The Koolest One !

Trip Back Home...

2008-01-31T01:18:00.000+05:30

Seems kinda wired to say "Trip Back Home"..... Coz Ann Arbor is home now.But I guess India will always be home, the place where all my childhood memories lie, and probably where my future is too. Anyway, so back to the trip. I had an awesome time. I went to Delhi, Bangalore, Katmandu, and Kolkata. It was fun meeting with family and friends. Everyone treats you like you are a princess, and have returned from a long journey. The elders had questions like "how do you cook?", "How many friends do you have", etc. Friends and cousins were more interested in whether or not I had any cute guy friends, and how class was.
Lemme write more about Nepal. We went to Katmandu and stayed in Soaltee, which has one of the best casinos in Nepal. There isnt really much to see around Katmandu. We went to the Pashupatinath temple, and went to see a few hotels. Besides that, we spent every night at the casino. Since the currency in Nepal is cheaper than the Indian currency, it was not too expensive to play. I was at the casino for 4 nights, and didnt loose any money overall. Lost on the first day, but gained it all back the next. It was a good holiday, and I got to spend some quality time with my family.
I was in Bangalore for 10 days. Got to catch up with old friends. Most of my friends from undergrad are now in Bangalore, as are all my friends from school.
In Kolkata, I attended a party every single day. Winter is party season in Kolkata, when people have parties in their garden and enjoy the weather.
My holiday was basically uneventful, and totally fun !

Travelling on the busiest travel day in the US

2007-11-27T06:48:00.001+05:30

Today I had an experience which was one I'll remember in a long time.. and this was probably the worst day in US till now !
The Monday after Thanksgiving is supposed to be the busiest day in the US for air travel. All flights are almost full.
My day began at 4a.m coz I had a flight from Chapel Hill to Detroit at 6a.m. After checking in and taking a really really long at the security queue(it was as bad as Indian security queues are in the mornings, probably much worse), I reached my gate at 6:01 a.m. Obviously, the flight had left.
They then booked me on a flight at Philadelphia, and from there to Detroit, at 8:30 a.m. For some strange reason my voicemail on my phone wasn't working, and I wasnt able to check it until I got back to Michigan. I recieved a call at 7:30 a.m which i somehow missed. At 8, I walked up to the departure gate, and was told that the flight had been cancelled, and they had left me a voice mail. I was tavelling US Airways. They then said that they could book me on a Northwest flight which went directly to Detroit, which would be around 1 p.m. But for that, I had to go out to the check in area and get a boarding pass reissued (They said my baggage would be transferred, I didnt have to worry about that).
Again, I had to go through the long security line(it was shorter than morning but still took m about half an hour to get thru). After an excrutiatingly long wait, this flight finally took off pretty much on time.
The bad thing about US airlines is that they dont serve food in flight.
Anyway upon my arrival at Detroit, I went to the luggage claim area. All the baggages were claimed, and mine didnt come. I went to the Northwest baggage counter, and they said they didnt know where my luggage was, and I had to file a complaint. To top all this, once I had given all my details to file the claim, the computer got turned off accidentally, and I had to wait for 20 mins before I could give them all my details again !
It was snowing in Ann Arbor when I arrived here ( No, it wasnt snowing when I left, it was pretty warm, so obviously I didnt have a thick jacket or gloves with me).
Iv never felt so good about arriving home ! After this long day, I hope my baggage will arrive, and in one piece.

Diwali away from home....

2007-11-11T13:02:00.000+05:30

Diwali is one the of the main Indian festivals.We celebrate at home in great style... lighting up the entire house with little lamps called diyas, wearing indian clothes, visiting elders, and doing puja among other things. I thought Diwali in Ann Arbor will be dull and dry, with nothing much to do. We decided to cook good food and call all our friends over. At least there would be something to do on Diwali then.We also decided we would go to the Hindu Temple at Canton, and to a party hosted by the Indian Students Association.
The day before Diwali, we cleaned up our entire house. It is a tradition to have a clean house on Diwali. The entire gang came home for lunch, we made Indian Food and Indian sweets. We then got dressed in Indian clothes(salwar kurta). It was fun dressing up, with my roommates n I fussing over each other. We lit up our house with Diyas, and did a small puja at home. We then drove down to the Hindu Temple at Canton. The atmosphere there was really good, I was amazed to see so many Indians all dressed up and at the temple. There was also the Diwali puja going on. We attended the puja for half an hour, and then left for the ISA party. A couple of my friends from America,Germany,China an UAE also came with us for the party. My friend from China, Jiang, actually wore a saree ! There was a cultural program, followed by an amazing spread of indian cuisine. After that, there was a dance party, with hindi music. It was great to see everyone, even people who are usually very serious, come out of their shells and dance !
There wasnt even a moment on Diwali when I was alone and missed home. Here in Ann Arbor, friends are family. It is they who are with you when you need someone. I had an awesome Diwali, my first away from home, and a very memorable one !

The first snow !

2007-11-07T14:39:00.001+05:30

I had an early lecture this morning. As i was ready to get out, it started to rain... and then it started to snow ! This was the first snow of the winter..very mild.. but snow nonetheless ! For someone coming from India, where it doesnt snow at all... the experience was exciting ! I got into my thick jacket (luckily iv finished up with winter shopping so Im prepared for the winter), and left the house. The white flakes kept falling on my head as i walked towards the bus stop. I tried to catch a couple but wasnt able to....the snow was too mild.....
I am now looking forward to the winter...and lots and lots of snow !
The temperatures have dropped ... with night temperatures going down to -4 degrees centigrade. It is really nice to go for walks in the cold with a jacket on...the wind blows into your face and keeps you on the move.

Work and fun !!

2007-09-15T08:42:00.000+05:30

I am sitting at 12 am in the library and writing this post.........
The past week has been pretty hectic, and pretty much fun too. We have classes where we need to do group projects, and theres a class where we do yoga too ! It might seem strange... but it is kinda funn.. its basically a way to get from the passive lecture mode to the activity mode ! Almost all classes have group discussion sections... we actually have to read n go for these... something thats taking a lot of getting used to... just NOT used to doing homework and reading.
I have heard so much from peers about the group projects and affinity diagrams and other stuff, Im looking forward to doing all that.. will surely write about it when it comes along. I have also decided to participate in a design contest called CHI, and this years topic is homelessness. Google it out if u want more info, and email me if you have any ideas :)
Well its not been an all study week, theres been a lot of fun too! We had an Indian students association meeting today, where we watched CHak De. It was fun to watch it here, give you a sense of being proud of India.
The cold is now setting in,the temperatures go down to 6 degree Centigrade(maybe, but pple here are still pretty much in their shorts). I have just returned from a walk outside, with a hot cup of drinking chocolate, and a nice group of friends. Sounds great doesnt it? well it is. Besides this, there was also a karaoke night, and we learnt a bit of salsa. :)
I guesss I'll sign off now, and try to get back to studying, got lots of assignments and readnigs to do for this week.
n OH YA ! INDIA WON THEIR TWENTY 20 MATCH AGAINST PAKISTANN IN THE MOST AMAZING MANNER ! ! ! (This is the spirit of India... once an Indian ALWAYS an Indian !!)

Please lave ur email id with comments

2007-09-06T11:13:00.000+05:30

hi... I have got some comments where pple have asked questions but havent left their email ID.. so if u have specific questions then please post ur email id along with ur comment... i promise i'll reply if i have an answer. Thanx.

The fortnight that was....

2007-09-06T10:47:00.000+05:30

For regular followers of my blog... sorry I havent blogged as I had promised I would when Im in the US. I just havent been in the mood to write... so much has been going around me... Am kinda just settling in to the new life.
Taking a friends suggestion n naming the post "The fortnight that was.... "
Life as an international student at Umich is not exactly very easy, as you might realise when u read on. There are so many formalities to complete, TB test to be taken, etc. There is trivial stuff such as finding out the best routes to places,figuring out where your classes are,finding the closest grocery store, or even figuring out what cereal to buy :) It all adds up to some really hectic days around here.
We have kind of settled in to our apartment now. The place Im living in feels more like a mini India, which is good. Helps avoid feeling homesick.
Last week was full of orientations and parties. We had some international center orientations, our school orientations, and the university orientation. Got a lot of chance to interact with our seniors and lecturers. The weird thing here is that you call most of the professors by their first name, something we are just not used to doing in India.And we have a mentor, who helps in deciding what courses you should take up, etc. Deciding courses is again a difficult task, coz we're just not used to being given so much choice.
To help decide, we have been advised to do "Class Shopping". This is a system where you can actually attend all the classes you would like to in the first week, and then decide whether you want to add that class or drop some class or whatever. Another thing we're not used to back in India is doing homework and reading before a class. There is some required reading that we have been given, to be done before attending a class. This is something Iv never done, so it felt strange. But I also realised that doing your background work does make the class easier to understand.
All Iv been doing this week is attend classes, speak to professors, and try to figure out whats actually going on. The entire study environment is so different from what I am used to. The classes are much more interactive, almost all classes Iv gone to till now use presentations for lectures, and we are encouraged to get out laptops to class.
I think Iv said a lot on studies, something thats kinda gonna fill my blog in the days to come as well, so maybe I should move on to the parties Iv attended.We went to a frat party (which is supposed to be a house party organised by fraternities for undergraduate students, but we just got in by pleading and using some resources). Also there was this thing called umix, where they had free games and food n other stuff. Besides these, there have been several parties going on to welcome the freshers. We attended a couple of others as well, and did a lot of roaming around in the downtown area.
Besides parties and studies, Iv just been networking, making friends, and SHOPPING ! I have shopped for a lot of clothes (pple who know me will say..tat cant b true..but believe me it is... ) There were some crazy sales going on at Aeropostale and Old Navy and stuff, so did a whole lot of shopping.
I guess the coming weeks will be more interesting, as a lot of u have asked me what difference I find in the teaching methods n stuff. I will surely keep writing as I get more into classes. As for now..... this is it.

pics

2007-08-25T09:52:00.000+05:30

d pics of my apt have come in... if any1 wants to chk them out email me.. i'll give u d link...

Apartment finally furnished !

2007-08-24T07:48:00.000+05:30

lyin down on a comfortable bed after days of hard work.........I finally know how this feels !
Its just been 3 days here..but the last 3 days have been the most hectic... Never have I shopped so much.... n never have I actually worked so hard !
It all started when we went to buy furniture. We went to IKEA... which is like the largest furniture store around here. You have a HUGE shop filled with furniture for ur house.They really do know hwo to make it hard to decide :)
Anyway we went around selecting our beds and lights n stuff. At each selection we were given aisle nos n bin nos.Little did I know what was in store for me ! once ur done with selecting...you gotta actually go to the given aisle no n bin no n pick up d item ! we had to carry an unassembled bed, chest of drawers, etc, all on our own !
This was a lesson learnt, n next time we gotta go for such a thing we'll take a strong guy along :) Thankfully Ikea has home delivery for a fee,else we wudve had to carry all that really heavy stuff to out third floor apartment !
Once that was done we went to Meijers.,a department store, for supplies. Theres so much choice... you have like 40 different kinds of breakfast cereals to choose from, 20 types of shampoos frm Garnier,etc.We took about 3 hours to shop, but finally we were done.

Our furniture was delivered today. It was all unassembled. It was fun following the instructions and assembling the beds and tables n stuff. It was much much tougher than it looked,n very tiring.We spent almost the entire day putting things together, and the end result was a fully furnished, livable house. We also had the international student check in program today, which tells u abt the insurance u need to take n other relevant stuff. I didnt know healthcare in the US was so expensive !
n one more thing for pple coming in..Please get enough food packets to last u at least a week, coz initially ur not gonna be cooking. It takes time to set things up.
Tjere4s loads to wrtie but im just super tired rt nw.. I'll be back with more later ! Signin off...

Finally in Ann Arbor

2007-08-21T16:03:00.000+05:30

Iv finally reached AA.....
The drive from Detroit airport was awesome... the roads n cars r superb ! This place is very green....
Im living at Willowtree Gardens. This is where half the indians are supposed to be living. The place seems nice..though its really hard to say as of now...coz after all its only my first day here.
Living in a temporary accomodation rt now (with some other students at their apt)... Will be moving into my apt today.
Ok lemme write abt my flight. I had taken Lufthansa, Kolkata-Frankfurt-Detroit.
I got upgraded to business class for the Kolkata-Frankfurt sector. The seats become almost 180 degrees flat, the movie selection is very good,you can watch as n when u please, pause or fwd parts of d movie, etc. And the food and service r also amazing !
It was a worthwhile experience.
The second flight was in economy class. Lufthansa doesnt have personal TVs there.. do it got kinda boring coz u had to watch the movies that they had on. and the vegetarian food was also bad.
Anyway so after a loong journey of 22 hrs, I reached Detroit Airport. I had a couple of pple from the same univ with me, n we were supposed to come to AA together. The immigration and customs took about 2 hours to clear. U need to tell them ur bringing food.. theyre pretty ok n let u go.
We had asked the Indian Students Association to send an airport pickup.

Upon getting here I was oso tired that I really couldnt do much.
Today is the day of the new beginning.............

Most read books ?

2007-07-24T23:40:00.000+05:30

I came across a very interesting link... the top 100 books read by pple......I wonder why I didnt vote :)

another site to help in applications

2007-07-20T17:13:00.000+05:30

hi...my friend Tatha gave me this site... It more or less lists out all d details of taking d test and the application n visa procedure...written by a prof at duke.... its gr8...chk it out
http://www.crhc.uiuc.edu/~croy/GRE.html

On Road to the US for Studies - PART 3- Admits and Visa Preparations

2007-07-18T12:10:00.000+05:30

You usually get a response from the universities by April end. I know you will feel like tearing up the reject letters but please keep them, they maybe required later. You need to accept the offer to attend a particular university. Once confirmed, the university will mail you about any additional documents you need to send them before they send you the I-20. UMich required us to resend the financial proof and all marks sheets, along with the completed financial form of the university.

Once you recieve your I-20, you start the visa application procedure. I suggest you join the VISA community on orkut and read the stuff thoroughly before applying. It is very helpful. In fact even for all other parts of your application you can refer to the communities in orkut, people post their experiences there. I am posting some links, which will guide u abt the visa procedure, after which I will post my own experience.

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/apr/16abr.htm - a very good site
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=12398107&tid=2460964652289470768
https://www.vfs-usa.co.in/Home.aspx
http://kolkata.usconsulate.gov/
http://www.ttsvisas.com/

Nor for my experience : I payed the reqd fees at HDFC bank in New Alipore. AFter 2 days you can register at the vfs site and start the appl procedure. There are 3 forms that you will need to fill. Total time taken exceeds 1 hr, and you can always go back and change the form anytime. Once the forms are ready, take printouts. Get your photograph clicked as per the US Visa requirements (ears shud show, white b/g,etc) just 1 photo is needed. Dont forget to write ur name in native alphabet once you print the forms. Also, sign all forms and your I-20. Pay your SEVIS fees online by going to www.ice.gov .
the documents you will need for the visa interview are as follows : (Please go thru some sites and take anything else i might've missed.... this is the general list that i followed)

passport,
sevis fee receipt,
interview letter,
i-20, admission letter,
admits/rejects from all univs
correspondence with all univs
GRE/TOEFL scores (original)
resume,SOP
Affidavit of Support (on stamp paper)
IT Returns, Salary slips of sponser
consolidated financial statement( stmt of all d finances, attested by CA)
bank statement, passbook
originals of all the forms of wealth shown (FD receipt, wealth tax sheet, insurance, etc)
BE cert, marks sheets, transcripts
10th n 12th marks sheets
other certificates
your work record, all related docments
Driving License, PAN card, and other identities
other I-20's.

YES you actually have to take all these docs, and please make sure your finances are in order before going..you need to show enough money to get through your entire education in the US, not just for the first year.

Once ur there you will be put thru a security check, no cell phones are allowed. Then you go to a counter where they take your documents (I-20,apointment letter, admission letter, HDFC yellow receipt,DS forms, IT returns,bank stmts,affidavit of support,passport) and ask you to correct any mistakes that you might've made in your forms((The person there will point out the mistakes..so dont worry about that). Then you wait. There are 2 counters where they take your interview. They call out your name in an american accent, so listen carefully everytime a name is called out. The television is on, so u might have difficulty in hearing the names.

My visa interview went pretty smoothly. It was taken by a lady,she just asked me if I was Kumud Bihani , what my parents n siblings do n whether I had any relatives in the US.Also, whether I had travelled abroad before.
Please read experiences others have had before going.

That's all for now, Please ask me anythin you wish to know, I'll try to answer........

On Road to the US for Studies - PART 2- Applications

2007-07-18T11:30:00.000+05:30

Once the tests are done and your universities have been selected comes the most important part - Applications.
Please check the website of your university thoroughly for Application requirements...Different univs have different requirements... Im just giving a general overview of what I'v experienced.

You need to fill an online application in most cases. However, there are some univs that still have paper applications. The appl fees is usually $100, maybe more or less. You need to either pay by credit card or send a DD. The application forms ask you about your study and work details, personal details and other relevant stuff. It's quite easy to fill the application forms, just need to follow instructions.

All universities require a statement of purpose. This is perhaps the most important thing in the entire application. You can try www.statementofpurpose.com for a rough idea of what to write.
Read a couple of SOP's before writing your own, but dont read too many else you'll tend to write like them, which is not good. You can pick up good lines from here and there and add them in context with ur SOP. Google wil give you a lot of good SOP's, you might even find mine :)
Anyways, it takes at least 3-4 drafts before you get your final SOP, and please get people to read it and give you suggestions...it helps.
My SOP was 2 pages long (font size 11). Begin with why that subject. Give a little abt ur background in that subject. Write about projects and relevant work in that field, and how it has helped you. write why u chose that particular univ(basically all gud things u can think of, wud be gud to go thru the site n mention research projects n stuff), and lastly conclude with ur future in tat field n how the univ will help u attain it. Write loads of good things abt urself.

Some univs require Personal Statements and essay...they will give you the requirements for these....follow the guidelines and write it.

LOR's - most univs need 2-3 Letters of Recommendation. I was in college when i applied so i took the LOR's from my teachers (AP,PND,PS n SVB for pple who know who im tlkin abt). This is again all about praising yourself... our teachers asked us to write the LOR n get it signed... so i was lucky. You can only hope that the person writing LOR's will write good things. Get this sealed in an envelope and stamped by the concerned person. N please waive your right to see the LOR (this will b asked in the application form).

Some other things required are attested marks sheets of as many semesters as uv completed, official transcripts from the university (again in a sealed and stamped envelope) , an affidavit of support from your sponsor on a Rs 20 stamp paper, signed by the notary, saying that they are willing to fund your education, and a bank statement saying that you have the necessary funds in your account.

This is just a general account of the things that I needed to send...again please chk your univ website for requirements....

You can send your application packet by courier, which costs abt Rs 1000, or by speed post, which costs Rs 500 but is a little slower. I sent my application packets by speed post.

The total application process costs abt Rs 5000 per university applied to.

On Road to the US for Studies - PART 1- Taking the tests and selecting the colleges

2007-07-18T10:53:00.000+05:30

I'v finally received the US visa today.... and would like to blog about the entire application procedure.

The first step is taking GRE and TOEFL. for these you can either google out the sites or log on to www.ets.org and register. Both GRE and TOEFL are computer based exams, the centre in Kolkata is in Lansdowne. You can choose any date convenient, but I would suggest you take GRE by latest October 2007 to Apply for Fall 2008(August). TOEFL can be taken even after the applications are done, but it's better to take it earlier.

For preparations.... I just used Barrons(available at all bookstores) for GRE... and did lots of tests from different CD's. The math is quite easy but the english is really difficult,specially the vocab. (NO i did not do the entire Barrons word list...I tried but was unsuccessful...Its better to do the frequently appearing words from 2-3 books). TOEFL there isnt much to study if ur English is moderately good, all you need to do is take some mock tests before going. In GRE there are 3 sections, one English which has vocab and reading passages and stuff, one math and one writing section. But the format of GRE is slated for a change so please find out before starting.I gave TOEFL cbt which is no longer available..... now you have to give TOEFL ibt, which includes a speaking section.

A few useful sites are
www.collegeboard.com
www.edulix.com
http://educationusa.state.gov/faq.htm
www.greguide.com
www.majortests.com
www.number2.com // a very good site to prepare
www.usastudyguide.com
www.testfever.com
www.grebible.com

Besides these there are a large number of other sites....

To select the university, first be sure of your field of interest. Then go to any random university website and check what courses are available for your particular field. Once you get that, you have got a general direction for your search. you can now begin your search specific to universities. Refer to rankings and stuff before making your choice. Ideally, applying to 6 universities is enough. Out of that, 1 can be ur dream university, 3 of moderate level depending on your scores, and 2 universities that you can be sure of getting into.

Check the deadlines, and try applying for early-bird applications. These are usually 2 months before the deadlines mentioned on the site. Apply for aid as required. More about applications in part 2.....

Me !

2006-08-29T18:06:00.000+05:30

This is me... Ski Dubai in the background ....

People of Dubai

2006-08-16T16:40:00.000+05:30

I got a comment asking me to write abt the people of Dubai... Well most women are extremely beautiful, u can c this when they reveal their faces in shopping malls. There are absolutely no people walking on the streets... i guess it's toooo hot ! And one more very interesting thing was that all the cab drivers we encountered were either indian or pakistani. In fact, maximum people are of the subcontinental origin. In the shops and all it almost feels like you are home.... almost all the salespeople know hindi. Hindi is he second language...n from what pple told us...the third language is MAlAYALAM !!!!!
I did not get to see too many locals except in malls...n most people roamed around with 4-5 children around them. And yeah Ive heard the the locals consider it offensive when people wear revealing clothes like shorts....even tourists are not allowed to do so. There was nothing really significant about the locals that i noticed... so didnt bother writing about it.

Dubai - last day

2006-08-15T20:34:00.000+05:30

This was my last day in Dubai. All that was left to see were more malls. We went to Ibn Batuta Mall, which is the largest one in Dubai as of now. We took a guided tour of the mall( even the malls have guided tours..so u can imagine how huge it must be). The mall basically consists of different regions.For example, one section of the mall is decorated in Chinese style, one in Indian style n so on. The sections are decorated according to the travels of Ibm Batuta, who was a traveler. He went to various places and wrote a journal, his journey has been depicted in the mall décor. This mall again had all the shops right frm Bata to Versace.
We then went to The City Centre, which is a mall where the locals usually shop. This one wasn’t so big, probably thrice the size of Kolkata City Centre or Bangalore Forum.
Then we went to Wafi mall, where there was a display of F1 cars. I was soo bugged of malls that I spent my entire time admiring the Ferrari, didn’t really roam around and have a look at the shops.
In the evening we went to another beach from where we could see Sharjah. I had my flight that night at 2. This was the end of my Dubai trip.... quite an awesome one ! I'll post the link to the pics as soon as i upload them..do write ur comments....

Dubai - day 3

2006-08-15T20:33:00.001+05:30

On the third day we went sight seeing. Dubai is basically divided into 2 parts, Bur Dubai and Dehra Dubai. We drove along the creek, went to Jumera Beach, drove along Sheik Zayed Road, went to Wild Wadi(a huge water park) and Burj Al Arab, then went to this mall called Medina Jumera which is built in a very old style. This also had a hotel attatched, which was again extremely beautiful. We drove around generally, seeing the media city and knowledge city n etc from outside. Then we went to see the Palm Islands, which is a man made Island made in the shape of a palm tree. There r 2 islands of this type, and one group of islands in the shape of a world map. There is also one island in the shape of a cresent and star, the symbol of islam. These islands are not ready yet, but the entire idea of man made islands is classic.
On the whole the architecture in Dubai is fabulous !
After this we went to Mall of the Emirates, which is supposed to be the second largest Mall in Dubai. This was much much bigger than the BurJuman Mall. For Kol pple, it would be like 20 forums combined, maybe bigger ! The main attraction at this mall was Ski Dubai, which as the name suggests, is a place where you can go to ski. It’s a very big attraction in Dubai… snow in the middle of a desert !
On the same evening we went to Meena Bazar, which is like an Indian marketplace. You have loads of shops lined up, selling everything from shoes to fabrics. There were also a whole lot of Indian restaurants, more so south Indian ones. The markets in Dubai do not close before 10:30 – 11, and the night life is also pretty good.

Dubai - Day 2

2006-08-15T20:33:00.000+05:30

On the second day we went to the gold souk. Souk means market, and this was the famous gold market of Dubai. There were rows n rows of shops that sold jewellery.And the best part was that there was absolutely no security anywhere.The shops did not even have guards! Gold in Dubai is supposed to be of the purest form. The only drawback was the heat…. It was tooooo hot to roam around in an open market. Thankfully the malls were all air conditioned. Anyway so we visited the markets and then returned to the hotel to get ready for the desert safari.
We went for the desert safari in a Toyota Land Cruiser. After a 45 mins drive we arrived at the base camp. Here the car is halted for about an hour, and the pressure of the tyres is reduced before the car can go on sand. Here I drove a sand bike. It is a special bike with broad wheels( see pic). It was a little scary at first, but then it was good fun. We even saw ostriches n I held an eagle.
After a while we started out for the desert. 4 cars were going together.
We drove for about and hour in the dunes, and it was one of the scariest car rides of my life ! It made me realize why seatbelts are needed. We did everything from a 90degree drive down the dune to a 360degree turn. And after all that the driver tells us that he was driving safe, and they do things like jump from dune to dune! And all this in a land cruiser ! It was an unforgettable experience!
Once this was done we arrived at another camp in the middle of the desert. Here we saw a glimpse of Arab culture. There was Arabian mehendi, sheesha ( nothing like the ones in CCD), and tents that had Arabian décor. We were served Arabian food( I couldn’t figure out what most of the stuff was), and there was belly dancing. Arabic music is really catchy. After all this we headed back to Dubai, driving at 170 kmph. This was the end of the most eventful day in Dubai.

Dubai - Day 1

2006-08-15T20:32:00.000+05:30

We arrived in Dubai after a 4 hr flight… n the first impression really disappointed me. The airport was nothing great, n neither was the architecture outside. The only thing that was good were the roads.
On the first day we went to BurJuman Mall, which was very close to our hotel. The mall is HUGE ! We actually spent 4 hours in there…n were still not able to cover the entire mall. All the top brands had their shops in there…n even the smaller names were present. We arrived on a Friday, which is like a Sunday in Dubai,the annual weekly off day. So the mall was quite crowded, and we got to see a lot of local people. Most women are un burkhas, and men r dressed in white robes( I guess most pple know that…)
After that we went to Wafi mall, where we had the most amazing Lebanese food Ive ever had. We reached late so the shops were closed,could not roam around in the mall.
One of my jiju’s friends lives there, so he took us around for a drive. The roads are soo awesome, noone drives below 120kmph. We saw the Burj Al Arab from outside, the lighting is very pretty ! We drove through Sheik Zayed Road, which has all the best buildings. This was the real Dubai that I had heard of, with very good architecture. And all the buildings are very well lit. We even saw the construction of the world’s tallest building in progress…so I can say I saw history in the making ;-).

SONOGRAPHY !

2006-07-21T16:22:00.000+05:30

Finally got something to blog about !
Had gone for my sister's sonography.....n what i saw was the most amazing sight ! ! ! ! !
My sister is 5 months pregnant, n the baby is now fully developed.
Every single part was clearly visible, right from the eyes,ears,nose to the even the baby's little toes !
The doctor even made us hear the heartbeat !
It made me realize how truly magnificient god's creation is.....n how perfect!!! there was actually a little life inside my sister ! ! ! !
We even saw the heart beating,,n all the other organs,the bones,the fingers..........
When the ray first entered the baby moved.... as if protecting its face from the rays......
It was the most beautiful experience Ive ever had......

been AGES since i blogged

2006-05-12T01:26:00.000+05:30

It's been ages since i last blogged...I had completely forgotten abt my blogspot. Just remembered my iceland trip so came bak here to read abt it....chk out the July 2005 archives.......It's really ncie reading n recalling things.....
O yeah i got placed in Wipro.....which is quite kool !
Thats all for now.....

got a hi5 account ?

2005-10-13T22:23:00.000+05:30

hey all my frenz who i don have added on to hi5....click here to add me....... will obviously need my approval :-)

Our class blog

2005-10-11T21:25:00.000+05:30

hi !
Click here to access the blog to our crazy class....... and all its crazy pple. This blog has just been created... chk it out ppl !

PUJA in Kolkata

2005-10-10T23:02:00.000+05:30

We have our 'Puja' holidays going on right now..... n the pple who r not from kolkata must be wondering why im callin it so...back in Bangalore these hols are called Dussehra hols.
Well for starters check out the following links . . . . .

http://www.calcuttaweb.com/

http://www.pujaonthenet.com/

http://www.calstreet.com/puja2005/

I will definately post more about it........ keep checking

Bundh Day

2005-09-30T01:13:00.000+05:30

After ages there was a 24 hr bundh in Kolkata.... That means all day at home.....no college n no going out anywhere either.
Checked the movie listings...... thankfully there was Matrix comin on HBO.... part 1,2 and 3. Spent the entire evening watchin the matrix series...right from 5:15 till 1:20 in the night.
Quite a boring day over all....................

BILLIONAIRE DROPOUTS

2005-09-26T22:45:00.000+05:30

Was looking thru a friend's blog... found this pretty interesting link.. This one is for all u pple out there who feel they're wasting their talent in college :-)

Busy with wedding preparations

2005-09-25T22:59:00.000+05:30

hi ! I know i havent been posting at all........ and its not like i dont have the time.....just been lazy i guess.
My own sister's wedding is drawing near...... 23rd November. May seem far away...but there's so much to be done. Right now I have been given the task of preparing the guest lists...... So i have to type literally 200 names a day.....and also have to check with pple if their addresses are correct or not. I can't exactly term the job as boring....coz i got to know a whole lot of pple who i dint know earlier,but it isn't very interesting either.
Another task is helping my mom with the packing..... There is so much of stuff to pack for my sister,starting from basics like a hairbrush to everyday clothes. It must be tough to start a completely new life with completely new pple.
Yet another thing to be done is to get the geet program organised ( see my earlier blogs on what a geet program is...). I have been given the full responsibility to get this done.... and believe me I can't even think of one decent song to dance on. Any interesting themes anyone ? or any nice songs based on a sisters wedding ? lemme know ok.......

Ok enough about my sisters wedding.... theres an academic side to things as well.
Just finished with all my class tests...........
During all this time that i hadnt posted,my 2 classmates n I did a paper on W3C speech Interfacing and sent it to a competition in Rajkot...n we actually got selected.
But unfortunately I dont think any of us are going to Rajkot for the final presentation.... i wish we could......but it just doesnt seem practical.

Anyways will take leave now....... chao !

M.J. Akbar - Editor in Chief, The Asian Age & Deccan Chronicle & Author of Several Books

2005-08-28T00:32:00.000+05:30

M.J. Akbar - Editor in Chief, The Asian Age & Deccan Chronicle & Author of Several Books
Came Accross this blog while randomly reading blogs......chk it out pple !

SLOW DANCE

2005-08-24T16:46:00.000+05:30

got this by mail.....really liked it so posting it...it was written by a littl girl who had cancer !

SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
.Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over .
...............................................................................

Thnx for the compliments on the pics !

2005-08-23T20:34:00.000+05:30

Many of you told me that you saw the pics n they were really nice...well thnx (tho i dint take them coz im in most of the ones i posted :-)). N also for those of u who asked why i haven't been blogging...well there isn't much happening really to blog about. Just routine life going on..... college is going on in full flow with no hilidays in sight. Now it actually feels that we have something to do with computers...with subjects like Operating Systems and Database Management Systems,and with all the talks going around about projects n campussing and all.....well.... it does get kinda scary !

Iceland pics are here !

2005-08-04T17:49:00.000+05:30

HI ! The picturess from my trip are here ! If u havent already recieved it by mail then just mail me or leave a comment with your email id i'll invite u to c the link !

Havent posted about Austria

2005-08-04T11:12:00.000+05:30

hi ! I hadn't posted abt Austria.....so postin now. (I know everyones bored of readin by now...but anyway..its just so that when i visit the blog after a year i'll still remember :-)) Well Vienna was a nice city...full of old structures. It is a very musical city....Mozart,John Strauss,n lots of other great composers, all lived here.

We went on a city tour....saw the Opera House (unfortunately no opera was goin on at that time....but have seen one earlier...n it was kinda boring ). There were a number of castles and old houses....all very grand and beautiful. Upon returning we roamed about in the streets...did a whole lot of shopping. Went to this church that was again very very beautiful.By now my parents were craving for indian food...so we went looking for an indian joint. Found an indian in the metro rail...he guided us to one. Had 'daal-chawal' aftes more than a week !

The next day we went to Salzburg. This is on the Austrian-German border. Saw a whole lot of places where Hitler lived or had army quarters. Salzburg is also this is the place where Mozart was born. Had been to his residence before so didnt go again. This time we went to the 'Salt Mines'. The drive was a very beautiful one through the mountains. We crossed the border and into Germany. We reached the place,n were given clothes like the miners. Then we sat in a train and went deep under the mountains. It was really nice seeing how the salt is mined from under the mountain. Its basically dissolved in water and then pumped out. We sat on the slides that the miners use to go from one level to the other,and also went on the saline water in a boat. The entire tour was about 3 hrs long,and it was a nice new experience,quite educative also. Caught the train back to Vienna the same day.... n the next day i was back to India. Mom,dad n sis went on to zurich n Paris n Venice.

This was the end of my trip...... Hope u enjoyed reading about it as much as i enjoyed writing !

Rahul Vaidya rocks!

2005-08-01T17:43:00.000+05:30

Went for this stage show in Sangeet Kala Mandir...... Rahul Vaidya and Prajakta.
First PS came on stage n was on for 45 mins....... with the crowd going "we want Rahul "
N then he came....hez soooooooooooooooooo cute ! ! ! ! N his voice is totally mesmerising !
He sang songs like kisna n bijuria n tauba tauba.... n then they had duets like suraj hua madhdham and kajarare..... It was awesome !
For any more girls crazy bout him...he said his DOB is 23rd September,He likes chatting n surfin the net n all,n his email id is rahulthemusical_2000@hotmail.com (thats what he said...donno if it is or not ) .
"RAHUL IM STILL DREAMING ABOUT YOU " :-)

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

2005-07-29T18:47:00.000+05:30

On 18th my sister n I went to the west of Iceland.We took a tour to the Snaefellsnes Glacier.Those of you who have read the book ' Journey to the Centre of the Earth' .....well this is where the journey started ! We drove for about 3 hrs,n then reached a small village. From here we had to hike to another place.
The entire hike was along the sea...... and the glacier was visible on the other side. It was very very windy. We really enjoyed the hike....it was very beautiful (I dont think I can describe it in words..... you have to see the pics to believe it ). It was so windy we literally had to control ourselves....it was like u let yourself loose n you'll fly away. There was a whole lot of bird life here... and we saw the homes of the native Icelanders. There were also many different rock formations........ all caused naturally by the ocean. (This again doesnt sound that nice.... but believe me it was the most beautiful place Ive ever been to......It felt heavenly ) .
Had a beautiful day..... but the entire tour was for 13 hrs...so by the time we returned we were really tired.

on 19th we left Iceland by flight....back to Vienna. This took almost the entire day..... Due to the flying time and the time difference. (Oh yeah i forgot to mention earlier that Iceland is on GMT 0:00 ....... which means 5 n a half hrs behind India ).

This trip of mine was a once in a lfetime experience..... and i enjoyed it thoroughly !

17th n 18th in Iceland

2005-07-29T18:30:00.000+05:30

Last I posted was about whale watching on that really rainy day ! Luckily 17th dawned (well not really...coz the sun's there 24 hrs....but anyway ) nice n clear. We had planned to roam around the city that day. There isnt much to see in Reykjavik. There was this area called City Centre,thats where all the shops are located.And then there was this church. and thats about it.

Lemme write a little about Iceland here...... Iceland is also called the 'Land of fire n Ice' . It has over 200 volcanoes,n a couple of glaciers,n the land area is 103000 square km. The population is arnd 300000. Another interesting fact is that the literacy rate in Iceland is 99.9%,thats the highest in the world ! Iceland has no army of its own,it is affiliated to the NATO.

In the evening we went to Blue Lagoon.It is a pond....or rather a natural swimming pool having warm water.It is located near the airpost,about a 45 mins drive from the city.It is light blue in colour(chk out the pics when they come...its very beautiful). This water comes directly from the ground...and it is supposed to be very rich in minerals. It is supposed to have a medicinal value also. The water was about 37 degrees celcius.We had a swim here... and also applied a silica mud pack that they provide. This pack is supposed to be very good for the skin (Nothing happened to mine... i guess it needs to be used regularly ). It was a nice place.

Finally back to cal

2005-07-29T18:08:00.000+05:30

hi ! got back to cal n back to college........ Got loads to post. WIll complete posting about the trip first...n then the rest. Keep watchin this space !

Have changed my blog settings

2005-07-24T03:00:00.000+05:30

hi ! Ive change my blog settings so that anyone can post comments now......Thanx saup for tellin me. Do post comments,its nice to read them.Not got much time now..will get back to cal n post more. In delhi right now.

Whale Watching

2005-07-17T21:57:00.000+05:30

I didnt think anything else could be more exciting after the visit to the glaciers ! 16th turned out to be a really rainy day ! But we had planned to go whale watching,n so we decided to go ahead anyway ! My mom was very skeptical about it......going deep into the ocean just to c a whale ! Anyway...We arrived at the whale watching Centre just in time for the boat.Well i guess it wasnt exactly a boat,but it was half the size of a ship ! Seemed quite scary going to see a whale in a ship that was much smaller than it ! Anyway pple go everyday...n so we went too !

The ship first stopped at the Puffin Island. Puffins are supposed to be birds that live out at sea...n they come to these islands every year for about 2 months to lay eggs. DO a google search if u wanna c a pic....or else just wait...i´ll post the pic when i get back to India !

Then we went further out into the sea for about one hour....with the rain beating down endlessly ! This was when the engines were put out...n we were told to look out for whales. We looked but found nothing initially. Then we saw it ! at first only a little bit..... then quite a large part of the whale surfaces from the sea (The guide told us which whale it was but i dont remember). Obviously the entire whale doesnt surface...but believe me it was MASSIVE !
We spent 4 hrs at sea...n in the process saw about 6 different whales !

It was very very cold owing to the rain.....n by the time we returned we were all totally drenched inspite of the raincoats. Iceland is proving to be more n more exciting every day.... Will def post more as n when it comes !

GLACIERS !

2005-07-17T21:40:00.000+05:30

15th turned out to be a very cloudy day. Incidentally,we had booked our tour od the southern region on this day,which includes a trip atop the gllcier. We had to go ahesd with it anyway,we didnt have a choice.The entire route was very scenic,but there was no sign of any snow.We stopped at a couple of waterfalls on the way,n drove alongside beaches which were black in colour(i learned later that the black colour of the beaches was due to volcano ash).Then we drove off the main road onto a hilly area that had no proper roads.It was not a very nice drive,tho the scenary was very beautiful ! We then reached a cabin in the middle of nowhere,this was where we had to get off.
inside the cabin we were made to sign some stuff that we were responsible for any accidents,etc.,n then we were given snow gear (Do chk out the pictures when they come....Will try to post them as soon as i can).We then rode in a vehicle Id never seen before...something like a truck.We went a little further,n suddenly the hills open up into the snow ! it was superb!
There were snowmobiles there(like the ones in the james bond movie...he gives the chase in the end with it...it was exactly like that !).It was a little scary to drive at first,but then it was ok once i got the hang of it. My sister was sitting behind me. Halfway up we exchanged places,n she drove. But she went off the route..n we both had a great fall ! (It was kinda adventurous...n noone was hurt since we fell in the snow). Didnt trust her with the driving after that!

We reached on top of the glacier,where the guide explained that this glacier was actually covering a very big volcano,which was expected to erupt in the near future.The volcano would melt the entire glacier,n then erupt with a force that would throw magma more than 700m up in the air ! It all sounds very unrealistic...but i guess its all true.
Anyway the hour n a half long ride on the snowmobiles was good fun...but we were exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel.

Iceland had been really exciting till now...n i was looking forward to the remaining time here !

ICELAND !

2005-07-17T21:24:00.000+05:30

hi ! I´m in Iceland right now ! Arrived here on 13th after a reaaallllyyyyyyy loooonnng flight... 8 hrs from Delhi to Vienna(Which is in Austria...we´ve taken Austrian airways so had a halt there) n then another 4 hrs from there to Iceland. Didnt do much the day we arrived...just booked a tour for the next day n visited the largest shopping mall here,Kringlan mall,which wasnt very large at all,probably the size of city centre in cal,or forum in bangalore,maybe smaller.

The next day,14th,we took a tour of the golden circle,which include 4 places.Well the first think i noticed was that the name Iceland in a complete misnomer.It shudve been named Lavaland,or volacnoland.There is hardly any ice here in the summer,only a couple of glaciers,but there are plenty of volcanoes and lava fields.
The drive was through these lava fields,many of which are centuried old.(Gathered quite a lot of information about these...)We first visited a crater,which is supposed to be a volcano that erupted centuries ago(If u want names look up the net....or else i´ll look up n tell u....theyre too confusing to remember).
The next stop was to this place that has geysirs and hot springs.It was basically ponds of boiling hot water...some of which come up like a fountain from time to time. It was really beautiful,something that Id never seen before.
Next we stopped at a waterfall...which was again magnificient.
The last stop was i Heritage Park,where the first parliament of Island was held.It also had a ridge,which is the result of the shifting of european and north american tetonic plates...(After seeing all this quite a bit of the geography that we studied now actually makes some sense....i think we should send all our geography teachers here..maybe they´ll be able to explain things better once they actually see it).
It was overall a great tour....very scenic and informative.

Met the Indian Cricket Team !

2005-07-08T13:08:00.000+05:30

hi ! I met the entire cricket team today.....n all in their swimsuits ! (I know the guys wont be interesterd... but girls believe me it was too good ;-) ) Had gone for a swim to the club house of the cricket stadium here in Bangalore, n the entire cricket team turned up for a practise session in the pool ! i was so amazed i forgot to take pix with my cell.... literally everyone was there...all the youngsters at least ! yuvraj singh n kaif n dhoni n zaheer khan n all...it was totally awesome ! This guy had been comin for a swim since the last 3 days...didnt know who he was...spoke to him very casually...n later he tells me hes gagandeep singh..n he was here for the indian cricket camp ! for a cricket crazy person like me this experience was just too good ! Hope i get to meet them again sometime !

Been ages since ive posted

2005-07-06T13:12:00.000+05:30

hi ! It's been a very long time since I've posted anything. Thats coz I'm on a holiday...in Bangalore right now...then going to Chennai, then Iceland. Will be back on 24th. Iceland should be an awesome experience.....Ive heard its a very beautiful place. Will write all about it once Im back !

wedding pics

2005-06-22T03:00:00.000+05:30

Hey the original wedding pics take at least 3 months to come......so cant post them now, sorry. We clicked a few snpas from my camera also.......tho there's only me in them :) will post them whenever i upload them ! donno when that will be coz me off to Bangalore tomorrow !!!

Wedding finally over !

2005-06-21T13:45:00.000+05:30

the wedding is finally over ! Was too tired yesterday to come online....and am still too tired to write in detail abt all the functions of yesterday ! But yeah we had an awesome time........ Had worn a ghagra n stuff.....n got my hair straightened ! ! ! (No i wasnt lookin wierd....in fact it was lookin good) Left for ITC at 1 in the afternoon.....came back home at 12 am...then we have functions n all at home......n then of course we troubled bhaiya and bhabhi...didnt let them sleep till 3 in the morning ! Today morning also we had to get up early coz again we have all those functions n all (im sure uve seen stuff in the movies...its like that only ) If anyone really wants to know about functions n all lemme know i'll write....... but i don think anyone is really interested ! :)

Geet program today !

2005-06-20T02:02:00.000+05:30

hi all ! One more day to go for the final wedding day........n today there were a whole lot of functions. Started in the morning with some puja n all......n then after that my sis went to bhabhi's place (This is also some custom....where the married sisters go to bhabhis place with lots of stuff like sarees n all...). In the evening we had the geet program, which i wrote about earlier. It came out awesome ! our theme was life before marriage n life after it. So we had a series of songs....like b4 marriage its Tum din ko agar raat kaho toh raat kahenge(donno how many of u have heard that song..its old) and after its ladi kyu na jaane kyu ladko si nahi hoti....and a whole lot of other songs. then we had a quawali......which was also good fun ! ( o ya...my dances came out good too :) ) Then we had dinner. The whole function was at ITC....so obviously the food was good ! tomorrow the functions start from early morning. Will write about them tomorrow............keep waiting............

Mehendi hai rang laayi !

2005-06-19T13:50:00.000+05:30

i got mail from one of u and also a comment sayin u wanted to know more abt the mehendi ki rasm ! so here goes........ one or two days before the wedding all the females of the house have to put mehendi. Even the groom is supposed to put but well.....we all know how much guys hate mehendi ! The significance behind the mehendi is that If the colour comes out to be dark..it means you have love in your life ! ( By the way i also put mehendi today...n the colour has come out totally awesome ...really DARK ! ! ! :) so who knows....... ;-) ) mehendi ki rasm is more fun at a girls wedding...where we have songs and dances n all that (im sure uve seen it in the movies),but even at a guys wedding its quite good. We also had a bachelor's party today....where we played games n all....over all had great fun !

EXMAS OVER !

2005-06-18T13:40:00.000+05:30

Exams are finally over ! this signifies the beginning of a loooong summer holiday ! (Much needed coz Kol is REALLLY humid) Its difficult to even step out of the house ! The rain bought a little bit of respite today ... not much tho ! My cousin brother's wedding is on 20th....so the functions have started today ! our weddings last really long ...n theyre great fun ! all the cousins get together, n we have a blast ! We have this geet program which is based on a theme n we all dance n stuff ! this time the theme is life after marriage n life b4 it ! ita great fun ! we're doin a quawali and stuff.... and me doin 2 dances (everyone HAS to dance...so dint have a choice ! Dont laugh ok :-) ) Had exams so couldnt practise at all...gos knows how its gonna turn out ! anyways......... will post later on how the dances went :) Functions have started...got the mehendi ki rasm tomorrow !

2005-06-18T01:15:00.000+05:30

THIS IS ME

IF TITANIC WERE MADE IN INDIA

2005-06-18T00:37:00.000+05:30

Exams finally over ! came accross this mail.....postin it ! nice one !
If the Titanic was made in India:==========================================

There would be 10 times as many people on the ship.

There would be a song with Kate Winslet in a white dress, singing in the rain.

By the end of the movie the hero would find his long lost mom, dad, sister and brother.

It would be a seven-and-half-hour movie with three intervals.

The movie would be called "Pyaar Kiya To Marna Kya".

The hero, heroine, his mom, dad, sister and brother will float in the freezing cold water for days and yet...survive.

The villain will drown in the first drops of water.

The iceberg was sent by the heroine's father to teach the hero a lesson.

None of the people would float for long because of the saris.

The orchestra would play Raghupati Gaaghav Raaja Raam and ring gantees, and a ray of light would come and transport the musicians to another ship.

And can you imagine how many times we would hear BACHAOOOO BACHAOOOO???

Hi everyone !

2004-10-23T17:30:00.000+05:30

hi everyone ! i just created my blogspot........ n this is my first post ! Just checkin this thing out thats all !