Today afternoon, as i was turning few pages on a book, i noticed a card which was present. I would not call it as an identity card, however it had a number which recognized that i was a student and authorized me to take tuition classes.
Having indulged in all sorts of fun activities during college days, it was time for me to drawn a line and prepare myself for the exams. In this encounter a good friend of mine introduced me to SEVA BHARATHI. Seva Bharathi was a social service organization which used to conduct tuition classes for students. Since my regular tution master had to take some exams and he could not coach me regularly, i decided to join Seva Bharathi. It was voluntary service that many people involved in the organization were doing. They primarily identified good lecturers from colleges and invited them to take tuition classes, this was to be done as part of the contribution to the society as the lecturers were not paid for taking classes and the fees charges for an individual if i remember was Rs 100. Classes were conducted in the evenings and on Sunday's it would go on from early in the morning to late in the afternoon. Many students were getting benefits from the trust as the fees charged was economical and i remember i telling a lie to my parents and collecting Rs 1000 from them as tuition fees. Well i now realize i shouldn't have done that, may be i was not mature at that age :(.
Twice every week, we had to recite a motivational poem which was composed by a famous person, sorry i do not know the name, but the poem itself had so much meaning in it, till today i recall how it was being sung by everyone present in the class. It goes like this.
ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯಿ ಭಾರತೀ , ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂಧು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ
ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶ ಭಾರತ, ನಮಗೆ ಸದಾ ಪುಜಿಥ
ನಾವು ಭಾರತೀಯರು , ನಾವು ಭಂದು ಬಾಂಧವರು
ಭಾಷೆ ಬೇರೆ , ವೇಷ ಬೇರೆ ,ದೇಶ ಮಾತ್ರೆ ಒಂದೇ
ಜಾತಿ ಬೇರೆ,ರಿಥೆ ಬೇರೆ,ನೇತಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಒಂದೇ
ಬಿನ ಮಥೆಯರಾದರು, ನಾವು ಭಾರತೀಯರು
ನಾವು ಭಾರತೀಯರು,ನಾವು ಭಂದು ಭಾಂದವರು
ಗಂಗೆ ತುಂಗೆ ಯಮುನೆಯರು ಹರಿಯುವ ಪುಣ್ಯ ನಾಡಿದು
ಹಿರಿಮೆ ಗರೆಮೆ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಸಿರಿಯು ಇರುವ ಗಣ್ಯ ಬೀಡಿದು
ನಮ ತಾಯಿ ನಾಡಿದು ಹೆಮ್ಮ ತರುವ ಬೀಡಿದು
ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯಿ ಭಾರತಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂಧು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ
ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾರತೀಯರ ಮನವು ಮಹಾ ಸಾಗರ
ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾರತೀಯರ ಹೃದಯ ಸ್ನೇಹದಾಗುರ
ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ ತರುವ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂಧು, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ
ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯಿ ಭಾರತಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ
ವಿರಶೋದಯೋಧರು ನಾಡಿಗಾಗಿ ಮಡಿದರು
Dirya ಶುರ್ಯದಿಂದಲೇ ಬದುಕಿ ಬಾಳಿ ಆಳಿದರು
ಇವರು ಭಾರತಾಂಬೆ ಮಮತೆ ಮಡಿಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳು
ಇವಳು ಮನದ ಬನದಲಿ ಅರಳಿನಂತೆ ಹೂಗಳು
ಎಂದು ಒಂದೇ ನಾವುಗಳು ಎಂದು ಒಂದೇ ನಾವುಗಳು
Hats off to the writer, it displays the true spirit every Indian should have. Jai Hind.
Good Evening, take care.
Vinay.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Remembering vacation in Goa
Hello People,
I hope everyone is doing great. Discussions/Debates on Common Wealth Games could have taken a high note among many individuals. Well seriously, i am not sure how the management can afford to create such a mess. It is not a matter of Delhi hosting the Common Wealth Games, but they are carrying the pride of the entire nation. I wonder why things were not taken seriously and many issues got escalated at the last hour. If not for media, i doubt if the mess created by the officials would have come to light. I only hope everythings gets back on track and people who are responsible deliver and make things happen as we reach the final few days for the games to begin.
Well, its been many days since posted on my blog. Sat down this morning browsing through things and casually remembered about my vacation in GOA in December 2008. Dedicating this post to my memories in Goa.
I am sure many would be eagerly waiting for holiday/days in the calendar year. It is a period where you get to spend some time with family and friends. As individuals we have our own way of planning for activities during holidays, it could be visiting your home town (specially for working class people staying away from family), planning a short trip with office pals, or you never know, you just want to keep aside the holiday just for yourself and indulge in getting all that sleep that you may have lost.
I would like to share my experience on one of my memorable vacation/holidays. With lot being said about GOA and having heard from many people that it is one of the places an individual should consider while planning for a holiday, I and couple of my friends decided to plan for a vacation during the last week of December. We started planning towards the end of November and I reached out to a friend of mine who had got back from a vacation in Goa. After collecting information on how things would work out for accommodation, travelling, daily expenses etc. We finally decided that it was within our budget and committed to each other that YES, we are going on vacation, come what may . Thank God, things worked out well and we were all set.
Having scheduled our leaves at work, we decided to take a vacation from December 25th to December 31st , our plan was to be in Goa on the day of Christmas. We preferred to go on our own transport and our options for considering train or bus services were very limited. I could not have asked for more, when a common friend agreed to give his car for our planned vacation. Oh boy, while the fifth guy who was supposed to be part of the vacation dropped off at the last moment, we were comfortably placed in fully loaded Hyundai Verna. I would recommend travelling on own transport as it was fun driving through travelling at a speed of 130 – 140 on toll roads/highways it was just amazing. Off Course we always kept on telling each other, Drive Responsibly whenever we drove. We left Bangalore early in the morning at around 5.30, calculating the 12 – 13 hours of Journey that we had to take to reach GOA. With pit stops for breakfast and some Tea and Coffee we reached GOA at around 7:00 PM in the evening. Honestly, the journey was good none of us were feeling tired. One has to be prepared to hand over some cash as bribe to the GOA police as soon as you enter the check post before entering the prime region of GOA. Our fault was that we had a dark tinted sun film cover on our car and it’s a rule made by the Government over there that no vehicle should have a dark tinted sun film. While the police constable asked us to pay a fine of Rs 400 and threatened that he going to peel off the sun film if we don’t, we decided to settle things under the table.We managed to settle the issue by paying Rs 100 and started our journey further.
For the next 3 days, we were going to be based in BAGA and as soon as we came close to the place, I got a call from the Villa owner who guided us to the exact location. Prior to this I had spoken to villa owner, who had said all good things about the place where we are going to be staying and I remember he had told me that the villa was just a few yards away from the BEACH and yes, it turned to be true. I could not imagine, we could see the beach from the balcony of the villa. Let me say few things on the environment as we started entering the main road that connects people to the Baga beach area. Oh boy, the entire street was lit up and you can hear all kind of music playing around as you pass by each store or a restaurant. Having settled down in the cottage, the house owner was kind enough to brief us on places that we can visit and told us about some do’s and don’ts.
The owner introduced us to his cousin who was running a shack which was just a stone throw away from the cottage and the shack was facing the beach. As soon we entered the shack we were in for a surprise. There are over 50 – 60 shacks spread across on the beach front , it was a delight to see the candle lights placed on the tables in front of the shacks which added some glitter to the place. With music playing on the background, it’s nothing but party time when we settled down on our table. With food and drinks giving us company we all had a good time.
Best thing about BAGA is, it is situated in between Condolim, Calungute and Anjuna beaches. It would take about 30 minutes to reach each of these beaches by road from Baga. The scene and environment in other beaches is no different than Baga, many people say Condolim and Anjuna beaches are where lot of foreigners prefer to stay and hang out, however Baga is the place to be as there are water sport activities that are conducted. Never miss the water sports when you are in GOA. Try banna ride, skeing, bumper ride . It is simply fun. Evenings are again a delight where you get a chance to sit by the shack and enjoy the sun set with some tea or coffee.
For all those party people you can never ask for a better place when you are in GOA. SUN-BURN is the place to be. It is mega event which happens from December 27th – December 29th. It happens near Candolim Beach and the event goes on for 3 days. I have heard that it was an event that used happen in the beach front, however when we were around it was conducted reserved area due to security concerns. Event starts at 12: PM in the afternoon and goes on till 12:00AM in the night. It attracts huge number of people and is the place to be for party goers. Place is huge and it is spread across acres. I would like to share some pictures. Please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/Vinay.justin/Photos# for more pictures.
Well it was a memorable vacation I would suggest people to visit GOA at least once in a lifetime. Here are few things I would like to share in case if you do plan for a vacation in GOA.
Make it point to go in a group, with close friends or colleagues. If there are around 4-5 people it can be fun, anything more would be great as well.
If possible travel on your own transport, drive from Bangalore to GOA is really nice. If you are travelling by road travel through Goa-------- Hubli------Belgaum----------- Amboli Ghat------- Savatwadi------------GOA.
Stop over at Amboli Ghat for few minutes and enjoy the ambience over there.
While a stay in resorts could be more comfortable, I doubt if one would get a chance to explore the local areas. If you are considering a holiday which works out economically consider staying in Home Stays ( like what we did, over there some call them Villas) . Generally prizes for accommodation are expensive starting from November. A cottage which can accommodate 4 people can easily cost you 2,500 for one day. We managed to bargain the price to Rs 2,300 from Rs 2,800 which was quoted initially.
Food and drinks work out pretty economical in the shacks. Quality and Taste of the food is very good. If you are regular customer, the shack owner will give you some discount on the bills.
Places to see : Candolim, Anjuna, Baga, Panaji and Churches.
Indulge in water sports; make it point to bargain to get the best deal. We struck a deal for 1,200 for an individual and indulged in Bannana ride, bumper ride, skeing. The initial quote was for 1,800.
SUN-BURN is one of the parties you must consider if you feel like partying. A three day pass would cost you around Rs 4,000 while if you prefer to go in just for a day, one need to spend Rs 1,500 for the ticket.
I would say a budget of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 should be kept aside if you are planning for a 3 – 4 days of vacation in Goa.
Bye for now folks, take care.
Vinay.
I hope everyone is doing great. Discussions/Debates on Common Wealth Games could have taken a high note among many individuals. Well seriously, i am not sure how the management can afford to create such a mess. It is not a matter of Delhi hosting the Common Wealth Games, but they are carrying the pride of the entire nation. I wonder why things were not taken seriously and many issues got escalated at the last hour. If not for media, i doubt if the mess created by the officials would have come to light. I only hope everythings gets back on track and people who are responsible deliver and make things happen as we reach the final few days for the games to begin.
Well, its been many days since posted on my blog. Sat down this morning browsing through things and casually remembered about my vacation in GOA in December 2008. Dedicating this post to my memories in Goa.
I am sure many would be eagerly waiting for holiday/days in the calendar year. It is a period where you get to spend some time with family and friends. As individuals we have our own way of planning for activities during holidays, it could be visiting your home town (specially for working class people staying away from family), planning a short trip with office pals, or you never know, you just want to keep aside the holiday just for yourself and indulge in getting all that sleep that you may have lost.
I would like to share my experience on one of my memorable vacation/holidays. With lot being said about GOA and having heard from many people that it is one of the places an individual should consider while planning for a holiday, I and couple of my friends decided to plan for a vacation during the last week of December. We started planning towards the end of November and I reached out to a friend of mine who had got back from a vacation in Goa. After collecting information on how things would work out for accommodation, travelling, daily expenses etc. We finally decided that it was within our budget and committed to each other that YES, we are going on vacation, come what may . Thank God, things worked out well and we were all set.
Having scheduled our leaves at work, we decided to take a vacation from December 25th to December 31st , our plan was to be in Goa on the day of Christmas. We preferred to go on our own transport and our options for considering train or bus services were very limited. I could not have asked for more, when a common friend agreed to give his car for our planned vacation. Oh boy, while the fifth guy who was supposed to be part of the vacation dropped off at the last moment, we were comfortably placed in fully loaded Hyundai Verna. I would recommend travelling on own transport as it was fun driving through travelling at a speed of 130 – 140 on toll roads/highways it was just amazing. Off Course we always kept on telling each other, Drive Responsibly whenever we drove. We left Bangalore early in the morning at around 5.30, calculating the 12 – 13 hours of Journey that we had to take to reach GOA. With pit stops for breakfast and some Tea and Coffee we reached GOA at around 7:00 PM in the evening. Honestly, the journey was good none of us were feeling tired. One has to be prepared to hand over some cash as bribe to the GOA police as soon as you enter the check post before entering the prime region of GOA. Our fault was that we had a dark tinted sun film cover on our car and it’s a rule made by the Government over there that no vehicle should have a dark tinted sun film. While the police constable asked us to pay a fine of Rs 400 and threatened that he going to peel off the sun film if we don’t, we decided to settle things under the table.We managed to settle the issue by paying Rs 100 and started our journey further.
For the next 3 days, we were going to be based in BAGA and as soon as we came close to the place, I got a call from the Villa owner who guided us to the exact location. Prior to this I had spoken to villa owner, who had said all good things about the place where we are going to be staying and I remember he had told me that the villa was just a few yards away from the BEACH and yes, it turned to be true. I could not imagine, we could see the beach from the balcony of the villa. Let me say few things on the environment as we started entering the main road that connects people to the Baga beach area. Oh boy, the entire street was lit up and you can hear all kind of music playing around as you pass by each store or a restaurant. Having settled down in the cottage, the house owner was kind enough to brief us on places that we can visit and told us about some do’s and don’ts.
The owner introduced us to his cousin who was running a shack which was just a stone throw away from the cottage and the shack was facing the beach. As soon we entered the shack we were in for a surprise. There are over 50 – 60 shacks spread across on the beach front , it was a delight to see the candle lights placed on the tables in front of the shacks which added some glitter to the place. With music playing on the background, it’s nothing but party time when we settled down on our table. With food and drinks giving us company we all had a good time.
Best thing about BAGA is, it is situated in between Condolim, Calungute and Anjuna beaches. It would take about 30 minutes to reach each of these beaches by road from Baga. The scene and environment in other beaches is no different than Baga, many people say Condolim and Anjuna beaches are where lot of foreigners prefer to stay and hang out, however Baga is the place to be as there are water sport activities that are conducted. Never miss the water sports when you are in GOA. Try banna ride, skeing, bumper ride . It is simply fun. Evenings are again a delight where you get a chance to sit by the shack and enjoy the sun set with some tea or coffee.
For all those party people you can never ask for a better place when you are in GOA. SUN-BURN is the place to be. It is mega event which happens from December 27th – December 29th. It happens near Candolim Beach and the event goes on for 3 days. I have heard that it was an event that used happen in the beach front, however when we were around it was conducted reserved area due to security concerns. Event starts at 12: PM in the afternoon and goes on till 12:00AM in the night. It attracts huge number of people and is the place to be for party goers. Place is huge and it is spread across acres. I would like to share some pictures. Please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/Vinay.justin/Photos# for more pictures.
Well it was a memorable vacation I would suggest people to visit GOA at least once in a lifetime. Here are few things I would like to share in case if you do plan for a vacation in GOA.
Make it point to go in a group, with close friends or colleagues. If there are around 4-5 people it can be fun, anything more would be great as well.
If possible travel on your own transport, drive from Bangalore to GOA is really nice. If you are travelling by road travel through Goa-------- Hubli------Belgaum----------- Amboli Ghat------- Savatwadi------------GOA.
Stop over at Amboli Ghat for few minutes and enjoy the ambience over there.
While a stay in resorts could be more comfortable, I doubt if one would get a chance to explore the local areas. If you are considering a holiday which works out economically consider staying in Home Stays ( like what we did, over there some call them Villas) . Generally prizes for accommodation are expensive starting from November. A cottage which can accommodate 4 people can easily cost you 2,500 for one day. We managed to bargain the price to Rs 2,300 from Rs 2,800 which was quoted initially.
Food and drinks work out pretty economical in the shacks. Quality and Taste of the food is very good. If you are regular customer, the shack owner will give you some discount on the bills.
Places to see : Candolim, Anjuna, Baga, Panaji and Churches.
Indulge in water sports; make it point to bargain to get the best deal. We struck a deal for 1,200 for an individual and indulged in Bannana ride, bumper ride, skeing. The initial quote was for 1,800.
SUN-BURN is one of the parties you must consider if you feel like partying. A three day pass would cost you around Rs 4,000 while if you prefer to go in just for a day, one need to spend Rs 1,500 for the ticket.
I would say a budget of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 should be kept aside if you are planning for a 3 – 4 days of vacation in Goa.
Bye for now folks, take care.
Vinay.
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