Kochi Infopark Campus Filled with Christmas Celebrations

At last Christmas has arrived and various companies inside the Infopark campus in Kochi decided to celebrate it in style. A lot of companies came up with individual celebrations and there were also common celebrations by certain groups. Overall the Infopark campus was filled in a festive mood with a lot of Santas moving here and there.

Most of the employees were seen in red dress wearing the traditional Santa cap and all the office premises were decorated with balloons to make it more beautiful. Majority of the companies inside Infopark had cake cutting and small snacks and lunch together, while some other companies have planned their Christmas celebration on some other day.

Anyway, it would be really difficult to get back to work once the Christmas holidays are over, as we would be influenced by the celebration mania and it would take 2-3 days to come on terms with the real situation. Hope that there would be some sort of combined celebrations on the new year eve also.

Poor Mobile Phone Coverage at Athulya Buildings, Infopark, Kochi

It has been almost a week since we have moved to Athulya building in Infopark, Kochi and actually we are on the cafeteria block of Athulya building. Ever since we arrived here, one thing that through  a matter of concern is the poor mobile coverage which is really causing serious issues as a lot of important calls. The only mobile service provider that is getting a good coverage in this building is BSNL. Idea is getting average coverage and Airtel on the other hand is actually getting poor coverage.

Since most of the staffs at the office are using Airtel sim, they are all facing the issues and missing important calls. Hope that the mobile service providers in Kakkanad, especially in the Infopark region look into it and come up with a good solution. Due to the bad mobile coverage, we are forced to use the office landline even for our personal calls. :(

I have checked my cell in the other major buildings in Infopark such as Vismaya, Tejomaya, Thapasya etc, and found that the mobile coverage is pretty good over there. But once I enter the Athulya building, my mobile range vanishes which adds more to my tension.

Gadaffi's End Was Really Brutal!!

At last it happened and Gadaffi was killed by the revolutionaries on Thursday the 20th of October 2011. He was caught by the National Transitional Council in Sirte and was then eventually killed and the killing was in such a brutal way, that no one wishes to watch the videos more than once. Such was  the rage of the revolutionaries and according to the Libyans, Gadaffi got what he deserved as he was considered as one of the most cruel dictators of his time.

As per my, I am not at all happy with the way he was killed in such a barbaric way. Even after his death, his body was kept in a meat cold storage and this has really been a great disgrace to this dictator. May be he has got it for his deeds, but still there was not a single level of humanitarian and mercy that was shown to the former leader of Libya. One of Gadaffi's son was also killed on the same day and the Libyan's are pretty happy with the results.

Personally I don't have any bad feelings towards Gadaffi, as I have lived in Libya for around 6 years and during my tenure over there, I have never experience any bad thing done by Gadaffi towards the foreigners. During my stay, I have come across many bad deeds by Gadaffi towards the local Libyans and at that time, I doubted that one day these locals will take revenge on this man once the opportunity comes. At last it has happened and I hope that this would be the step towards new developments and growth in Libya.

I am sharing a video which shows how cruelly Gadaffi was killed..

Jim Henson's Birthday Celebrated in Style By Google

Today is Jim Henson's Birthday and the search engine giant Google has celebrated it in style with it unique doodle (Logo Image) for the day.  Go to Google home page today and see the image which shows 6 puppets which are given different shades. Click on each puppet and see what happens. Google has done it in such a way that it throws us light about the calibre and talent of Jim Henson, the puppeteer.

Jim Henson as a famous puppeter from America who was born on September 24th 1936. He was popularly known as the creator of "The Muppets". He has featured in various television shows and films as a puppeteer and has also created advanced puppets for big projects such as Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. He has been nominated once for the Oscar as a film director and has also won the famous Emmy Award.

The last television show of Jim Henson was in 1990 for "The Arsenio Hall Show" and during the show he showed glimpses of his declining health condition. The same year he had his last breath and left away a great memory of amazing puppet art to the world. Anyway lets give a cool happy birthday to Jim Henson on his 75th birthday.
 

Beware of Rat Fever and Jaundice in Kerala

Kerala is in the midst of serious epidemics such as rat fever and jaundice, which has caused serious issues in Kerala's health sector. Recently jaundice has spread out in Ernakulam district and more than 300 cases of infected people have been reported so far along with some deaths. In the northern districts especially Kozhikode, rat fever has also broke out and this has caused serious problems to all the people in Kerala.

Since  Chikungunya and Japanese Encephalitis took over 200 lives in Alappuzh, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta 3 years back, Kerala seems to be experiencing the return of vector and water borne diseases once again. Even though Kerala government has been taking steps (atleast on papers) to control mosquitos, rats and other things that causes epidemics, people do not have any respite from the dreadful epidemic that comes every year.

If you are planning for a travel or coming to Kerala from other states, then please hold on your plans for the time being as this is not the best time for you to visit Kerala. The epidemics are coming up and you may be at risk of getting infected as these diseases are forwarded through drinking water, hotel foods etc. Even if you have started your journey through Kerala, make sure that you eat and drink from the most hygienic hotels or restaurants.

If you are staying in Kerala, avoid eating from outside and always drink water that is boiled. Because once you get infected by any of these diseases, you might not be sure how intense it would be and you may even be at risk of losing your life. Also make sure that children do not take food and other stuff  such as cool drinks, ice creams etc from outside and always make sure that they wash their hands properly before eating anything.

Credit Card Really Becoming a Burden

I was introduced to credit cards around 5 years back by one of my friend. Actually I was not willing to push hard to get a credit card at that time. One of my friend applied for a credit card through an executive of a well know private bank. At the same time he introduced me to the executive and the guy came to meet me the next day itself. After talking with him, I too agreed to apply for a credit card.

After one month, I got a courier at my office in NOIDA and I was much delighted to see the credit card when I opened the parcel. I was really over the sky as I considered myself a proud owner of a credit card. At that time credit card was not such a common thing and the irony is that my friend's credit card application got rejected.  My friend told me that I was lucky enough to get the credit card and also warned me to use the credit card in the proper way.

In the first 6 months I never used the credit card and  after around 6 months, I was forced to purchase something with the credit card. The purchase was urgent and I didn't have enough cash in my bank account and I had to rely on the credit card for the first time. The feeling was awesome as I was able to purchase the product with the credit card.

For the next few months, I spend my time paying the EMI and after 4 months, I again happened to wander around a famous shopping destination in Delhi with my friend. It was the end of the month and both of us had not yet got our salary. But both of us got stuck on some items in the shopping center and we could not resist us from buying them. At that time also the idea of credit card came into my mind and we purchased the items through the credit card.

This was the beginning of a much bad habit and such incidences started occurring frequently and as a result my EMI started to increase. It was at this time that I applied for 2 more credit card and got both of them. Now I started using the new card once the limit on my first card was reached and as a result I ended up paying a huge amount of my salary as EMI. Ever since I am controlling my credit card usage, but credit card is like an addiction and it is really hard to control its usage.

For the last 5 months, I have not used any of the credit cards, but just paying the heavy EMIs from my salary. The credit card has really become a burden and the unwanted hidden charges imposed by the banks makes it more worse.

If you are planning to apply for a credit card, think twice. Apply only if you are confident enough to control the usage, or else you would get drowned in the eternal debt

Routes of Volvo Low Floor A/C Buses in Ernakulam

There are around 41 Volvo low floor a/c buses plying throughout in Ernakulam and more buses are expected to start their services in the near future. The minimum bus in these low floor a/c buses is Rs. 10  and after that Rs. 1.50 per kms will be charged as of now. The low floor Volvo ac buses are a huge blessing and a great solution to the transportation woes of the people in Ernakulam.

I would like to provide you the the route information of the Volvo low floor ac buses in Ernakulam, which I have got from another source on the net.

Routes:
Fort Kochi - Cochin Airport (Via Thoppumpady, Kundannoor, Vyttila, Bypass, Aluva bypass) - 4 buses
Fort Kochi - Cochin Airport (Via Thoppumpady, MG Road, Kaloor, Aluva bypass) - 1 bus
Aroor - Angamaly (Via Vyttila, Bypass, Aluva Bypass) - 5 buses
Aroor - Angamaly (Via Thoppumpady, MG Road) - 2 buses
Fort Kochi - Infopark / Aluva (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Fort Kochi - Aluva - Angamaly (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 1 bus
Thevara/W.Island - Infopark / Aluva (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Poothotta - Aluva (Via Menaka, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Ernakulam Jetty - Perumbavoor (Via Aluva) - 2 buses
Ernakulam - Moovattupuzha - 4 buses
Ernakulam - Kothamangalam - 2 buses
Ernakulam Jetty - Kothamangalam - 1 bus
Ernakulam - Koothattukulam - 1 bus
Parur - Perumbavoor (Via Aluva) - 2 buses
Mattanchery - Perumbavoor (Via MG Road, Aluva) - 1 bus
W.Island / Thevara - Perumbavoor (Via MG Road, Aluva, S.Vazhakkulam) - 1 bus
Vyttila-Vyttila Circular - 2 buses
Thevara - Aluva / Ankamaly (Via Container Road) - 2 buses
Kalady - Airport - Fort Kochi - 1 bus
Ankamaly - Aluva - Chottanikkara (Via Seaport-Airport Road) - 2 buses (will start operating soon)

Gregor Mendel's 189th Birthday Celebrated by Google

Gregor Mendel (Gregor Johann Mendel) was a well-known scientist from Austria who is famous for his inventions and discoveries in genetics science. Even though Mendel's findings were not recognized till the 20th century, later his discoveries formed a influential part towards the foundation of modern science of genetics. Gregor Mendel's famous Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment, later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.

Today is the 189th Birth anniversary of Gregor Mendel and Google ,the biggest and most popular online search engine has celebrated the birthday of this great scientist with Style. Today's Google Doodle is dedicated to Gregor Mendel and upon seeing the Google Doodle in the morning; I could not really figure it out. But upon observing the Google Doodle more carefully, I came to know that it was dedicated to the 189th Birthday of Gregor Mendel.

Even though I am not into genetic science or anything related to that, I am pretty aware about the contributions that Gregor Mendel has provided to the world. Hope that his findings are utilized in the best way and I also wish a great Birthday to Gregor Mendel from my side. Happy Birthday GREGOR MENDEL!!

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 4

 The second half of the third day was the most interesting one as we got the opportunity to visit the famous Vellore Fort which was just inside the city of Vellore. The Vellore Fort is a 16th-century fort situated in Vellore city  and  once it was the headquarters of the Vijayanagara Empire.  The Fort is famous for its ancient sculptures, scenic and artistic beauty.  It was in this fort where Tipu Sultan's family were held as royal prisoners along with a Sri Lankan King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.

 The fort is a huge one and has a lake surrounding it which makes the fort more beautiful. There is a Christian Church,  a Hindu Temple and a Mosque inside the fort.  The best time to visit the fort is in the evening time as it would be too hot in the day time. We started our visit from the main entrance and we slowly started visiting each and every section of the fort.

 The background of the Fort gave an amazing view of the Vellore city along with beautiful hills. A lot of people gathered there in the evening with friends and family. Walking around the sides of the Fort gives you an ample view of the lake and the city. The sad thing about this beautiful lake is that a lot of wastes are being dumped on a particular part, resulting in the lake losing its charm and good look.

  The Temple inside the fort, known as Sri Jalagandeeswarar Temple is dedicated to Jalagandeeswar and is noted much for its sculptures and splendid craftsmanship. The Mosque inside the Vellore fort was constructed during the last Arcod Navab's period, while the Church inside the fort was constructed during the early British period. There is also a Muthu Mandapam and a Government Museum inside the Fort which makes it more interesting. The Government Museum is maintained by the Department of Museum Government of Tamil Nadu.

It took around more than 2 hours for us to completely explore the Vellore Fort, but this was one of the brightest experiences for me as far as my trip was considered. Even though we spend more than 2 hours, we could not visit the Church, the Mosque and the Government Museum as we ran out of time. Hope to cover them when I visit for the next time. We had to rush to our room as we had to catch the train to Kerala the next day itself.

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 3

The third day at Vellore also started with a busy schedule as we had to rush to CMC for the personal interview at 8 AM and the venue was the Room No.9 at the Radio Therapy block. We had a light breakfast from a hotel near our lodge and after that we hired an auto to CMC Vellore. The personal interview for M Sc Medical Phsyics Started exactly at 8 AM and didn't last too long as the interview for all the candidates were completed by around 9 AM and fortunately all of them got selected. They were asked to sign in the acceptance letter next day to the Registrar at the Bagayam Campus.

We all were free by around 9 and as a result we had  a big amount of time with us to spend that day. In the meantime we me some of our relatives and friends who were working there at the Christian Medical College and spend some good time with them. Still we had enough time infront of us before the lunch time and we decided to spend the remaining time at the top of Asha Educational Building in the CMC Hospital campus.

The top of the Asha Educational Building was really amazing as it had a small open garden at the terrace along with a small tea stall. The top of the Asha Educational Building at CMC Vellore provided an amazing view of Vellore city and I couldn't resist myself from taking snaps. The view of the hills in the background of the city was really amazing and it was at this time that I realized, how big the city of Vellore was.

Eventhough it was hot, we really enjoyed our stay at the top of the Asha Educational Building. We had tea along with some snack, and there were also other people who were also spending their time out at the top of the building. We spend their till noon and then decided to move back to our rooms and return back to visit the famous Vellore Fort..

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 2

The second day at Vellore was somewhat a busy one, and we had to wake up early morning so that we would be able to report at the CMC at 8 AM. We got early, had a cup of coffee and we were off to the Christian Medical College in Vellore. As we were a little late, we decided not have the breakfast on that day and we reached CMC at around 7:30 AM. But upon reaching CMC we found out that we were actually asked to report at the Bagayam Campus in Vellore itself. From CMC we hired an auto and rushed to the CMC bagayam campus and within 20 minutes we reached the Bagayam campus.

We located the Community Health Training Center ( CHTC ) in Bagayam, where we had to report. It was almost 8 AM when we reached there and there were 2 more candidates who were present there. The procedures started at 8 AM with the medical checkup and blood samples of each candidate were taken and were asked to wait till 1 PM when we would be taken to the Medical College on the college bus. The blood samples were taken and we were free by around 9 AM and had to wait till 1 PM in the Bagayam campus. So we decided to roam around the campus which was spread over a large area.

The peculiarity of the Begayam Campus in Vellore is that it is almost made to be eco friendly and it is covered with trees and plants all over. We first had a light breakfast from a nearby Canteen and started roaming from one side to another side of the campus. The whole of the campus had an attractive natural beauty as trees were planted in almost all the parts of the campus, making it feel extra green when compared with other parts of Vellore.

There was also a small beautiful Chapel inside the Bagayam Campus where we spend some good time. The surrounding of the Chapel was also amazing as it had a small pool with some unique flowers in it. We managed to spend the time till 1 PM, when the college bus was ready to take us to the Medical College in Vellore for further check up. Once we got out of the Bagayam campus, we started feeling the heat of the city. It was then we realized how eco friendly the Bagayam campus was and how helpful it was to have trees planted all over.

We reached CMC hospital by around 1:30 PM and got all the medical check ups completed by around 4 PM. After that we were asked to leave for the day and to report the next day at 8 AM at the CMC hospital campus. We returned to our room and this time we got really tired and had a light coffee and spend our time at the room till 8 in the night. After that we got out and had dinner at the hotel Sastha near the Circuit house in Vellore and this time also the dinner was not of good quality. We returned back to our room and slept earlier so that we can wake earlier in the morning.

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 1

In my recent trip to Vellore in Tamil Nadu, I came across some new experience and atmosphere which I would like to share via this blog. Even though it was not a pleasure trip, I tried to enjoy the most of it by roaming around the streets and talking with the local people in Tamil language, which I am not at all comfortable. But the new way of living, new culture and other factors brought curiosity into my mind.

I reached Katpadi Junction by train at 3 AM and from there I had to hire an auto to Vellore where I was supposed to stay in a lodge. I booked the lodge from Kerala, as this lodge was listed there in the brochures send to us by CMC Vellore. The name of the hotel was Park Avenue and it was almost opposite to the Circuit Hose in Vellore. The name seemed to be superb and I booked a room over there, but the moment I stepped into the hotel, it became sure that the only thing that stood out in the hotel was its name. The facilities and other things at this lodge / hotel was really pathetic and it seems that they have not even done any maintenance on this lodge for the past 20 years or so.

There was an middle aged man who was the receptionist and he tried to provide the best service through his English skills and this man seemed to be fine. There was also a room boy, who was around 60 years of age and this guy was also good at his services. I entered the hotel at around 4 AM and the moment I stepped inside, I went to sleep. The next morning the room boy bought us coffee and breakfast, but the overall cost of those things seemed to be too high when compared with the same that is available in Kerala.

I didn't have anything to do that day as the interviews were scheduled for the next two days. So me and my sibling took a small walk around that part of the city to pass out our time. Since the climate in Vellore was too hot and dry, we decided to have coconut juice which was being sold on the road side. The quality of the coconut juice to say the least, was really pathetic. I don't know how they manage to sell these bad quality coconut juices at a price ranging from Rs 15 to 20.

In the noon time we had our lunch in a vegetarian hotel named "Sastha" hoping to get some good traditional food of Tamil Nadu. We ordered meals and soon it arrived on our table with a wide variety of recipes. But the quality of the food was really not encouraging and the price was way too ahead than we expected. We had to return from the hotels feeling disappointed at not having a good meal in the afternoon. We came back to our hotel room and spend the evening watching TV programs and sleeping. In the evening also we had to go to the same "Sastha" hotel as we couldn't find any alternative nearby. This time the hotel managed to maintain the same food quality and again we returned disappointed. We came back to room and slept earlier as we had to report at CMC Vellore at 8 AM.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Back After a Tiring Journey to Vellore

Last week was one of the busiest week as far as I am concerned. I had to travel to Vellore in Tamil Nadu regarding a admission for my sibling and I had to stay there for almost 5 days. I started my journey on Saturday evening from Aluva Railway station on Kerala Express.  I didn't have a confirmed ticket but luckily we got the berths till Katpadi junction, where we needed to get down. We reached Katpadi Junction at around 3 AM and hired an auto to a lodge near circuit house in Allupuram.

When I left Kerala, the climate was a wet one, but the climate in Vellore was just the opposite. It was pretty dry and hot climate in Vellore and I really felt uncomfortable. The next day we had to go to CMC in Vellore where the admission interview was to take place. We went to CMC's Bahayam campus and the procedures started smoothly.

The food and water was a real issue, as most of the hotels offered foods which we could not really enjoy. And the water offered at all the hotels in Vellore were pathetic. We had to buy bottled mineral water and settle on that. By Wednesday evening the results were announced and we happily returned back to Kerala on Thursday evening.

Al the crappy food items were expensive when compared with the same in Kerala. The only good thing that I felt there is the bus and auto fare which were far better than the fares in Kerala. After spending 4 Rs in the bus, I was able to travel almost around 15 kms. In Kerala we should pay around 10-12 Rs to cover that much distance.

The 4 days that we spend there was one of the most boring one, that I have experienced in the near future. Vellore is not a place where one gets a lot for sightseeing and other time passing activities. The only thing that I saw out there was the Vellore Fort and the Temple inside the Vellore Fort, which were worth watching. We spend around 4 hours in Vellore Fort and at the end we got really tired and headed back to our hotel rooms.

The other major time pass was taking snaps of the places through which I had to go through and I would surely be sharing those pics in this blog very soon.

M G University Kerala is Really Spoiling Student's Future

M G University in Kottayam is one of the oldest University in Kerala which offers different kinds  of courses. I did my graduation from M G University and ever since I never had a pleasant experience with this University. They never conducted exams on time, they never published the results on time and they never even do anything to solve out students complaints and issues. Whenever we go to the university we can see a bunch of lazy workers over there who doesn't even dare to hear our problems.

I am not sure how we afford such lazy workers in a university which leads to utter problems to a student's career. During my college days, some of my friends also faced some serious issues to their career, due to the delay in the publication of the final year results. At that time the final year B Sc result was published by around the month of August and by that time most of the the colleges in other universities closed the admission for M Sc and other Post Graduate programmes. As a result most of my friends lost out on a seat in some of the best universities and colleges in India.

Recently I also had a bitter experience and this time my sibling was at the receiving end. She had qualified for a M Sc course in another University in Tamil Nadu and she strictly needed any proof of passing the qualifying exam and as a result we are afraid that she might lose this seat. I tried calling various departments in the M G University, which was provided in their website, but non of the single phone calls got attended. It really creates frustration and all our hard work and dedication goes in vein. M G University is really playing with the future a large number of people and still there has not been any action taken against these idiotic employees.

At Last Sun Shines Over Kerala

After raining heavily and continuously for the last 1 week, the sun has finally appeared over the sky which is a much welcome news for those in Kerala. Actually the continuous rain had made life miserable as one could not even actually come out from their respective houses. The steady rain also spread the threat of severe flood, but since the sky has cleared and the sun has come out, the threat seems to have vanished for the time being.

Going to the office was yet another hectic task, as I had to ride the bike under the heavy rains. Those who used public transport also had their own share of problems.  The chances of road accidents was also at its peak, due to low visibility, bad road conditions etc. Most of the cities experience heavy water logging in the last 7 days and this has caused more problems for the commuters.

Washing the clothes faced yet another setback due to the rain, as it was difficult to get the clothes dried. Even if the clothes dried, there would be a foul smell  on the clothes. Hopes that the sun stays here for a good time!!

Some Good News for Kerala Rubber Farmers

The arrival of monsoon in Kerala would see a fall in the overall production of rubber in India and as a results the natural rubber prices may rise up to Rs 10 per kg in the domestic market. The current price for rubber is Rs 226 per kg. The arrival of monsoon in Kerala have put  a halt on the rubber tapping and as a result the overall supply has gone down, as Kerala is one of the highest rubber producing state in Kerala.

As per the officials the rubber prices are unlikely to rise sharply as demand is expected to remain subdued as import has increased on low global prices and a change in import duty structure from 20 per cent of the price of the imported good to Rs 20 per kg or 20 per cent, whichever is lower.

Anyway this is again a good news for the rubber farmers in Kerala, as they are already enjoying  a great market price for the rubber. I really feel sad that I sold out my rubber plantation 13 years back, as the price hit a  low of around Rs 20 that time. But a few years after I sold out my rubber plantation, the prices started to pump up in an incredible way :(

Monsoon in Kerala Makes the Roads More Worse

The monsoon have started in full flow in Kerala and it has been raining heavily for the last few days. Almost all of the low lying lands in Kerala have been affected by water logging and people are having a hard time. Another major issue with the monsoon in Kerala is that almost all the major roads would get transformed into bad shape and make traveling a nightmare.

Today also I noticed that some of the major roads have started showing deterioration and hopes that within a week all these roads would be bad enough to create fear among the travelers. But there are certain roads that do not get into any trouble during the monsoon and these roads are also having one of the highest traffic rate. It makes really confusing how some of the roads sustain the monsoon while some other turn into pieces.

This seems to be mainly due to the corrupted construction of the roads and the authorities have to be blamed for this. They take a huge amount of bribes from the contractors and as a result the contractors are forced to cut down on the expenses for the road taring and maintenance purpose. Hence they end up doing road maintenance of low quality and as a result the roads would not be able to sustain the climatic conditions.

Really feel frightened to travel through these roads in the coming months when the monsoon would be at its best. The pathetic conditions of the roads in Kerala during the monsoon season would be inviting more serious accidents and the pathetic state of the roads would remain till the month of December. It would be only after December when the authorities wake up and do some hasty patch works on the roads, making it more uncomfortable for traveling.

Monsoon Keeps Date with Kerala

As per the MET predictions, the monsoon has kept its date with Kerala as it has started raining heavily in Kerala since today morning. The MET predictions had stated that monsoon would hit Kerala by June 1st. It was a happy feeling to wake up hearing the rain drops pouring on the terrace as it brought back memories of my school days where it always rained on the first week of June when the school opens after the long vacation.

It seems to be one of the best time to spend the day on bed watching the rains from behind the windows. But that would remain a dream as I have to go to the office, which is my main source of income. The arrival of monsoon would also throw fear into my mind as we can expect flood and other natural calamities as the monsoon strengthens. There is already water logging near my house in Kadungalloor and it makes things difficult for those who travel by foot.

Any way I hope the authorities make sure to avoid such type of water logging, and helps us to enjoy the monsoon season to its maximum. I am really waiting for the weekend to happen as I can spend some sweet time on the bed watching this amazing phenomenon of the nature. The arrival of monsoon has also made my travel more difficult as I have to wear rain coats while traveling on my bike. Needs to be more careful while driving in the rain and we can also expect our roads to be more horrible in the coming days as our roads gets torn apart after a strong rain every year.

New House, New Environment and Totally a New Experience..

It has been a week since I moved to my new home in West Kadungalloor, Aluva. Initially it was a nightmare when I had to deal with the shifting of my house hold items from my native place (Ranni) to Aluva, as it was raining heavily during the time of shifting. As a results most of the items got drenched and I had a hard time in drying those items.


I transferred only the most necessary things from Ranni to Aluva and as a result the new house in Aluva lacked the basic furniture that were required in a house. On 5th of May 2011, my family members also shifted to this new house in West Kadungaloor and at that time the house was in a full mess with all the items lying here and there. But the other members were quick in getting the house arranged properly.

The next two main things that kept me thinking was about purchasing the furniture and the house warming ceremony that was scheduled on 10th of May. I have not even started inviting anyone and there were some relative whom I had to invite directly by visiting their house. I had to spend 3 days in the extreme heat on behalf of inviting my relatives and all these days I was traveling on my bike, which made me totally tired.

But everything went fine including the house warming ceremony and a lot of people visited the house more than I expected. It has been almost 4 days since then and I am trying to get fastly adapted to the new house, new environment, new neighbors etc. Hope that this would be a good beginning for me and my family and also hope to stay here for a longer tenure.

Passion Week!! The Best Time to Purify Yourself

Passion Week is one of the best time to purify yourself and stay focused towards a better year. Passion weeks helps you to stay away from other physical matters which tends to draw yourself towards unwanted things. Passion week is often seen as the week to praying, repenting and being more towards the almighty. This is the week that we should think about our past, the wrong deeds that we have done, how we behaved with our friends, relatives etc. We will be having strong restrictions on our diet and this helps to make us stay focused.

The Passion week  end with Easter and usually people all over the world see Easter as the day to rejoice themselves with the rising of Jesus Christ. Many of the believers sheds of their diet and starts taking their favorite food and drinks.  But in my opinion Easter should not be considered as the day to eat a lot, dink and get boozed. Rather it should be  a day where we take some new oath and decisions that would help us in leading a better life going forward. We should repent for the bad deeds that we have done in the past and try to have a new beginning to life. Once you are able to lead a new life, then you can say that you have benefited from the Passion week.

Today is Good Friday and I would be spending most of the time at Church, and hopes that this year's Passion Week helps me to shed of my past sins and lead me to a better life ahead.

Mannar Losing its Natural Charm and Beauty

Mannar is one of the most beautiful village in Pathanamthitta district and is just 10 Kms away from Thiruvalla. This beautiful village is so near to the famous Christian pilgrimage center Parumala. The village is of a typical Kuttanad style and the atmosphere here is really amazing. Since I have few of my relatives in Mannar, I have been visiting this place since my childhood.

The main attraction of Mannar was its beautiful green paddy fields and the famous river Pamba which flows very close to Mannar.  Since I had my close relatives in Mannar, I used to spend atleast 20 days of my school vacation in Mannar every year. Even if you are not doing anything, you would never get bored as you can pass your time watching the natural and beautiful landscape surrounding you. But once I finished my schooling / graduation and started my search for a job, I rarely got time to stay here more than a single day.

After a long time, I visited Mannar a few weeks back and I was really shocked to see the current state of this once beautiful village.  Mannar seems to have lose it natural beauty as majority of the green paddy fields have vanished and new buildings have come in place of that. A lot of people are using these paddy fields to build houses and hence Mannar is no more having that old charm and beauty. No one is interesting in preserving these things and people are not even bothered about doing some agricultural activities in these places.

It seems that in the next 10 years majority of the areas in Mannar would become something like a residential colony with no natural beauty. A lot of house constructions are coming up and all these houses are coming up at the expense of these paddy fields. In my younger days, I used to go fishing in these paddy fields and now a day you cannot really find a paddy field which is good for fishing.

Needs to Learn More PHP at any cost

This is something I have been thinking for a  long time. Even though I am aware about PHP, I have not been able to master this web programming language. Since I am into SEO, I have to come across various PHP based web sites and was forced to learn the basics of this programming language. At the office, even if I come across any issues related to the PHP code in a particular website, there are a lot of skilled PHP programmers around who comes to my help.

But since I have a lot of other websites of my own and most of them are based on WordPress, it is high time that I get a better mastery over PHP. I started with an online marketing blog few years back and now there are more independent websites created on the WordPress platform. Every week I come across small PHP related issues and most of the time I have to research a lot on the net to get it fixed.
This is really time consuming and I would not get any free time at home to spend with my family.

I am just looking out for any good institute in Cochin, where I can learn the deeper details of PHP in a small span of time. But due to my hectic work schedule, I am not able to find the time to go to any computer training institute. The last option left for me is to find out any online training module for PHP. There are a lot of free and paid PHP training software and modules available on the net.  If you search on the net there are many advertisements of free PHP tutorials along with videos.  I have also tried online  PHP tutorials in the past and it was greatly effective. But due to the lack of practice, I lost the touch and as a result wasted my valuable money. If I had practiced those PHP tutorials continously, I would not have faced such problem.But it is really hard to find out the best tool that teaches your PHP in a short time.

No Vote This Time

After really being disappointed at the political situations in Kerala, this time I decided not to caste my vote. I have been casting vote for the last 10 years and in my personal experience taking time out to caste your vote is totally a waste. This is because none of these candidates succeed in delivering the promises time and again. Once the results are out, we cannot even get a glimpse of these candidates until the next election arrives.

Since I have to travel 5 hours to caste my vote,  a lot of money has to be spend in reaching the place. Since these candidates are of no use to us, why should I travel these long route and cast my vote. I know that voting is a citizen's right, but I don't want to utilize this right which results in the election of useless leaders who never tries to protect the integrity and the welfare of the people.

I just had a cool day with my family and hope to enjoy the remaining holidays in this week. On the other hand, I am also equally sad that the  beverages corporation and bars in Kerala have remained closed due to the election.

Rubber Price in Kerala Goes Down with Japan Tsunami

The recent Tsunami and earth quake in Japan has claimed a lot of lives along with other destruction to properties and industries. Japan is the largest produces of automobiles and most of the famous automobiles comes from Japan.  Japan is home to some of the major car manufacturing companies such as Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Nissan etc and most of these factories have been shut down for the time being as a result of this unexpected tsunami and earth quake.

The recent earth quake and tsunami is also going to affect Kerala in some other ways, as Kerala is one of the leading rubber suppliers to Japan. As Japan is very much active in the automobile manufacturing activities, most of the rubbers are imported from Kerala. Since Japan has been affected by the natural disaster the rubber prices in Kerala has come down considerably low. Most of the rubber merchants have faced the loss due to the fall in the rubber price.

Kerala is one of the leading rubber producers in India, as it has a large number of districts which are know for its rubber plantation and production. The rubber price in Kerala was above Rs 200 before the tsunami in Japan, but after the tsunami had hit Japan the prices came down below Rs 200. So the rubber estate owners has to wait for some time, for the rubber price to increase. Once things are back to normal in Japan, we can expect the rubber price to increase once again.

This is an Amazing Piece of Art Work in PhotoShop

Art is one of most valuable talent that one possess during a life time and everyone is not born with an artistic talent. There are various forms of arts such as singing, acting, painting etc. Here I would like to share one simple painting art created by one of my friend and he did it in Adobe PhotoShop.  The first time when I saw this, I could not simply believe that it was an art work. But when he showed be the PSD file, I had to forcefully believe that it was created using PhotoShop.

This image created by him is just one small piece of his artistic talent, but I cannot help myself from posting it on my blog, as this one is simply superb. The image is of a coffee cup having black coffee and this one is designed with utmost perfection. Hope you also enjoy this cup of coffee....

The first Indian Movie with Sound : Alam Ara Celebrates its 80th Anniversary

Today is the 80th Anniversary for Alam Ara, which is the first Indian Movie with Sound. The film was released in 1931 and the literal meaning of Alam Ara is "The Light of the World". The movie was directed by  Ardeshir Irani and the movie made its debut at Majestic Cinema in Mumbai  on 14th March 1931.

I have seen this movie some times back, but don't remember the story of the movie as I was too young to remember. Today Google Doodle is also celebrating the 80 years of Alam Ara as we can see the image representing the movie on Google's home page. I still wonder how the viewers watched movies before that which had no sound at all. It should be really a tough thing and we are really lucky as we are living in an advanced world where we can watch movies with all the technological features.

The movie was a hit and so was its music.  The movie was noted for a hit song "De de khuda ke naam per", which was considered to be the first song of the Indian cinema, and by actor Wazir Mohammed Khan. Other actors included  Master Vithal, Zubeida, Jilloo, Sushila, Prithviraj Kapoor etc. There actors might not be remembered by the current generation, but they would always maintain their place in the history books as the first actors of the first Indian movie with Sound. I desperately needs to watch this movie if it is available on the net.

Overall a busy day!!

Today was a busy and hectic day for me as I had to take care both my personal and professional life in a balanced way. I started the day with going to the hospital at 5.30 AM to take an admission for a health consultation and the hospital was Little Flower Hospital in  Angamaly. The purpose was to show my daughter to an ENT specialist, as she was having some ear infection.

The out patient department was supposed to open at 10 AM, so I expected to reach my office in Kakkanadu (Ernakulam) at a delay of 1 or 2 hours. I went to the hospital with my kid and wife and met the doctor at around 10.30 Am. After that I had to collect a certificate for my wife from a Nursing College of the same hospital and actually got it in no time.

My next venue was Sree Sankara College in Kalady, where my wife completed her pre-degree course and I had to collect a certificate from there also. But 10 minutes after I entered the college a strike broke out and due to the intensity of the strike, a few policemen were also seen roaming around. I saw the Principal going out of his room and later came to know that he has gone for a compromise meeting with the various party members and I had to wait around 1.5 hours for him to reach. Once he reached, I got all the necessary documents and when I looked at my watch it was 1.30 PM. I was shocked as I had to reach the office by 1 to get atleast a half working day. But since I had some urgent work to complete, I had to hurry and after 2 hours I reached my office. Everyone was looking at me in some sort of amazement as the time had reached for them to leave the office. But I have to sit in the office to finish of my work which would take around 6-7 hours more.

Aluva to Kakkanadu Bus Service - A Real Woe for Travelers

Kakkanadu is a place where a lot of government and private companies have their offices and operation centers. As a result people from other part of Ernakulam come to this place daily for work. There are a lot of people from Aluva who regularly comes to Kakannadu for job. But the misery is that despite of a large number of daily travellers, there are no sufficient transportation facilities. There are no private bus services from Aluva to Kakkanadu and people have to rely on the KSRTC buses. As per KSRTC's time table, there are buses operating from Aluva to Kakkanadu every 20 minutes. But the reality is that you would find yourself waiting for even 1 hour to board on to a bus to Kakkanadu.

If you don't board on the KSRTC buses to Kakkanadu from Aluva KSRTC bus station, then it would be very difficult for you to get a seat. For those boarding from Kalamassery and HMT junction, getting into the bus is one of the most adventurous things, as they have to face the huge rush and most of them tries to catch the next bus hoping to get a seat or atleast a place to stand. But the next bus would arrive almost after 30 minutes and that too jam packed.

I am still wondering on when the Government of Kerala or the KSRTC department would make sure to make enough bus services through Aluva - Kakkanadu route so the people can travel comfortable without any rush. Even in the peak hours, there are no sufficient bus services through this route. I have seens empty buses plying unnecessarily through other routes more frequently than the Aluva - Kakkanadu route. Why don't these KSRTC officials take sensible measures and add few more services through this route??

The number of people using these bus services are on a rapid increase every day and still no measures are taken to increase the number of services through this route. To worsen the scene, most of the buses cancel their trips due to some reasons without making any alternative arrangements. Its high time that the travelers organize and file a request to the authorities to issues some more buses through this route so that we can have a comfortable journey without too much rush.

Finally Signed the Agreement

After searching for a house for almost 2 months, finally signed an agreement to buy a house near Aluva at Kadungallor. After reaching upon an agreement on the rate, I had given a token amount to the owner 2 weeks back. After that I was waiting for the amount to arrive so that I can sign up the agreement. And on 2nd March 2011, the deal was made and I need to pay the full amount in a period of one month in order to complete the registration of the property. The house is locate around 4 kms away from Aluva town and is hardly 10 kms away from Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery.

Actually buying a house is one of the most tedious jobs, as there are a lot of things that needs to be taken care of. First the agreement has to be made and before the completion of the registration we need to make sure that all the required documents are produced in front of us. The documents include house tax receipts, land tax receipts, encumbrance certificate etc.

Hopes that the coming days would be a busy one for me as I have to make sure that all the formalities are in place before we start living in the new house. Anyways I will keep you updated on this.

Seems to Have Found the Right House at Last

It has been around  2 months I have been searching for a house in Ernakulam and through out these 2 months, I have seen a lot of houses. Selecting a house for you to live is a tedious task and it was even difficult than finding the right life partner. I was looking for a good house under 10 cents in Ernakulam district and was mainly searching the areas such as Kakkanad, Kizhakkambalam, Pookattupady, Aluva, Thrippunithura etc.

The Smart City agreement has pumped the property rates in the areas such as Kakkanadu, Kizhakkambalam, Pookattupady, Pallikkara etc. As a result I had to withdraw my decision of buying a home in these areas. I had to search other areas such as Aluva and Thrippunithura, but the Smart City wave seems to have hit every corner of Ernakulam. The prices of land and house all over Ernakulam distict have seen a big boost making it difficult to find a house that suits my requirement and Budget.

Finally I had to move towards the Kadungaloor area which is around 4 kms away from Aluva. I came to see a house near Kadungaloor at the Aluva - Varappuzha route and some how had to get satisfied with the house. The area seems to be pretty calm and quite with some small housing projects in the process. The land price in this area is around 3.5 Lakhs per cent and I saw a house in around 6 cents which was barely 3 years old.

Since the prices in other parts are higher, I had to settle for this and hopes that this would be a good place for me and my family to stay on. Just had a verbal agreement with the owner of the house today and also payed a small amount as advance. Hopes that I get enough money to buy this withing the agreement date.

Smart City Cochin and Real Estate Boom

The recently signed Cochin Smart City agreement has been welcomed by all and it has spurred the real estate prices. All the property transaction in Kakkanadu were in a standstill for the last few months and the the prices for the land and property were also much constant for the last few months. But just after the smart city agreement signed off, there has been great movement in the property rates and transactions. The areas surrounding Kakkanadu such as Edachira, Pallikkara, Kizhakkambalam, Pookattupady etc have seen a major improvement in property transactions.

These places still has a rural outlook but in the coming years we would be able to see a lot of developments. The price of land in Edachira is somewhere near 8 lakhs to 10 Lakhs per cent and other places also has some reasonable good price range. If you want to purchase a decent property say a good house under 5 cents of land anywhere near the above mentioned places, you need to pay somewhere between Rs 35 Lakhs to 45 Lakhs. But still these areas are having poor infrastructure with pretty bad roads and lack of other basic amenities.

But the atmosphere of these areas seems like more polluted and dust accumulation is one of the major issues that I have seen in these areas. But as you go towards Aluva, you can see more greenery with less dust accumulation.  The property and land in Cochin city has almost been saturated for the last few years and I would prefer to live in area surrounding Aluva.

The house rent in the areas surrounding Kakkanadu would also see some marginal increase in the coming days as there are a large number of property brokers and dealers who are ready to step up the rent.  The property brokers and dealers are the one who are responsible for increasing the property rate and now since the Cochin Smart city agreement has been finalized, I have seen a lot of brokers trying to take advantage of that. Anyway, it would be really hard to buy / purchase a land or house nearby Kakkanadu for the common people.

January 26th - Republic Day or Independence Day? The Confusion Still Goes On...

January 26th is one of the most important days for all the Indians and it is the day when India was declared Republic. It is the day when  the Constitution of India came into existence as the  governing document of India, replacing  Government of India Act 1935. This happened on January 26th 1950 and since then every year this day is marked with full respect and dues.

Most of the common Indians have a common confusion regarding this,  which has lasted since decades. The confusion is so simple and even the most educated Indians becomes prey of this confusion. The confusion is that majority of the Indians are not able to distinguish between Indian Independence day and Republic day. Most of them consider January 26th as the Independence day and August 15th as the Republic day.

I really feel self ashamed when I hear some one saying that January 26th is the Indian Independence day or vice-versa. If this was said by some one who is not well educated, then we can take in that sense. But when it comes from a highly educated person, we really feel sorry for them. Despite their high educational qualification they don't care to learn the basics of their home country. I am not sure why this happen with them, it may be due to their ignorance and lack of knowledge. But without knowing these basics things they are not worthy of their educational qualification.

I am basically from Kerala and this is one of the most literate state in India. Even here people are not confident enough to say about the importance of the above date. Even few of the major companies  in Kerala have committed this mistake in their calendars. This is really a shame for all the Indians and this needs to be addressed at the earliest. I had one of my Australian friend, he had some dealings with one of companies in India and one day I really became speechless after he spotted me the same error in one of calendar offered by the Indian company.

Not sure when we Indians can confidently say that January 26th is our Republic Day and August 15th is our Independence Day. At present, even our politicians may not be able to say it with confidence. Please wake up Indians and try to correct your basics!!

At last Road Taring in Full Flow in Kerala

The rains are over in Kerala and the government seems to have started their work on re-taring the roads which were filled with gutter / pothholes. The pathetic conditions of the roads in Kerala was a chief cause of worry for all and the journey through the roads were considered as an adventure for the past 6 - 7 months.

During the monsoon seasons, it is a common thing in Kerala to see the roads getting destructed. This has caused a lot of accidents, damage to vehicles and other issues. Now since the rains have withdrawn, it is the most perfect time to tar the roads and make the journeys much more smoother.

The roads are expected to be repaired in a month and after that we can expect a good travel experience atleast till the next monsoon season. If the roads are not tared properly we can expect them to crack even before the monsoon season. Since the tourism season is in its full flow, it was really a necessary thing to get these roads repaired. Such activities would also help to repair the tarnished image of the Government of Kerala to some extent.