Bhutan 2017 March April

We always had the desire to go to Bhutan - a beautiful place where the happiness quotient is 100%.

We managed to get an excellent quote for 10 people - 8 nights and 9 days excluding one night in Kolkota. It was Yatra.com who gave us a wonderful deal - Rs.58000/- per passenger - inclusive of hotel rooms in Thimphu, Punakha and Paro, an 18 seater bus for travel all over from Paro to
Thimphu, to Punakha and back to Paro exclusively for us; breakfast and dinner included plus a Wonderful Guide and driver - who never lost their cool and were always smiling. This made the trip extremely memorable and wonderful.

We left for Kolkota on the 27th morning by flight (Spice-jet) who allow only 15 kgs check in baggage. We landed in Kolkota and since we booked online for our stay in Kolkota (Hotel Silverline) who promised to pick us up and took a few hours to reach their dingy hotel ( called themselves the best - more on Trip Advisor) it was almost 2.30 pm.

We freshened up and our friend Shankar from Bagdodra had one of his friends Tapan Pramanik vehicle to to go to Dhashineshwar Temple and Belur Mutt. Enroute we had an excellent lunch and Haldirams located close to the hotel.

Had an excellent darshan in both places and returned to Haldirams for a nice dinner and we hit the sack at our hotel room in Silverline.

Early in the morning we reach Kolkota Airport and our packed breakfast request was bread butter jam and a banana. What we got was just bread slices with a dash of margarine.Ugh!

We flew Bhutan Airlines - check in baggage was 30 kgs as per International Standards.

We could see Mt.Everest and Kanchenjunga at a distance and our landing was simple breath taking with the flight landing wonderfully between two mountains.

The wonderful weather at Paro welcomed us and each and every staff at the Airport were cordial and smiling.

When we come out we meet our Guide Krsna - a wonderful human being wearing the traditional Bhutanese dress for men.

We were so happy that he brought a single bus ( though Yatra sent me a message in the last minute that their vendor will not be able to provide a single vehicle for all 10 of us)

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/vendor/15b1016ac59444b8

The shock of this mail in the last minute was too much to handle but when Krsna told us that he has brought a big bus, our happiness was like the people of Bhutan.

We reached Thimphu and the lunch was fine ( we agreed to pay for our own lunches) and our rooms in Shantideva Hotel opposite to the Clock Tower was nice.  Imagine a hotel which could provide Wifi in your rooms!

The women working in this hotel along with their male counterparts carried our luggage up two floors.  They never made a face and did it all with a smile.

Overall this hotel could be said a one of the best when comparing it with the hotels we stayed in Punakha and Paro - Punakha did not have Wifi  - a good time to interact with our group and play cards. The hotel was clean and the view was awesome in Punakha.

Paro - this hotel Tenzinling - all your rooms are located in various levels and their intercom did not work ( they proudly declare that it has been down for over 3 months) - so when our geyser did not work we had to walk to the reception and this petite girl would come and then would go to the back of the room and say the switch tripped. So you cannot use the heater and the kettle simultaneously. Once we got wind of the problem we were careful not to use both together.

In another room the heater was a problem and one had a problem with the TV and the girls just brought another TV from the neighbouring room. It was also drizzling. So imagine our plight.

In another room, the bath did not have a soap stand.

I would advise Yatra to avoid this hotel in Paro as they do not seem to be equipped with proper amenities.

Our guide Krsna and driver Tikka were very very nice and ensured that senior citizens were most comfortable.

The visit to Tiger's Nest in Paro was done only by two people, my husband Krishnan and my friend
Girija Ramani. The  rest of us just backed out as we were told that it can be bad for our knees. My husband did agree on his return from Tiger's Nest but was totally overjoyed with the view from the top.

On the day of our departure from Paro, we happened to bump into the Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay at the airport as he was flying to Bangkok. The most simple PM, who had only one Security - we requested if we could take a photo with him and he obliged.

What more can we ask for ? 

Our trip to Bhutan was simply awesome

Vacation in Zimbabwe - Eerie Experience

This happened way back in 1992 May. Since my husband and I were alone in Lusaka, Zambia and our kids were studying in Madras (Chennai) we were requested by friends to join them on a trip to Lake McIlwaine.

Lake McIlwaine is beautiful National Park near Harare in Zimbabwe. Here accomodation is available in the form of Chalets, Chateaus and Bungalows. To this place we all travelled by cars with a maximum of 4 in one car plus a kid in case of need. We never travelled crowding the car as this was unsafe, as sometimes our speed was at least a 100 kms per hour as there would be no vehicles or people on the roads.

Going on a holiday to any of the National Parks involves great amount of preparation - you cannot even believe that we carry food for the three or four days we plan to stay there.
In one person's house (the lady of the house with fellow travellers wives) would be making a minimum of a 100 'methi chappathies'. If cooked well it would last for four to five days without refrigeration. Then we would have another lady making 'Adai Mavu' - dried preparation - just take 3 measures of rice, one and half cup each of Thuvar Dhall, Channa Dhall and Urad Dhall and along with 5 to 6 red chillies and another 5 green chillies which are are grilled to make it brittle, some curry leaves which are also grilled, we add Asofodita and dry grind this whole lot and pack it in zip lock pouches. The third dried preparation is our 'Rawa Uppumma'. We pour some ghee and oil mixture and roast mustard seeds, urad dhall, channa dhall, finely cut green chillies and ginger and roast the rawa or semolina till it is well roasted. We also separately roast cashew nuts and add this to the "Uppumma ' mixture.

We had a whale of time - mostly seeing good game but the icing on the cake was the third day morning when we made the 'Rawa Uppumma'. Since we were all have the same at the open air in front of our Lodge and facing the the landscape filled with game which we hardly could see with the naked eye, we attracted a whole of tiny weeny birds and later large squirrels. These squirrels were plain unlike the ones in India which have three lines. They were larger in size may be twice the normal squirrels which we see in India.

These squirrels were keeping a distance when we were a crowd on the patio of the Lodge. But slowly one by one friends went inside to wash their hands and I was practically alone eating my 'Uppumma' very slowly and I got tempted to give some to the squirrels. Oh boy, they all came for it and slowly they started to eat out my hands. The sugar available were slightly big granules and the squirrels enjoyed the sugar and were eating this with a crunching sound. Many of our friends joined and we kept over feeding the squirrels with fruits etc. Whew ! What an experience.

Since it was time to visit game we went around in our cars and had a great time. The last day of our stay in Lake Mcllwaine was coming to end. One friend was bored and since he was ready and I also was, we both decided to see game for at least half hour, while the others got ready. We went away on a drive and he was driving at a speed which was normal but at a curve we came almost face to face with two White Rhinos, probably getting ready to mate. Oh my God, my friend managed to reverse right on time and we did not think of anything but kept praying that we should not be chased by the White Rhino and our car was Red in colour. Our escapade was the talk of the day with all our friends and all of them in unison stated that we were really lucky.

As was the normal practice, we shuffled the rooms which we got on rent. The Bungalow/Lodge had three bedrooms and the Chalet two bedrooms. Since we were 5 families, two of them with two kids each plus a bachelor, we rotated our stay between the lodge and the Chalet. The parents with kids were exempt from this rotation as they needed to stay with their kids.

So on the last day, my husband and I had to go to the Chalet with the Bachelor. We reached the Chalet at around half past ten at night and it was pitch dark with a few lights twinkling around. The lights were tiny so as not to attract animals and the Chalets did not have toilets attached to them. So when my husband went to the toilet carrying his torch, I asked our bachelor friend(his stay was here all the time) where the toilet was located and I was generally getting oriented to the surroundings of the Chalet. He told me to step out with him carrying his torch and I followed him. As I was closing the door behind me to prevent insects entering the room, he was casually telling me not to do so, as he left the keys of the room on his room table. BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. It was a lock similar to Godrej locks which we just shut while going out. You cannot enter without a key and if someone was inside, they could open from inside. HARD LUCK. I had already closed the door behind me. This guy (let us call him LN) left the keys on his room table and also the car keys and all we could do was to see it through the closed window. All windows with mesh were closed from inside.

All three of us looked around tried calling for people but no one came to our rescue and we were there just at the mercy of howling animals at a distance and insects flying all over us. My husband wanted to walk back to the lodge (car keys on table, remember?) and I was scared of the animals on the prowl at the dead of night. Scary. To think of the scene now makes me shudder.

We did not have anything to sit on and it was terrible as we did not have blankets and it was getting cold. It was a good hour odd later, when LN suddenly came to us and stated he managed to push the mesh of the window in his room, with tremendous amount of excitement.

Now I went in search of a stick and low and behold we found one and some copper wire and this we tied in the form of a hook to the stick. Then my husband carefully inserted the stick through the window while LN & I held the mesh up as it was falling back. With bated breath, the key was taken by the hook and and slowly it was pulled to the window and we removed the key off the hook and at last we managed to get inside our rooms.

What an ordeal ! But it did not end there. Suddenly my husband had this bout of coughing and throughout the night we remained sleepless.

Thankfully we were traveling with LN on the wheel and I slept quite a bit till we reached the border. We cleared customs and we were on our way back home.

When we reached back home in Zambia, we had a get together the next weekend and many of our friends were informed of our 'night safari' at the Chalet in Lake Mcllwaine.

Since this episode I ensure that I take extra precaution before closing doors.

Dirty Business-Chennai Corporation/Neel Metal Fanalca and ITC

Dirty Business Chennai citizens refuse garbage to a conglomerate over dumping By Sumana Narayanan In the fight to save environment, can you let go of your convenience and monetary gain? The answer is a resounding “yes” from the residents of Kalakshetra Colony in south of Chennai. The residents of the Colony recently refused to sell their garbage to a multi-business conglomerate ITC Ltd, over the allegations of the company dumping solid waste in agricultural fields near Coimbatore. Recently, ITC proposed collecting recyclable waste on a door-to-door basis and offering Rs 5 for a kilogramme (kg) of paper and Rs 2.5 for a kg of plastic. ITC has already worked on similar project in Annanagar and claims to recycle paper and plastic in its factories in Andhra Pradesh and near Coimbatore. The residents of Kalakshetra Colony, however, refuse to buy this claim. “ITC does not have a good reputation. We are aware that they have been accused of dumping solid waste in agricultural fields near Coimbatore,” asserts Shanthi Krishnan, a member of the Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association. After the refusal of Kalakshetra Colony, ITC has now gone to Kodambakkam Colony in central Chennai to do the garbage business. It has started collecting paper and plastic since October 24. The residents of Kodambakkam have not opposed itc’s drive yet, but they are puzzled with Chennai Municipal Corporation (CMC). The CMC already has an agreement with Neel Metal Fanalca (NMF), another private organisation, for garbage collection. When asked about this, S Annadurai, Public Relations Officer of nmf clarifies, “We have asked ITC to join our effort of waste collection. They are already working on a similar project in Annanagar, paying the residents for paper and plastic.” “Both of us share the aim to reduce the city’s garbage,” Annadurai adds. The coordinator of ITC’s efforts in Annanagar, Iqbal, declines to comment on the Kalakshetra Colony refusal. He maintains that the company collects recyclables and sends those to its factories in Andhra Pradesh and near Coimbatore. “The paper is pulped and recycled, while the plastic is used in laying tar roads,” he elaborates.

Commercialization of Primary Residential Areas.(Contd)

Continuing on the illegal Commercialization of Primary Residential Areas - In 29th Cross Street, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar, the Fisheries Department has opened an outlet to sell Fish and have threatened to open a Fish eatery.

The local TNHB flat residents opposed to the Upmarket type of Fish Market but the Government has done sweet nothing. The residents sent a RTI to the Housing Board Department, as king them for what purpose that the vacant area (Originally belongs to the TNHB residents for recreational activities) had been given to the Fisheries Dept. The reply received was astounding. The Fisheries Department was given the place for an Institute to train people on packing of Sea food and not for a shop to sell Fish nor for an eatery to be opened.

This TNHB group of residents are mostly Vegetarians and some of them settled in these apartments some 30 to 35 years ago.

Most of them are Brahmins, who have been performing 'Tharpana' every Ammavasya day and also on other religious occasions when it is warranted. This has been going on in one of the car sheds for over 30 odd years. It goes on even now.

The Government states that there should be no Caste barrier. Why are the Brahmins hard hit below their belts? To my knowledge they do not protest or wield a stick if the situation is out of control. They just keep away from unnecessary trouble. But today the lower strata of Society is envious of Brahmins. Why? They have nothing great in them except being born as a Brahmin. They have the same blood groups of human beings and are no different from those who are called lower caste by the Government today. Wonder why is there a Forward Class/Backward Class/Scheduled Caste/Scheduled tribe etc when it comes to the educational system?

I am disappointed that a Fish Market needs to function without any License in a Primary Residential Area. One Government Department is cheating another.

Result: Many many years of peaceful living has been infiltrated by non believers. I am only reminded of a saying of one of the elders in my family telling me கெடுவான் கேடு நினைப்பான்.

India or Bharat became Independent with full knowledge of various castes and tribes. One should respect each others religious beliefs and not crush the same. I think most of us have come a long way and we are more ammenable to the requirements of the Society and except for a handful of uneducaed goons, by far people do live in a more amicable manner.

All the 55 years of my life I have spent maximum in Social Work and have helped to educate a Cobbler's family of 4 boys. The first boy studied Engineering and is working in a Multi National. The second boy completed his MBA and is now in a temporary job and likely to be made permanent very soon. The third boy who was not good in his studies did show a flair for repairing Mobile phones and I managed to get him trained for Cell Phone repairing in a Govt. Institution in Nungambakkam and today he owns a Cell phone repair shop close to his home. The 4th boy has just entered college in the field of Arts and Sciences. This family believes in Christianity but they also respect other religions.

None of the above mentioned children have forgotten their antecedents and do not hesitate to sit with their father to do the job of a cobbler at any point of time.

More in my next blog on my social work activities.

Commercialization of Primary Residential Areas.

As a resident of the formerly quiet residential locality of Kalakshetra Colony, I now would like to ask when corrupt official in both the Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has given permission for Commercial Establishments to enter into the Primary Residential Localities of Chennai, especially Kalakshetra Colony.

We find that the new CMDA rules and regulations which are valid till the year 2026, states clearly that Kalakshetra Colony is a Primary Residential Area and is also a layout done before August 1975.

Today we have so many Commercial establishments - Auroville, Grandma Grandpa (an expensive play school) , Til Spices (a take away), Kamanuri Art Gallery etc etc. Purple boutique in an interior road.

As per the rules for Primary Residential Locality we are allowed Tuition center in 100sq.m of area. Tuition can comprise of 5 to 10 students. But we have Winners Academy which is located in a 'cul de sac' and these people have a minimum of 40 students for classes starting as early as 6 am and children coming in vehicles as early as 5.45 am disturbing the peace and quiet of the area where many residents are senior citizens. The worst is at the end of the class at 7 am when some parents come to pick up their wards and are in a tearing hurry and they start to honk and create a ruckus thereby irritating the residents. The noise created by the children at the end of each session is another thing. They have sessions both in the evening and morning and at least two to three sessions in the evening.

This can never be considered a Tuition center but a Coaching center which definitely does not warrant its presence in a primary residential locality.

To top this all, none of these Commercial ventures have any license from the Chennai Corporation. The Corporation gave notices to all these commercial ventures and then slept through so that these commercial establishments can take injunctions. An oppotune moment for money making?

Letters to the CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) and Chennai Corporation has evoked no response.

Who is corrupt? If the CMDA does not take immediate action to our letters then we know that there is rampant corruption in the organization from top to bottom.

Rules are made to be broken ? Officers are busy with other matters of the Government that this is not so important.

Kalakshetra Colony consists of more Senior Citizens who moved to this area to settle down in peace but only in India and that too in Tamilnadu Senior Citizens are not respected and their everyday problems are ignored. Oops. I forgot the CM is Senior Citizen and he is well taken care of as he is at the helm of power. Residents have lost faith in the system and unless some action is taken to relieve the Senior Citizens of this pain, I feel the present generation will suffer even more when they become Senior Citizens.

Any one interested in taking appropriate action?

Is an Elevated Highway on the Beach essential?

I admire the Government's various policies but some of them are done blindly without realizing the impact of the same at a later date.

To have a smooth flow of traffic in Chennai, the Government has planned an Elevated Highway from North Madras to South Madras (read Madras as Chennai) along the Coast of Bay of Bengal.

The Government framed the CRZ rules. Now they want to flout it.

Have they given a thought for the Olive Ridley turtles which nest on the shores of Elliots Beach and toward the Southern belt beyond? They built an Eco Park and one is yet to see the birds nesting there. There is traffic movement all along this area and when do the birds ever get some peace?

Every day the RTO's (Regional Transport Offices) register 3000 vehicles minimum. Why do they register so many vehicles without having the roadsor the infrastructure for the vehicles to ply? Why is it that each household have 3 to 4 vehicles at no extra cost? Why is the Government allowing people to buy vehicles when they do not have spaces to park?

Has anyone seen a residential locality of late? Ninety percent of vehicles are parked on the roads. The builders use the parking space for residential houses and the Chennai Corporation or Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority do not bother. Obviously some officials turn a blind eye because of rampant corruption in the above mentioned organizations.

Disgusting.

I hope with so many skeletons coming out of the closets in many organizations, I look forward to seeing the corrupt being arrested and the builders loose their licences to build apartments for good.

When is the day one can see the rules not being flouted in this city?

Elliots Beach saved from Concrete Monstrosity

At last Civil Society Group HAVE succeeded in stopping the concrete structures being built on the Elliots Beach.

The Coastal Regulation Management Authorities have clearly declared that any construction on the Beach is illegal and the CRZ rules will not permit any construction on the Beach front.

The news item was published in the Times of India newspaper on Sunday the 22nd of February 2009.

Therefore, any construction from Ennore, along the coast line is considered illegal and therefore construction activity in the Marina, Thiruvanmiyur and Kottivakkam and beyond will also be considered as ILLEGAL.

The latest from the Chennai Corporation is to construct Granite Medians on the Elliots Beach Road. Have the officials ever thought of the Senior Citizens? They will be forced to walk a longer distance to reach their favourite spot and walking back will be another ordeal.

STOP THE CHENNAI CORPORATION FROM CONSTRUCTING GRANITE MEDIANS ON THE ELLIOTS BEACH.