Sach is the God

"If cricket is religion, Sachin Tendulkar is God", Mathew Hayden might have said it jokingly but I took it seriously.

In my earlier post I had written that I do not believe in God. That's correct.
I do not believe in God, the invisible power who controls everything in world and answers to our prayers. There is nobody like that. Still lets define God.

Can I say God is the one who brings smiles to lot of faces and who makes people happy? Actually personally thats how I measure success also. To me success is measured by number and extent to which one impacts people's lives in positive way. (Since this is difficult to measure I am OK with alternate, simpler and more measurable definition of success which is ' the amount of money you make ' ). Now the extreme case of success would be to impact significantly high number of people. Thats where you attain this status God ( the ultimate success). Refer the first line of this paragraph to check how I defined God just now.

That is exactly what Sachin Tendulkar does. He makes people happy. He entertains them like anything. Its a treat to watch him. When you see him batting you forget your office work, students forget their exams, things come to halt ( though not any more). He has/had that power.

Now somebody can argue that even Bollywood actors like Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan does same thing. Yes they entertain people but Sachin does more than that. Sachin brings pride and self respect to billion Indians and sub-continent people while Bollywood actors are pure entertainers.
How about Pele, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali etc? Yes They might be. I dont know. They might be God for community they represent. I never said there is just one God. My another idol MK Gandhi is I feel another form of God.

Lot of people have tough time to understand that a how a sportsperson can be God. I can understand that. Typically we associate God helping needy, poor people. If I say for example 'Mother Teresa is another form of God' people might agree to some extent. I feel this is totally unfair. Godly act is not about just helping dying people. Its also about bringing every day small happiness to common people. Sachin definitely has provided lot of smiles and happiness to billion people numerous times in the last 20 years to attain the God status.

To summarize, I do not think there is God but If He is, its people like Sachin Tendulkar and MK Gandhi otherwise there isn't any.

Happy Birthday Sachin!! I hope you serve us for many more years.

Please: I totally understand that my views are extreme and your view most likely might not match mine. That's OK. Thanks for reading the post.

Chennai Mumbai Drive

Route:
Chennai - Bengaluru - Hassan - Bellur - Chikmaglur - Dutta Peeta - Mullayangiri - Chikmaglur - Balehunnur - Kalasa - Kudremukha - Sringeri - Koppa - Teerthalli - Sagar - Jog Falls - Honavar - Karwar - Goa - Ratnagiri - Mumbai.


Date: 11th April 2009 to 16th April 2009
Distance covered: 2000 km.
Car: Fiat Palio Dec 2001 Model 1.2 ELX.

Ground Rules we laid for ourselves
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1. Avoid temples ( Everywhere in India there is famous temple. We did not want to end up visiting temples)
2. Avoid commercial places. For example prefer virgin beaches like Karwar than Goa. Prefer a small hotel in small town than a fancy hotel.
3. Have local food. In south India I always preferred Meal. Thats the most local you can get.
4. Travel not more than 400 km in a day.

Note: My car broke down at Rajapur, 60 Km before Ratnagiri and 400 km before Mumbai on 16th April 09, 9:30 pm. Got it towed to Anand Motors (TASC) at Ratnagiri and took a lift to Mumbai.

Here is day by day details
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Day 1: I took Palio around 10:00 am on 11th April Saturday. Got insurance done and couple of other fixes and started for bengaluru around 3:30 pm. We reached at my brother place in BTM Layout at 9:30 pm sharp. We took NH4 and had to pay toll tax around 5 to 6 times. For one way it ranged from 25 to 50 Rs. For both ways it was just 30% more. We paid around RS 200 as toll. The road from Chennai to Bengaluru is amazing and we touched 120 km/h easily. In Bengaluru we were caught by police( and not traffic police) and we showed that we are tourist and showed toll tax receipt and he allowed us to go.

Day 2: We left Bengaluru next day 12th April, Sunday and took Kanakpura road and then a right towards Nice Road. This meets NH4 again and its super 4 lane road. There were some tolls here too. We took left turn for Hassan. This road is very bad for some 5 km stretch. We dropped my brother and sis in law there and took SH for Bellur. This road is just amazing from scenic beauty point of view. You will see windmills, lakes and ghats. Took a break at Bellur. There is an ancient temple there at just 1 km diversion. 5:15 pm we left Bellur. We crossed Chikmaglur and took small road for Kemmengundi. This is very bad road as road per say but provides some breathtaking view. This is also very steep road. Now here comes our first shocker of tour. Around 6:30 pm we got flat tyre when were still good distance away from Kemmengundi and it was dark outside. We changed the tyre and decided to stay in first hotel we will find. We did some bargaining and found a resort by name 'Holiday House' on Duttapeeta road. Its a good place to stay.

Day 3: We went up to Duttepeeta. Its among highest point in Babubudangiri. It looks like a famous religious place for Muslims. We looked like only Hindu in the region. We decided to return back to Chikmaglur as we were behind schedule and we wanted to fix our stepney asap. Kemmengundi was still 25 kms away. While returning back we took right turn (7km) for Mullayan Giri, the highest point in Karnataka. You need to take your car to the top and then climb couple of hundred stairs. I would recommend this big time. This was major highlight of the whole trip. While returning to Chikmaglur we realized that horn has gone down, flashlight not working, and fuel indicator also showing tank empty. We took it to garage and got things fixed. It took 5 hours. We left for Balehunnur around 5 pm. Route to Balehunnur is good. Dont miss Badra Coffee Works shop on the right. You get coffee directly from coffee estate. Took a left turn from Balehunnur for Kalasa. Stayed at Kalasa in the night.

Day 4: Got the tank full, had breakfast and left around 8:30am for Kudremukha. This route is again awesome. This passes through tea estate. Don't miss tea at Sri Ganga tea shop. We went inside tea estate and took some good photographs. Move to Lakya Dam
in Kudremukha. This Dam has been closed for three years. Not much there. This road is again awesome and we found couple of water falls Kadmba and Srigoonthi on the way. From here it was straight drive to Jog falls. We also got chance to see a big black snake on the road en route to Sringeri. We reached jog falls around 4 pm. Initially, We got very disappointed looking at water. It was very thin stream. We talked to local people and and hired one guide. He showed us some good points and made the journey memorable. So A big recommendation for first timers, HIRE A GUIDE otherwise you would definitely miss some cool stuffs. We moved from there around 6 pm. This road is again awesome as it moves along Sheravati River and hills. We reached Honavar around 7:30 pm and decided to stay.

Day 5: Started from Honavar around 6:20 am for Karwar. Its a straight 90 KM on NH17. Its an amazing route as roads run parallel to Konkan railways. You can see valley on one side and sea on the right hand side. There are lot of rivers which cuts through or runs parallel to this highway. Roads are mostly 2 lane. We reached Karwar around 8 am and had heavy breakfast at Udupi restaurant. I liked the breakfast and I would recommend it. From there we went for Devbagh beach. We reached some beach but I don't think it was Devbagh. There was no water sports there. So we started asking people and reached the tourism office and on our request they gave us half day package for Devbagh Beach Resort. We had to request as Half day package starts at 1:30 pm but we were in hurry and it was just 10:30 am yet. Manager was good to accommodate us so early. From there we took the motor boat ride to resort and we had great time. The island was beautiful. It had 5-6 cottages and equal number of tents. You could count number of people there. Beaches were very clean and untouched. We left the place after having good lunch. We started for Goa around 3:00 pm. NH17 at Goa was disappointing. It looks almost like city road. Whole Goa looks like one city. Our speed here was slow. We didn't stop in Goa and moved further into Maharashtra.

I would like to mention one incident. When we entered Goa, the state border police stopped us for papers. I showed all the papers (RC book, insurance and Karnataka pollution check certificate). Car was in my friends name. After finding all my papers fine he asked me for 50 Rs. When I asked what for he said its entry fee. I checked if I will get receipt he said no. I did not move for a minute and another vehicle driver comes in. On seeing my reaction the police asks me to go :).
I think its my another small win against corruption. So people beware. DO NOT PLAINLY GIVE AWAY BORDER ENTRY FEES.

Our plan was to halt at Ratnagiri but around 100 km before car started giving cranky sound every time clutch was used. We stopped at Rajapur but by that time it started giving smoke and smell. We showed it to local mechanic and he said clutch plate is gone and car can't run. It has to be lifted or towed. That was a big shocker and we were not prepared for that. We decided to stay in hotel nearby and handle problem next day. We stayed in Foodland hotel. I would not recommend it.

Day 6: We woke up around 8am and I started making calls to movers and packers. Initially, they quoted around 4 to 8 K. Then same people revised their quote and minimum quotation was 5.5 K. Also earliest they could pick the car was next day. Also since car cant be driven there was no question of point to point delivery. I had to pick it from Panvel. Then we dropped this idea. I talked to Fiat and Tata guys and found there is one authorized center in Ratnagiri. So We thought of taking it to Ratnagiri somehow. I stopped a Tata Indica and requested for towing. For my surprise he got ready. We bought a nylon rope tied to cars and started towing. Ropes could last for only 5 kms and gave way. Then we went back and got a metal rod for towing. My Palio was smelling even on neutral so we decided to leave the car there and go to Ratnagiri and found proper tow vehicle. We reached Anand Motors, Ratnagiri. I gave him key, got the estimates and left in Indica for Mumbai. I confirmed with Anand at 6 pm that my car is safe with them. Finally I reached home 10:30 pm and I thanked the Indica guy for his help and gave some cash as a token of appreciation.

Thats my first travelogue and I sure had some good and bad memorable moments.
I will provide link for pictures soon.

2005 - Amway and BWW Year

This was that time of my life when I was completely dedicated to this networking business. I was crazy about this business. I was core. I was attending meetings, using Amway products, selling it to people, selling the business by hook or by crook. Most important I was sold to this business completely.

Though I could not make this profitable, this business really changed me for better. I was a very shy person. I was not good in talking to strangers. This business brought me confidence so that I could talk to anybody. It was a good learning experience. I could understand life better.

Changing habits

I remember reading an article(Spam) few days after 26 November Terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I dont exactly remember how it related to incident but I clearly remember its recommendation to use Indian products. It talked about some good Indian brands which I could use but never bothered to look at just because its Indian (local, cheap, inferior).

I made it a point then onward to try and follow the recommendation. Since then I did few one off kind of purchases and bought Indian brands. For example I bought two deos, one Cinthol and another Park Avenue. I am more than satisfied with both my purchase. I could have easily picked up BRUT, Gillette, Nivea etc but I resisted and allowed myself to experiment.

Today I kind of bought various small products. I would like to mention my changed brands.

Toothpaste- I changed from Colgate to Dabur Meshwak.
Hair Shampoo- Wanted to buy HLL's sunsilk but moved to Dabur Vatika.
Hair Oil- Bought Bajaj Brahmi Amla oil.

Foreign Brands
Toothbrush- Only Indian brand I could find was Binaca whose bristle I didnt like So had to buy Oral B.
Shaving Blades- Gillette. I dont know any Indian competitor.

One thing I observed about Indian brands is most of the times they are equal priced or cheaper.

I hope it would help some fellow Indian.

My company (US MNC) has started focusing on localization then why not me?

So next time you go for shopping, ask yourself this question before you buy anything, why not Indian.