the entrance to enter

At 1100 IST the doors opened and we entered one by one. I had mentioned before that you go through security checks when accessing public places in India. Once in we wanted to hit the water attractions but it didn't open until 1230 IST. We proceeded to the locker rooms to keep our bags and get changed before hitting the dry rides. I need to mention that I have acrophobia. Some of these rides actually brought you up to mid-air and within seconds, you would find yourself flipped and hanging upside down precariously. The first ride we tried was the bumper car. It certainly brought out the kid in all. It was fun and a throw back to the days when we were young and care free.

                                  

                                  

After having fun bumping into each other, we moved on to try the other attractions.

                                    

Reached the top of the Net Walk ;-)

                                    

We proceeded to try the somewhat more extreme rides and I'm posting the videos of those rides below. I tried almost all of it except for The Maverick as I felt like puking after being flipped and moved around like a rag doll.

After having our fill of thrills, we moved on to the water park. It was awesome fun with crazy slides and wave pools. Sadly no pictures were taken as it would have damaged my camera but we had fun indeed. Around 1700 IST, we left to return home. All of us were feeling dead tired but we really had a great time and it was worth it.