From Debyani Dasans notes-The year of disassociation- annual round up 2014

The journey through 2014 is coming to an end and the platform for 2015 is in sight and its time for a quick recap.
2014 has actually been a year where I have had the strength to battle all the ugliness around me and still have my head up and the smile intact. The year of disassociation perhaps?

Moving on has never been this easy before

The emotional armour firmly around my soul sends a strong signal that nothing is permanent and its stupid to hold onto anything- good, bad or ugly.The hurts have been there,but nothing caused emotional scars that I couldn't handle.
 I am now convinced that life is never going to let me sit on my butt and relax. Challenges are going to be thrown constantly at me and its going to take all that I have within me, to battle it out and emerge triumphant. For I love to win and win I shall. Maybe my battle is different, but my battle extracts more from me than what I would like to accept.
Mr.Tandon would be proud of me truly.
A big lesson to me came when my mail ids got hacked- and it was not nice to know that the hacker was someone who knew me and yet created the mischief.
Security on the web is definitely not as tight as one would like to believe.
First hand experience with a clinically mentally disturbed person makes me a more compassionate person and I realise how cheap and demeaning it is to laugh at someone who may not function the same way as I do. For everyone fights their own demons and don't deserve ridicule.
2014 has been a year of reunions- friends from the past, who I havent met in decades turned up in my life at least expected moments. With some I picked up the threads where I left off, with some  the distance only grew. But the connect remains.

This year has seen me starting a new venture with my  close friend- Pashatuks,

...and pashatuks is born

the community for people who travel and explore. I intend to put all of my passions together here,the love for travel,the love for writing and the love for networking and see what I can make out of the venture. I am ready to unleash the explorer within me.

Holidays have started taking new dimensions this year with Pashatuks being operational- Pashatuks is giving me more joy than I ever imagined. Now its time to strengthen the system and make it rock.
Leaving Wisdom Mart was a smooth process this time as I was not enjoying my work.
I have finally started wearing my spectacles for a better part of the day- the vision is clearer and so is the self.
But whats a story without some pathos- this year has seen Neuton slowing down and sick ever so often. I have been forced to accept that I dont have him for very long with me- a fact that is causing me gut wrenching pain.
But I know this too will pass and so as this year passes out I am ready and curious to know what new twists and turns I have to face in the new year. Ahh the journey has just begun is the feeling that I am getting- and waiting for the train to chug into 2015 and start off for the next destination...

Delhi Police - Aap ke liye, Aap ke Saath, Sahdev.(From Debyani Dasans facebook note)

My brush with the law is restricted to taking out my wallet and filling out challans ,once for over speeding and the other for jumping red light.Both times, the traffic constables  were polite and courteous, though very firm in punishing me for my violations. One even gave me INR 30 discount when he saw that I had no money left in the wallet after paying the challan.

But  the image that any law enforcing agency in our country has, in the minds of the common citizens, is nothing to write home about. Insensitive  and corrupt are the two words that come into the mind the moment the word police is uttered. In fact the slogan for Delhi police is the butt of many a joke in the middle class crowd. Roughly translated, it means "for you, with you always"-the biggest paradox.

Yet yesterday, something happened that made me revise my opinion that the Police are also humane with loads of sensitivity and a body who can handle sensitive cases, sensitively, and with huge dollops of compassion and humanity.

The mentally disturbed daughter of a friend of mine,in a moment of disturbance called in the police with all possible allegations against the parents,including fear for life and mental well being.

The calm and patient handling of the 6 odd Police from New Ashok Nagar Police station who had turned up not only calmed the violent girl,but also made her realize that these were people who were there to help her. And these were not the highly educated elite IPS,but the humble officials from a different strata of society, where ugliness and unpleasantness are commonly heard of.

They were equally polite to the parents, sympathetic(every one of them being parents themselves could empathize with the anguished parents)

The disturbed girl wanted to stay the night at the police station, but the laws of the land do not permit a lady to be detained in the police station post sundown, so the Police couldn't help there, causing her to get violent again - so they devised a way where the traumatized girl could be calmed- they opened their own sleeping quarters in the station,making her feel like a guest of the Delhi police,with the clause that a lady from  her house(in this case the girls mother) stayed with her. Through the night while the disturbed girl slept in peace, the friendly staff there counselled the mother, giving her tips on how to take take care of the daughter,offering solace and consolation to the parents on the cold winter night. I stood in the sidelines and watched in silence and this team took over a potentially violent situation with many shades of unpleasantness and ugliness and brought it to control.

I have no means of knowing whether what I witnessed yesterday is a one- off case or not but today I am forced to raise a salute to this team of yesterday as a common citizen of our democracy.

One more lesson in my journey through life- a single body cannot be painted with the same brush- each stroke is different. The situation demands the behavior of the Police force.

PashaTuks stumbles upon- Kerala Cafe

PashaTuks has the habit of celebrating the authentic,No matter how off beat or humble the origins might be.
Delhi is dotted with small eateries catering to the palate of the homesick Malayalees or the discerning   traveling foodies looking for a taste of what they might have had on their trip to Gods own country.Most of them do a fairly good job of reproducing the native flavour.

What makes the newly opened Kerala Cafe stand out is the availability of the exotic items in Delhi- Roast Duck, Clams (kakka curry),and Kingfish (Nayimeen) are some of the items that dot the menu along with the standard Kerala meals with the staple fish curry, fish fry etc.

PashaTuks ordered a portion each of Roast Duck, Beef fry, Beef roast Clams,Kingfish, Fish curry, a full kerala meal and appams.
Team PashaTuks certified the taste of each item ordered as authentic as it can get. Though the items looked very fiery, it did not hurt the intestine at any point.
The kakkas or the clams were flavoured subtly the way one gets as one eats at any of the many eateries facing the waterfront throughout the state.
The affable young owner Jose from Trissur says he came to the Capital city to make his mark. And it doesnt seem that hes done too badly as we spotted family of one of the leading political families quietly enjoying his fare and leaving as unobtrusively as he came in. The service quality is exemplary with Jose himself taking the orders and executing them- he is still a little rough around the edges with Hindi but he manages to understand what the guest wants and delivers. A meal for two costs slightly less than INR 500

This 16 cover eatery is on the 1st floor of the main market of Mayur Vihar in East Delhi. Ask for Acharya Niketan market and its in the 1st lane right after you enter the market.You have to look up to spot the signage.Its clean and hygienic.It is advisable to park the vehicle at the nearby Local shopping complex in front of Jeevan Anmol Hospital and walk. The walk itself is a journey as one can get the freshest of fruits and vegetables right on both sides of the road at rather affordable prices. PashaTuks had absolutely authentic Kerala cuisine in the typical style and pace of the average Malayalee -zimbly relaxed!

Jose- the owner

PashaTuks celebrates Diwali

Rajasthan- The Royal heritage. Sariska Tiger Reserve and Bhangarh Fort

Its not the destination as much as the people traveling with you who add that special zing to any travel. Pashatuks is happy to announce the completion of yet another travel.

 As usual an unplanned trip brings out the best in people born with the travel bug. So we decide not to make any kind of reservations,and just travel with the flow.Go whichever direction our heart desires and the heart desired for Rajasthan. We had 2 days to spare and decided to pack in as much as we could in these two days. Unlike other travels where we would travel at the crack of dawn, we started almost around noon,the reason being that the previous night was Diwali and we went to bed in the wee hours of the morning of travel.

 Destination for day one was Sariska Tiger Reserve 192 Kms from Delhi. The route we took is the tried and tested Gurgaon- Manesar- Daruhera from where we take a left turn for Alwar. The road condition of Haryana is excellent and  we made very good time and in no time we were settling down at The Jungle Babbler at Daruherafor lunch. This hotel has the ambiance of a resort and being a haryana tourism run unit,the pricing, that of a motel. For the Delhi dweller looking for a days outing, this forms an interesting option, specially in winter months, where the guest can soak in some sun in the well manicured carpet grass lawns and tuck in a good quality Indian meal. Pashatuks recommends you to sample their  cheese cutlets should you happen to require a snack.they make it out of cottage cheese(paneer) and we like it enough to recommend it.

The jungle babbler complex

The cut for Alwar comes in almost a kilometer before this place,but there is a service lane which one could use to get back to the cut.

We had decided to check out the Siliserth Lake which boasted of a palace, now a hotel run by the RTDC. We wouldn't have minded staying there for the night and then hitting for the safari the following day.

There is a board, rather primitive, indicating that we turn right and go for another 3 km- a small climb uphill and we drive into the palace by the lake. The lake is surrounded by the Aravalli hills which sport the just post rains look. A photographers delight

It is really disheartening to see what the state machinery can do to ruin something as grand and as elegant as a rajasthani palace,known for its grandeur and regal finish.
The structure by the waterfront does suggest that the place has seen some real grand days,but the chipped paint of the walls and the stench emanating from the washrooms across the area around the balcony offering the most spectacular vista of the lake surrounded by the beautiful Aravalli hills made us relieved that the non availability of rooms scuttled our plans of staying there and having a tete a tete with the royal residents floating in the building residing for hundreds of years. Ghost or no ghost unhygienic places do not appeal to Pashatuks. In any case we were sure that the spooks also were as unwashed and derelict as the palace itself.

We turn back for the road leading to our safari destination,fortunate enough to catch a spectacular sunset amidst the hills, hoping to manage some accommodation at the RTDC run Tiger Den. We took a chance knowing full well that we could be turned back. It was an extended weekend and booking is also done online. We have stayed there before and found the place to suit our needs perfectly. The rooms are spacious, neat and the food edible, almost bordering good.All meals are included in the tariff and there are options for veg and non veg. Meals are buffet and their vegetarian fare is definitely better than their boiled chicken in watery gravy dinner.We were lucky to manage rooms for ourselves against a no show of a prior booking.
Breakfast was a decided improvement.

The next morning we were up and ready -  private cars are allowed in on certain days of the week after paying INR 250 per car and a nominal amount of Rs.25 per person in the vehicle.
However post our Corbett trip we realised the advantages of travelling in open air gypsies and we set off to hire the gypsies with permits . These gypsies,run by the forest department can be hired from the gates of the park at INR 3000. Since the supreme court  mandate of allowing only 20 vehicles per day and bookings made online,there is always a rush for these gypsies.

 It is advisable to plan the gypsies in advance or reach early. Bookings start from 6 am in the morning and close at 730 am.

If you miss the gypsy and still want a visit into the scenic national park, the other available option is the open air canter with a seating capacity of 17 people, charging INR 500 per head.Not at all a wise option for the serious wild life enthusiast because the darned vehicle makes too much noise, scaring away the striped cats,panthers and other bigger animals. The deer, peacock,monkeys, birds and wildboars remain unaffected and can be spotted in plenty.

We managed to get into a canter and we guess theres no need to talk about the wildlife that we saw. However the mud tracks surrounded by the majestic aravalli hills sporting all the possible colours of fall and great company of like minded people more than adequately compensated for the big cat no show.
Post safari we checked out of the hotel and hit the trail for Bhangarh Fort, 50 kms from Sariska.

As soon as we hit the trail we were fortunate to come across the great indian neelgai putting up a photo-op for us right on the state highway.
The road condition is very bad and the fancier cars could end up in workshops.Thank god for the rugged home built desi SUV that the team has.

 Around 35 kms from Sariska we spotted a huge lake to our left with typical Rajasthani chatris(canopies) built within the lake and an ancient temple and fort to our right.No marking, no proper access to the buildings, the temple drew us to it. We trampled through the thick foliage without encountering a single soul for quite a while. There were skulls of animals strewn around,letting the imagination run riot with images of animal sacrifices, possibly humans too by powerful tantriks seated on skulls practising their witchcraft.Banshee like sounds cutting across the silence made us unconsciously move closer and hold hands as we approached the temple.But there was no thought of turning back. And suddenly there was a clearing and we had access to the steps leading upto the temple. The raw untouched beauty of the temple in ruins drew us to it like moths to a flame.The word ruins took on a new meaning as we soaked in the view from the temple courtyard. The steps leading underground makes us assume that its probably a direct connect to the fort up yonder in the hills.

The royal must have used this to pay his respects to the reigning deity, whose identity we are unsure of as there was not a single soul around and the temple doors were closed. We admired the architecture and came back to the main road.
Pashatuks suggests that if anyone is making this trip to this temple, do not do it alone- we are still not sure of the safety factor and Rajasthan is not exactly the safest of places. Make sure that you are in a group. Exploring the unexplored has a thrill that every die hard traveler seeks,but one should not be foolhardy.

Another 15 odd kilometers and we were in the haunted site of Bhangarh. Nestled in the Aravalli mountains this fort calls for a long walk from the parking area.

 This is one of the many temples within the Bhangarh complex

There is no entry fee and the walk to the main fort from the parking is through a lot of ruins, which transport you  to a rather harappan feel. The erstwhile city gives you a feel of perfect symmetry and we got the impression that citizens of that area were less than average in height  because the archways were lower than what we are used to seeing in other forts or places steeped in history.

Local folklore say that this city died overnight under the curse of a powerful tantrik who was displeased. Bhangarh is rumored to be one of the top 10 scariest places in the world and no one has apparently come out alive after sundown. Moreover the law enforcing agencies do not allow an entry to the premises post sundown. The mystery remains unraveled and our curiosity un-satiated.

One can spend the entire day out here with picnic baskets in the lawns. There are a couple of beautiful temples within the premises,but none drew us the way the one on the way to this place.
Pashatuks find themselves intrigued by the clampdown by law enforcement agencies of not allowing visitors post sundown as they do not really believe in the unnatural. We would love comments by anyone who may have visited the place post sundown and is alive to tell the tale.
All too soon it was time for us to come back to Delhi.We took the route back via Shahpura- Kotputli- Behroron the Jaipur Delhi highway.
It is important to remember that Rajasthan does not have the same dhaba culture that one is used to on the highways and it is always a wise idea to eat wherever one gets food or one has to wait for the next big city. Food in this belt is high on chillies and spice -so do make sure you either have a taste for it or carry your quota of antacids and hope for the best.

Ashwin Anand Diaries- straight from Vishakapatnam. Post the Hud Hud

Hello all !! We survived Hud hud but the city died !! Our lovely Vizag devastated and torn... Let us build a stronger Vizag !!
Communication is down. Extreme shortage of fuel and essential commodities. No power and mobile coverage is restricted.. Like a war zone!
A big thank you to all who showed their concern for our safety and well being! We are Hud hud survivors and will turn around to be stronger and build a better Vizag !!! Will try to communicate through this as phone lines are still down and are connected through wired BSNL internet ..Mobiles are working selectively in few pockets in and around Vizag.
These are a few photographs from my collection around home. Cannot express the devastation done and don't have much to say..these pictures say it all..

Vizag Airport

Cinema on beach road

thats some wave

Ashwin Anand Diaries presenting the Hud Hud straight from Vishakapatnam

8th October 2014.0343 

The target of intensifying Cyclone Hudhud has changed slightly.

 It was earlier the

 AndhraOdisha border at Dharmavaram. Now latest forecasts say the cyclone is going to hit Visakhapatnam headon,on October 12, 2014, Sunday morning. The winds then will be a howling 150 KPH, gusting up to a massive 185 KPH.

The effects will be felt in Pondicherry in the south and Bhubaneshwar in the north. But Vizag will face the brunt of the storm as the center of the storm is going to pass through it. 

 11th October 2014  0513

As a precaution, Beach road from Naval Coastal Battery to Park Hotel is totally closed for vehicle traffic and pedestrians. Avoid .

A very busy beach road in Vizag otherwise, now a ghost road . All traffic has been blocked and no one allowed since evening.

12th October 2014

Very very strong winds blowing in a wave form every 15-20 secs. Entire beach road in darkness and raining heavily too !

Never seen anything like this. You have to be here to describe it and experience it. 
Really scary.. Did not know a small bird could cause so much fury... Must be really pissed off. This is reality and nature's way !!

Beach road is terrible . Very very windy. Extreme gale force winds are around 100kmph now and expected to touch 180-195 kmph by afternoon. No electricity

Only a matter of time it will be all over leaving a trail of destruction and death.All said and 

done, nature ultimately is the BIG BOSS . 
It's nature's way of revenge to what we do to it....!

Editors note- We pray that everyone out there is safe and sound and there is minimal damage to life and property.We wait for more information as communication links get restored.Our prayers with all affected by Hud Hud.