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Monday, September 23, 2013

A Railway line trek to Dudhsagar Falls

This post has won I am Explorer contest organized by Indiblogger. 

A Railway line trek to Dudhsagar Falls


  • Dudhsagar Falls -  literally Sea of Milk
  • India's 5th tallest waterfall
  • Distance from Bangalore - 570 Kms
  • Trek difficulty Level - Moderate


Trek to Dudhsagar would undeniably be a dream trekking place for all the trek freaks and it was on my bucket list since last few months.
Etymology:
As the cascading waters appear white like milk, the waterfall is called Dudhsagar, Doodh being the Hindi word for milk.
Legend:
Legend has it that a beautiful princess lived in the forest (near present day Dudhsagar Falls) in a palace. She loved and enjoyed bathing in a lake nearby and used to drink "sweetened milk" from her "golden jug" after finishing with her bath. One day while enjoying her jug of milk she found herself being watched by a prince, who was standing amongst the trees. Red with embarrassment at her inadequate bathing attire, she poured the jug of milk in front of him to form an improvised curtain to hide her body while the maids rushed to cover her with her dress. It is said that it is that sweetened milk that cascades down the mountain slope as Dudhsagar Falls to this day as a tribute to the virtue and modesty of the princess.
My Experience:
We had 2 options to board the train -one from KR Puram and other from Yeshwantpur station. The adventures started well before we boarded the train. Yes, we were lost in conversation about previous trekking experience and were waiting in Platform number 3 for Vasco express. On hearing the train whistle we took all the huge luggage and gawked the direction of the sound. Unfortunately, the whistle boomed from platform number 4. Dead opposite to us. We all were disappointed and placed the luggage’s back in place. The train halted in platform no 4 and luckily, “Chennai to Vasco” caught the attention of our eyes and someone screamed, “That’s our train”.  We snatched all our luggage’s again and jumped on to the railway track and rushed to our respective coach which was little far.  We could not stop the discussion of how the railway trek got kicked off right from there. After chit-chats we went to sleep and woke up next day. The time we got up we were about to reach Hubli station. The view from Hubli station to Dharwad was mesmerizing. Almost at 11 P.M we got down at Castle Rock

Day 1: CastleRock to Dudhsagar

The team was split into 2 and the first group started walking away. (Let the reason for splitting into 2 groups be a secret within US). Megaraj had a tough time to make us stroll as we kept halting for posing the camera and got struck by magnificence of Dudhsgar.  The big twist and challenge came to him, when he observed Kushal (who was an amateur photographer) went on with a few professional photographers (Not from our team). The professional photography team was capturing each and every move and it took a hard time to pull him back to our team.
“Train, Guys Train. Get off the Track” - It was really an amusing experience on alarming our friends behind us on hearing a whistle sound. "Wow...Jaw-dropping,.. Look there..., Mind Blowing..." was the most frequent words we kept repeating during our whole trek

When we were about to cross the tunnel, a train came and all engrossed to the wall. It was mind-blowing to see the train passing inside the dark tunnel and sensing its vibration. Finally, We all reached at 4 PM and started building the tent beside the water fall (Just 100 Mts from the waterfall) and 5 mts from Railway track. After a nice bath in the water, we came to our camping, prepared food and finished our dinner. It was an astounding to sleep inside the tent, listening to the shuddering train sound and water gushing

Day 2(Dudhsagar to Sonalium station)

We all got up at 5 next morning and after preparing the breakfast the rain started cats and dogs. We packed all our tents drenching in the rain and started our day 2 trek(Another 10 KMS). 6 KMS in railway line and 4 KMS in Forest Route. After bidding bye to few people at Sonaliam station who planned to visit GOA, we took the forest route. As we went deep inside forest, a wild animal stopped us and was staring at us. Since I was wearing a red-t shirt all perpetuated the myth that red makes bulls go wild and it’s going to attack you. Fear in my eyes, I pushed another person forward, but the bull took one step forward and we took one step backward. By the time, few other friends joined us, and on seeing a big gang, the bull ran away. We passed almost 5 streams and finally reached the station. We all took a train to Londa by 4:45 PM. We had to take General compartment, as there was no booking. A drunker who was sitting on foot board and taking snaps in his camera lost his balance and fell down from the running train. We tried to stop the train by pulling the chain, but as we already crossed 1 kms we ignored. Now each and every tunnel which we crossed by our feet, we were passing by train.

One would definitely take back 3 memories - camping beside a waterfall, travelling in dark tunnel, walking for 14 kms along the railway tracks admiring the greenery, mist, and rain and playing in mini-waterfalls...

P.S: Trip to Dudhsagar would definetely a rejuvenating one..

This post is written for the post conducted by http://www.tatasafari.com


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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Touch of Mist Book Cover

Touch of Mist By Deepika Muthusamy 


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Upgrade your Car with Quikr NXT

Upgrade your Car with Quikr NXT

This post is purely fictional
I am damn crazy about cars. One of the items in my bucket list is to drive all the cars that are in the world before I die. Of course it’s a realistic wish that could be easily achieved. I could visit all car showrooms and take a test drive. But my pleasure was not in driving all the cars once or taking a test drive. My wish is to own all the cars and explore them. The happiness that I get when I own the car is much more than I take a test drive for just 10 KMS or so. I longed to exchange my car every 6 month.

My idea was simple, Sell my existing car and buy a new one. But practically it’s not possible. May be possible, but it comes with a huge cost.

When you take the car to the showroom and ask for an exchange price, your blood gets boiled when you see the price they quote for the car.  Requesting help from Dealers for exchange is also not a good idea. They simply take a lot of commission charge. So, going to showroom or contacting dealers is a poor idea. The best way is to sell the car yourself to some private party and buy a new one. In order to do this, you need lots of contacts and network. Here comes Quikr NXT which offers a perfect solution for all. Quikr NXT is the best way to trade the car with most profit as well as buy the car of our favorite choice.

Also, Owing a BMW 7 Series car is my dream and when I found that the Starting price of BWM 7 series itself is 1.07 crores(*) and a conditions apply mark next to it. After that, I never dreamed of owning BWM cars.
Img Source - Quikr NXT
One day when I was browsing the cars category in Quikr NXT I was surprised to see Jaguar, BWM, Land Rover, and Porsche cars listed in the Brand Name section. My curiosity roared and when I checked the price of BWM the was just Luxury BMW 7 series was sold at Rs. 15,00,000 only. That too with special VIP number.  Now, I am planning to re-visit my bucket list and modify it. Yeah, since I will be getting cars in cheap and affordable prices I can buy own 5 cars and use each one every day.  Monday BWM, Tuesday Jaguar and so on.


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This post is written as a part of Upgrade your Car with Quikr NXT! contest organized by Indiblogger in association with Quikr NXT!

                                                 

Publishing House in India

List of Publishing house in India


RUPA PUBLICATIONS

Rupa Publications Pvt Ltd
161-B/4 Gulmohar House,
Yusuf Sarai Community Centre,
New Delhi – 110 049

Srishti Publishers & Distributors
N-16, C.R. Park
New Delhi 110019
Tel: +91 11 41604733/44
srishtipublishers@yahoo.com, srishtipublishers@gmail.com

SHRISHTI PUBLICATION
Shop No. 17, Rajesh Enclave -"A" Wing, Near Church,
Sai Baba Nagar, Mira Road (E),
Thane- 401107
Mahaveer publishers
4764/2A, 23-Ansari Road Daryaganj,New Delhi110002

HarperCollins Publishers India
A 53, Sector 57
NOIDA, UP
India
Phone: 0120 - 4044800
Email: Sapana.Solanki@harpercollins-india.com
Editorial Department
Penguin Books India Pvt.Ltd
11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017
India
Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd.
WINDSOR IT PARK, 7TH FLOOR,
TOWER – B, A – 1, SECTOR – 125,
NOIDA – 201301, UTTAR PRADESH
Tel: +91 120 4607500
Fax: +91 120 4607518
Email: contact@randomhouse.co.in

Ms Jayapriya Vasudevan,
Jacaranda Press,
c/o Trilegal
2 Casa Grande
18/3 , 3rd Cross Road
Nandi Durga Road Extension
Bangalore 560046
Email: ashwati@jacaranda-press.com


Kali for women
Women Unlimited
(an associate of Kali for Women)
K-36, Ground Floor
Hauz Khas Enclave
New Delhi – 110016

Mailing Address
128 B, First Floor,
Shahpur Jat,
New Delhi - 110049, INDIA
Tel: +91-11-26494613, 26494617 and 26494618
Send Submissions to Zubaan,
128B Shahpur Jat,
First Floor,
New Delhi - 110049
INDIA
Tel : +91-11-26494617/18 and 26494613



Roli Books
Katha
Tara Press (div of India Research Press)

Ms. V K Karthika,
Managing Editor,
PENGUIN BOOKS INDIA PVT. LTD,
11, Community Centre,
Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi 110 017.
Ph : (011) 649 4401, 649 4406
Fax: (011) 649 4403
email: penguin@del2.vsnl.net.in
URL: http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/


Editor,
Picador India,
5A/12, Ansari Road,
Daryaganj,
New Delhi 110 002.
URL: http://www.macmillan.co.uk


RAVI DAYAL Publisher,
51 E, Sujan Singh Park,
New Delhi 110 003
Ph: (011) 4620850


Mr Anuj Bahri Malhotra,
CEO, TARA PRESS,
Mass Market division,
India Research Press,
B-4 / 22 Safdarjung Enclave,
New Delhi 110 029.
Ph : (011) 4694610
Fax: (011) 4618637;
email: bahrisons@vsnl.com
URL: www.indiaresearchpress.com

Sunday, September 15, 2013

17 Life Lessons from Stray Dogs

17 Life Lessons from Stray dogs
  1. Life is more beautiful when you share and care.Even though they never have enough to go around, they never hesitate to share what little they have with others. 
  2. Always be on the lookout for opportunities. These guys aren't survivors for nothing. They grab every single opportunity they see and make the most of what they have.
  3. The importance of a nap. Got a problem you can't quite solve? Take a nap. Dog certified.
  4. To enjoy time with your family. Family time is important, so always try to make some space in your busy schedule for some fun with your loved ones.
  5. That it pays to be patient. Haste makes waste. Sometimes, you just have to bide your time and wait for the right moment.
  6. To love unconditionally. It takes a lot to love someone without expectations or judgment. These guys love for the sake of love.
  7. That being cute gets things done. When all else fails, make puppy dog eyes.
  8. And never underestimate yourself. Never get daunted by any task, obstacle or opponent. Bring it on giant foot!
  9. That nothing beats the blues like a good hug.Go ahead. Hug someone right now. 
  10. To always keep your eye on the prize. Do you really want to achieve something in life? Yes? Then keep your eyes on the prize.
  11. To stick up for someone. Want to learn to be a hero? Learn from them. 
  12. To love your mom. Be a good puppy and shower your mom with the love she deserves.
  13. To improvise like a boss. And have some fun while at it. Like we said, they have it tough. But that doesn't stop them, does it?
  14. To ask for help. And get it. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. 
  15. To be a doting parent. Love your kids. Because they grow up really fast.
  16. Meet your problems head on. Because only then can you solve them faster.
  17. And of course, no matter what, always keep smiling.
    Source - scoopwhoop.com

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Testimonials for Touch of Mist

Testimonials for Touch of Mist


'A remarkable piece of work from a young author'

-Arjun Deep Singh Pahwa, Author of The Love, Hate and All That

Beautiful narration and presentation...
colloquial conversations gives the narrative a realistic touch,
in a nut shell, your book is definitely going to strike a chord...
                                               Prasanta Mahanta, Author of Love-not out-Peace 


Deeply moving and highly engaging story which entertains and makes you think at same time.

                                   - Arpit Vageria Author of Chockolate Sauce: Smooth Dark Sinful




An unconventional and pacing love story! A soiree of the readers with the book is certain.

Mehek Bassi Author of Chained



There's something so strikingly honest about this story of love, that the characters will - slowly, but surely - walk straight into your heart. The strong emotional undercurrent only adds to the charm. It's lucid, it's colourful, it's heart-warming, and even with the dark themes that run through it, it's ultimately hopeful and uplifting



There is an inherent mystique in the story that the author has created that might well appeal to the intellectual YA market exactly as you've written it, including all the colors and icons you used in your narrative, all of which are vehemently eschewed by traditionalists.  But I GONNA QUIT isn't traditional in any way, and for this reason I found it rather remarkable.
To put this in more specific terms, for me, your opening was a stream-of-conscious experience no different from the first time I read Joyce or Faulkner.  Now I'm not at all implying your writing is at that level, but it gave me the same "feeling" as I read through the narrative. 
With respect to your protagonist, Reene has an honest vulnerability that a great many YA readers might empathize with.  Most everyone has had a bad relationship, not so much so that each of us would want to kill ourselves, but certainly we've all felt really bad about something that went sour with someone we really cared about.  The raw emotion of this heartbreak is what I took from your opening.

-Robert L. (Rob) Bacon, Founder

The Perfect Write®


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Testimonials for Touch of Mist

Testimonials for Touch of Mist




Grab your order here..........