Lose yourself in the wild

Kickstart your 7.5-km mesmerizing circuitous walk in the wild at Bheemeshwari from the elephant camp. Lose yourself to the beauty of its wilderness for your trek trail at Bheemeshwari runs nearly parallel to the Cauvery most of the way. So while you walk through the thickets sharpening your senses to spot as many animals and birds as you can here, the river gives you company murmuring from the foothills all the way!

It’s one to enjoy the wilderness of Bheemeshwari during the day, either trekking or mountain biking. It’s another to camp in the jungles under a star-spangled sky and walk through the serpentine trek paths to sight the nightlife of Bheemeshwari under the silvery moonlight seeping through the leaves. While jackals may cross your path unawares, glimpse nocturnal creatures quenching their thirst along the river and bats fly swishing past your ear as you deftly duck them and walk through the wild in Bheemeshwari at night.

More to Bheemeshwari’s wild beauty

If just a walk in the wild at Bheemeshwari isn’t enough to satiate your hunger for adventure, then you should go white water rafting in the Cauvery for nature to reveal some of its exotic secrets only for your eyes! Go zipping down the river at high speeds in some places, and simply float in other spots enjoying your date with nature at Bheemeshwari.

For those who prefer a quieter sail in the river, get into coracles and cross the crocodile and Mahasheer infested river, reveling in the pure natural beauty of Bheemeshwari! All you nature photographers, get into a coracle up the course of the river at Bheemeshwari and keep the shutter clicking away at elephants drinking water at the foothills along with other animals, and birds coming flying to the water surface to deftly catch fish, while you sail down the river in style. And there’s even more… zip-line across the hills of Basavana Betta or cross them on Burma Loops. After all, walking high above the wild in Bheemeshwari is an experience of a lifetime! Whoo, can there be a better hideout than Bheemeshwari with Thrillophilia!

That was me with my mind experiencing delirium; I was somewhat set to begin my new phase of life. A fresh graduate looking at the mirror thinking, Man! I’m too pretty to be an engineer.

As I dragged the luggage down the stairs I recalled if I had with me, my resume file, sun glasses, nail paints and so on…
Finally my last ten minutes arrived within the premises of my comfort zone. I hugged tight my mom, dadiji and my sweetheart brother. The thought of being away from family itself was overpowering my nostalgia.

I reached Bangalore in the evening. Everything was fixed from before, a posh place to stay, internet facility and my motives. What I knew about the place staying up in the north eastern part of the country was petite. “An IT hub where people work, earn and are independent” was my anytime impromptu naïve definition for it. But that was just the beginning of what I had to learn.

A kitchen and no cook, No car with no driver and mails lined up to attend interviews were making me realize that things have changed in no time. What I needed was reconcilement and an emotional equilibrium.

I am lazy but not weak. My dad has the strongest daughter! He has to be proud. This feeling became my food for thought. I jotted down things I needed to know, from tea making to Volvo bus numbers.

When life starts making us learn it does till we reach near perfection. There were times I faced rejections, lost ways, walked kilometers, made mistakes, felt impatient, lost hopes.

There was a stretch of monotony that made me wish for serendipity. There were no miracles but there came new friends, new opportunities and inspirations. I wasn’t the best but I learnt how to be the best. For me Bangalore is more than what I can ever tell anyone because it whispered me who I am.

Today it’s a bit cold outside and drizzling. It’s my birthday. I am sitting beside my window watching the leaves stride with every touch of breeze. My dad couriered me my birthday present. A new pair of shoes. That is exactly what I need in my run. And now when I see my reflection in the glass pane I know,

I am more than an engineer!

By: Richa

richa.mit011{AT}gmail{DOT}com

FruitDay bouquets are made by fresh premium fruits like strawberries, pineapple, melons, oranges, apples, kiwi and much more, with toppings like chocolate and nuts arranged in varieties of display. All the bouquets come in a hand woven cane baskets; or ceramic/plastic containers. Look at the shots below:

Each bouquet is made to order and the order should be placed at least one day before the delivery. These bouquets are made in hygiene conditions and are delivered in closed packing. FruitDay currently delivers the bouquets at free of cost within central parts of the city. Customers soon can pick up their ordered bouquets free of cost from the pick up centers.

FruitDay bouquets come in several designs and ranges in price from approximately 599/- to over 999/-. As an inaugural offer they are offering 10% discount on all their bouquet verities. Customers who wish to get the unique experience and delight their loved ones can call +91 9980070016, +91 9535233781 for home/office delivery.

About Fruitday:

Fruitday co-founder Roopa Sridhar, a Bangalore based homemaker has come up with this new concept and unique gifting ideas. Fruitday started its operations this year and launching their products this valentine’s day.
Their production facility is nearby Indiranagar and very shortly they are opening store in the heart of the city.
Have a fruitday…

Inner Engineering with Sadhguru at Bangalore

It is with immense pleasure that we invite you to the Inner Engineering Program conducted by Sadhguru himself from 8 to 10 July at Bangalore. This is a very rare opportunity to be in His presence and experience this powerful life-transforming program. We wish you also make use of this opportunity. Program components include guided meditations, interactive discussions and transmission of the sacred Shambhavi Maha Mudra.

When practiced on a regular basis, these tools have the potential to enhance one’s experience of life on many levels.

Program details:

Fri, 8 July – 6.00pm to 9.30pm
Sat, 9 July – 8.30am to 7.00pm
Sun, 10 July – 6.30am to 7.00pm

To know more about Inner Engineering, please visit:
http://ishavolunteers.org/index.php?source=WB

http://www.ishafoundation.org/component/option,com_program/program_id,4439/task,details/

Isha Foundation is a non-religious, not-for-profit, public service organization, which addresses all aspects of human wellbeing.

Experiences and Expressions

“I would honestly say this was a turning point in my life in some important ways. If you cannot manage your own energies, your reactions to situations, you cannot be effective leading a company, particularly a large one.”
-Ravi Venkatesan, Ex-Chairman, Microsoft India

From the beginning we were clear that we were not going to pay, what can only be described as an outdated and unnecessary travesty.
We moved here in July. Fortunately for us my wife’s parents live here so there wasn’t a real sense of panic about our search, ofcourse we did want to find our own place as soon as we could.
As the search began it became quite clear that the practice didn’t just influence more ‘traditional’, ‘old school’ and ‘uneducated’ landlords, as seems to be the misnomer amongst a lot of outsiders, it affected everybody across every imaginable background. The 10 month deposit seemed to be a convenient bandwagon for every kind of landlord from every possible background to jump on. I guess the lure of a sizeable chunk of money makes drooling idiots of us all.

We met potential landlords from every background, all demographics, every religion, creed, what-have-you and the response did not change; well neither did our resolve (given the luxury of the in-laws house, which made things a little easier). We heard all forms of justifications, reasons, litanies as to why we should part with such amounts of money as our well thought out arguments fell upon deaf ears. I will discuss these reasons in the sections below, but before I do I have to mention that we did eventually find a beautiful house, in the locality we wanted and we didn’t pay a 10 month deposit. Yes, it took us two months to find the place and negotiate like crazy but we persevered to ensure that tomorrow our landlord does not hold our lives ransom whenever it is that we decide to vacate the place.

I will now list out a step-by-step guide of what we learnt from our experience and what you should keep in mind when renting a house in Bangalore and are looking to pay no more than 2 month’s deposit.

The Search

• When searching for a house be as diverse in your search as possible. Word of mouth and paper classifieds are good starting points but online is where the major volume of ads are palced. That being said, remember that beyond the big real estate websites also look at the smaller more multi-purpose ones like commonfloor, craigslist, sulekha, olx etc,.
• Search for owner listed properties, it is always best to talk to the owner directly as opposed to through a broker, as brokers are generally unwilling to affect the norm in any way. And it’s always best to make your own case to someone who has the power to make a decision instead of convincing a broker first and then having to do it all over again with the owner. This ofcourse comes with an exception discussed later in this article.
• Word-of-mouth contacts can often be best kind of contacts in respect of negotiating a deal because they can’t use any of the usual excuses as to why they want a huge deposit as they are ‘known’ to you.
• Post your own classified ad on as many sites as possible. And specify clearly that you should only be contacted by landlords who do not require anything above two months’ deposit. This way, when they call you even if they are looking to negotiate, you will have the higher ground.

The negotiation

• As stated before, always look to negotiate with the owner.
• The process of negotiation will always have its own dynamics. The owners will have their own reasons, both reasonable and unreasonable, we have heard everything from ‘I need this money to pay off my loan’ to ‘My house costs x-lakhs, I need to secure it cause you sound like a shifty cheat (as if to say I could run away with it)’ but usually after a little fencing most Landlords will come down to this bottom line ‘This is how things are done in Bangalore and that’s why you should pay me’. As unlikely as it seems it is at this stage that you will usually be able to talk some sense into the landlord. Not often but on occasion you will have a reasonable guy who will see sense, or the lack thereof, in this practice when faced with a simple ‘other than the practice is there any other reason for you to demand this deposit?’.
  One piece of advice for this negotiation is anticipate all their questions and be prepared with responses e.g., for ‘I have to pay off my Loan” your response is the obvious “So, what happens when you have to pay me back?”. Similarly, all their arguments will have obvious holes so where you find a landlord willing to reason, be prepared. A gem I found in response to the ‘It’s always been this way in Bangalore’ response was, that the reason it was ‘this way’ in Bangalore was because the Karnataka Tenancy Act was an overtly tenant friendly law when it was originally brought into force, this was the reason that landlords decided to secure their properties with a 10 month deposit. However, since the 2002 amendment to this Act the law has actually been made far more balanced and both landlords and tenants have a much more equal relationship, thereby doing away with landlords to feel insecure and demanding 10 months deposit as security. At this point of time you will hear the sound of glass breaking, your future landlord has just dropped the glass of juice he was sipping.
• Now we come to the exception of the self-negotiation. Where you don’t want negotiate yourself, for whatever reason, find a good broker, not someone who has advertised a house that you’re responding to but someone you have found independently. Assign your broker the task of finding you a place with the stipulation of paying only two months’ deposit. Incentivise, if necessary by offering the broker a higher commission than he would normally make on this kind of a rental.
• When negotiating on the deposit never fall into the trap of higher rent against lower deposit, a lock-in penalty for any lease termination, unreasonable termination notices etc. Remember your rent and your deposit are two different things, as are your lease terms, you should link one with the other and set-off any consolations made for one against the other.
• Ridicule and outrage are also two other good tools that were suggested to me when I was myself negotiating for the deposit. Laugh when the landlord suggests a 10 month deposit or react with complete outrage. Remember even if you don’t get the house, you have sent a message across that things are changing and that there are people out there who find the idea ludicrous. If a landlord hears this a few times from his market, maybe he will understand that it is he who needs to change.
• Always quote examples of how everywhere else in the world people live in apartments with one month rent as security deposit. If your landlord is a little worldly and has lived in rented accommodation himself, he is likely to see some sense in this argument and relent.
• Another strategy is to give your landlord the impression that you have never had to pay more than a 2 month deposit, even in Bangalore. Peer pressure can work wonders.
• Typically, your chances of being able to negotiate with a landlord who has just bought a house or an apartment will always be better than with someone who has a place just ‘lying around’. The former will always have a greater need to rent out the property to start earning returns and paying back in loan. Ofcourse this can backfire, with the “Give me the deposit cause I have to pay back my loan” class of people. That notwithstanding it will still get you better results than people who do not have such pressures. So look for rental ads for newer apartments and negotiate hard with such people.

Red Flags

• Usually avoid landlords that have dietary, religion or such restrictions. These people are generally closed minded and speaking with them is generally a waste of time and a test of patience.
• Landlords who live in other cities and in rented accommodations themselves will sometimes acknowledge how they pay only a month’s deposit but since this is Bangalore and custom is custom, expect you to cough up a lung-and-a-half. Once something to this effect is said, understand that you are dealing with a troll devoid of logic. This guy is not interested in your argument, no matter how nuanced, fate has dealt him a lucky card and he is going to milk it.
• I repeat – DO NOT set-off rent against a reduction in deposit.

Do’s

• Always talk to owners directly (the exception above notwithstanding).
• Post a wanted ad specifying your precise requirements on as many online and paper classified forums as you can.
• Make a list, with numbers, of landlords who refuse to relent on the deposit front and post it on this website.
• Once you have found a place remember to have clear terms in your lease regarding circumstances under which money may be deducted from your deposit and a notification/consent provision that requires your landlord to not deduct unilaterally. A 2 month deposit is still your hard earned money!
• When paying rent or deposit always pay by cheque so that the transaction is recorded. This will help if your landlord has decided to be overwhelmed by the need to be dishonest and refuses to refund your deposit.
• Always stamp your lease adequately. Remember an un-stamped lease cannot be admitted as evidence in court. Ofcourse you can do this at a later stage too, but you will have to suffer through the compounding charges.
• If the lease is longer than 12 months you will need to get it registered.
• Be patient. You will not find a house in a day or maybe even a week but if you persevere you definitely will.

I will conclude with a little story.

There were three monkeys who were part of science experiment. Their names were A, B and C. The scientists placed a bunch of bananas in the monkeys’ cage and a step ladder for the monkeys to be able to reach the bananas. However, every time a monkey tried to climb the ladder to reach the bananas the other two monkeys on the ground would get drenched in cold water. Eventually the monkeys on the ground co-related the two events and started pulling whichever of them tried to climb the steps.

In time monkey A was replaced by monkey D. And to his surprise every time monkey D tried to climb the steps the other two monkeys pulled him down. After a few more months Monkey B was replaced by Monkey E and a further few months later Monkey C was replaced by Monkey F. None of these monkeys had ever been sprayed with cold water yet due to their conditioning every time one of them tried to climb the steps the other two would pull him down. They didn’t know why they were doing this just that they were.

The 10 month’s deposit also has similar characteristics. As with every practice, custom, more it originated to satisfy a need that existed at that time, however that need has since long disappeared but sadly the monkeys continue to pull each other off the steps.

Arriving at Bangalore Airport

Domestic passengers, once de-boarded from the aircraft, will reach the first floor of the airport via aerobridge. You can use the escalator, elevator or stairs to reach the baggage claim area that’s located on the ground floor.

If you are brought by bus from the aircraft to the Terminal Building, you will directly reach the ground floor. You can proceed to the baggage claim area from there by following the “Baggage Claim” and “Exit” signs.

International passengers will directly proceed to the first floor via aerobridge. Please use the escalators to the pathway on the second floor which leads to the immigration check area. Follow signs for “immigration” and “international baggage claim” and “exit”.

Visa formalities can be completed at the immigration check area on the first floor. You may take escalators or stairs and proceed to the baggage claim area on the ground floor.

Customs check of hand baggage is also situated on the first floor, immediately after the immigration counters.

Depending upon the duty items you are carrying, general customs check after the baggage claim is divided into two channels:

Green Channel – No goods to declare for customs.
Red Channel – Goods to declare for customs.

(Note: Officials may request you for a baggage check, even if you are using the Green Channel.)

Inter-flight transfer of Passengers

Domestic arrival and transfer to a domestic or international flight:

Your baggage will be directly sent to the connecting flight. So, you do not need to pick up the baggage at the baggage claim area. Please proceed to the Departure Area on the first floor, complete your security-checks and proceed to your gate for departure.

International arrival and transfer to a domestic flight:

If you are an arriving international passenger, follow the signs for immigration and complete your immigration formalities and customs check for hand baggage on the first floor

Collect your baggage from the baggage claim area; pass by the red or green channel to the Arrival Hall

You may then proceed to the check-in area and follow the standard procedures for starting a domestic departure.

International arrival and transfer to an international flight:

If you are an arriving international passenger taking an international connecting flight, proceed to the transfer facilitation desks in the immigration hall before the immigration counters to change or re-issue the boarding pass, if required.

Follow the signs for security check point and proceed to the International Departure holding area.

Transport to/from Bangalore Airport

• Prepaid or metered taxi from the airport to the city center costs around 800 rupees ($20) one way. There are prepaid taxi counters just before you leave the terminal building. Taxis wait in front of the terminal building in the designated area.
• You may also consider taking the airport shuttle bus service operated by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. These air conditioned Volvo buses are scheduled to depart every 15 minutes to/from various locations around the city, and cost 100-200 rupees ($2.50-$5.00) one way.
  BMTC contact: 27607989 (call from Mobile phones) / +91 7760991269.

Facilities at Bangalore International Airport

• Wi-fi internet is available for free in the terminal building. Users will need to get a password sent to their mobile phone.
• Porters are available to carry luggage.
• Restaurants and food and beverage counters offer a huge variety of items.
• Multiple money exchange counters and ATMs are available.
• There are number of shops and duty-free outlets in the shopping area inside the terminal building.
• Courier and India Post counters are available.
• There are also airline lounges and a sports bar.
• Separate access lane for passengers with special needs. Airlines also do provide wheelchair assistance.

BIAL Airport Contact:
(91)80 2354-0000 for Bangalore airport.
(91)80 6678-2251/2255 for 24 hour general and flight inquiries.

Gramin Restaurant Bangalore

My Experience:

This is one of the few best value restaurant I know of in Bangalore. It feeds you what it charges. No wonder, it’s crowded and offer discounts on “take away”(but I guess that’s only in weekends).

Menu at Gramin

Menu:

It offers usual Indian food, with more inclination towards taste of North India. Naan, Paneer, Gobi, Lassi, Rice, Daal etc. are there in the menu. So you can guess what else would be there.
Must have: Jal-jeera.

Taste:

8/10 based on food I had on two different occasions. For middle class vegetarian like me, it’s best I can get and afford in Bangalore.

Cost:

Meal for two: Rs 400

Ambience:

7/10. It’s bit packed and congested. Not a lot of breathing space. But still it’s well maintained and of course, hygienic.

Service:

7/10. Mixed reaction. Obviously better than service provided in other Bangalore restaurants, but still they need to be taught on term “Hospitality”

Value for Money?

For me in Bangalore, this is 9/10. So that sounds like a Yes!

Written By Omprakash

chemnitr @ Bangalore Forum

In January, 2008, two students from Gustavus Adolphus College traveled to Bangalore, India.
Their goal: to produce a film exploring the consequences of a relentless series of American influences on the lifestyle, culture and identity of the inhabitants of Bangalore city.
What they were confronted with was a myriad of conflicting opinions across various generations of the cities residents.

Raised at a time when control by the British over the region was still fresh in people’s minds, the older generation tended to view influences by the United States as the new wave of economic neo-colonization of the region. However, the younger generation, more inundated by these influences via the media, have adopted this culture as part of their own and see it as an essential part of their identity as the next generation of Indian leaders.

From the media to romantic relationships, the outsourcing culture to night life, watch these opinions clash as we explore the true identity of BangalAmerica.

By: Siddarth Selvaraj

Boston University

M.R.VIJAYALAKSHMI MEMORIAL MUSIC & ART COMPETITIONS

LAST DATE FOR REG WITH OUT FINE OCT 31ST

ART & MUSIC CATEGORIES:
KIDS FROM BABY NURSERY TO IIND STANDARD STUDENTS

1.Any talent
2.Any chapter Bhagavadgeeta
3.Simple English song renditions for kids
4.Simple Kannada songs by the Kids
5.Any song
6.Any prayer

FROM IST STD TO PUC STUDENTS OR 12TH STD: RECITATIONS

1.SHLOKAS
2.BHAGAVADGEETHA
3.VEDA MANTRAS
4.VISHNU SAHSRANAMA

VOCAL: (CHILDREN FROM IST STD TO PUC STUDENTS OR 12TH STD)
Carnatic music/Hindusthani
Light music/Hindi film songs with classical back ground
Kannada film songs with classical back ground
Concert rendition/Bhajans/Devaranamas/Vachanas/Dasara padas

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: (CHILDREN FROM IST STD TO PUC STUDENTS OR 12TH STD)

Children who can play the following instrument as solo or accompaniment is also
encouraged in the SAMA children conference.
Mandolin/Key board/Harmonium/Piano/ Violin/Flute/ Mridangam/Tabla Ghatam/ Khanjira/ Dholak/ Morching/Guitar

HARIKATHA,YOGA & FROM IST STD TO PUC STUDENTS OR 12TH STD: DANCE

YOGASANA/BHARATHANATYAM/KUCHUPUDI/MOHINIYATTAM/HARIKATHA

WRITING SKILLS & ART : (CHILDREN FROM IST STD TO PUC STUDENTS OR 12TH STD)

Story writing from the Mahabharatha & Ramayana/Pencil sketching Painting/Cartoon writing/ Clay Modelling/Pottery/Collaging
Hand writing/Essay writing/Story writing/English Poetry/Kannada Poetry

QUIZ WRITING & CROSS WORD SOLVING/MENTAL SKILLS

SU DO KU solving/ABACUS MATH SOLVING/MEMORY TEST KANNADA CROSS WORD PUZZLE SOLVING/ENGLISH CROSS WORD PUZZLE SOLVING/Math-QUIZ-WRITING/Gen-QUIZ-WRITING/CRICKET QUIZ WRITING