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Jarugandi Jarugandi
Monday, December 31, 2007

Jarugandi Jarugandi - Yup this is the Tirupati Trip Travelogue.

In Short the trip started at Nanganallur (Anchi), Tada Falls, Srikalahasthi (Eeshwar), Tirupati, Chandragiri Fort, Kanipakkam (Pilliayar Appan), Tirumala (Venky), Srinivasa Mangapuram (Elder Venky), Talakona Falls.

Rule : I will select one place of my choice for each place of visit by my parents.

Nanganallur : (15th Dec) Daddy and Amma Came to Nanaganallur. Me, Sis and Sham joined them to visit Anjaneya. We lived there few years before, place has changed a lot. Nostalgic!! reminds me of lot many incidents. Prasadam at this place is awesome :p.

Tada Falls : Back on NH7(3pm), Steered to Tada falls. The Falls is actually 20 km from Tada. Reached the foot hills by 5PM. Environment wasn't favoring, have to drop the plan.
Points to Remember: Go in a Group, you need to drive on ~3km of rough road (actually no road) to reach the stream, then would need to trek for 5km to reach the Waterfall.

Srikalahasthi : This place is famous for the Rahu Kethu Sarva Dosha Nivarna Pooja. If you are planning to visit tirupati, Pilgrim can get their darshan booking here itself. One round of night darshan and me started clicking some shots. Asusual amma behind me pothum da yara thitaporanga.
Ko(matha) Puja : Woke up early morning to attend Ko Puja. It is believed that each organ of a cow represents different god, goddess and devargal. The sacred cow of the temple is decorated and is worshiped.

Chandragiri Fort: Got AAD tickets for 17th morning Dharshan at tirupati and decided to visit Chandragiri Fort built during Vijayanagara rule. It is a good relaxing place with a museum displaying the sculptures and culture of Vijayanagar. There is also a Sound and Light Show with Amitabh Bachan's voice as its voice over, taking the audience down the history lane. The fort has the ruins of Raja and Rani Mahal.
Tip: Best time to visit this place is before dusk.

Kanipakkam: It is ~60km from tirupati by road. The God here is a Swayambhu Pillaiyar. The Myth goes like this. A def and a dumb trying to dig a well for water, hit a stone which started to bleed and and is believed to be god Ganesha. It is also believed that the blood is still oozing and shown to privilege pilgrims. (Yennagada dei..) But as such the temple is good, nice place to visit. Visit to Kanipakkam and back to tirupati would just take max 5hrs.

Tirumala : I was eagerly waiting for this drive. The Road uphill is awesome. I enjoyed the twist and turns of the road. I was lil speeding, but fun. It was pitch dark when i started to drive. During each turn your ears starts to block, temperature drops, clouds pass by, suddenly you are in the middle of mist, shearing thro it. I enjoyed each and every moment of it. In less than 30mins reached the toll gate at 22hrs. Got the Stay at GNC. Went out for a walk with A630. Our stay was not equipped with hot water supply. Mentally prepared for a cold bath, suddenly daddy said there is a hot water Room available. with just the only bucket, filled it with fuming hot water. Over Confidence. One mug of water on my shoulders. ****. Not willing to waste the hot water, took it slowly. Venky vellaiya katitarudooi.. Ketathu mellayae roombha koduthutaaru.. Unusually the Que was smooth till the praharam, after that Jarugandi Jarugandi thaaan. Then another Jarugandi Jarugandi at laddu counter. It was the first day of marghazhi mathan and thirupavai was sung in the temple. It is a different experience.
Tip: If you want to have a relaxed venki darshan, go to the temple on a Tuesday/Wednesday 10pm.

Srinivasa Mangapuram: Started to drive down the hill by 8 AM(17th Dec). It is ~10km from Tirupati on the way to Talakona. It is believed that God came here before going to Tirumala. "The Kalyan Venkateswara is a replica of the main deity of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala". Technically he is just 1" smaller than the one in Tirumala. But he looks big with the allangarams and pilgrims are allowed to have darshan much closer.







Talakona: Usually Daddy would take navigator seat, but he went back saying my driving is scary. A frisking office working for TTD asked for a lift to tirupati. He was the guy who gave me all the above stories and tips of the place. Based on his comment decided to go to talakona. 45km from tirupati out of which 25 on Ghats and the rest in forest. "Talakona is noted for its scenic beauty comprising lush green vegetation and a perennial waterfall which cascades down from a height of 270 ft." This is true. After a 2km drive in Sri.Venkateswara Sanctuary, one need to trek more than a km to reach the water falls. The water is so cold that it took my breath away for a sec, but then it was total fun.
Tips: Friends/Food/Gang is a must. Water Proof camera. Be there just after the monsoon rains. Beware of our ancestor.
PeeVee's Collection

Headed back to Tirupati to catch my train to hyderabad.

The tips, thoughts and stories are either heard, felt or reviews for other media. If anything is wrong do leave a comment to correct me.

Slide show of my Clicks during the trip.

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 12:36 AM, ,

New Year Resolution - Tagged Again
Saturday, December 29, 2007

I have been tagged by Anoop "tale of a lone wolf" to list my new year resolution. Thanks Dude :)
In my first Year of my College, A New Year resolutions is just a crap idea; it’s simply setting yourself up for lots of disappointment later on. So the new year resolution 1996 was "Not to take a New Year Resolution during New Years". Felt proud and stood for the Resolution.
But later i understood life without goals was like sailing without a destination. Happily broke the resolution and started to list the objectives for my life.
Looking back on this year goal
  1. Save Money - Accomplished.
  2. Morning Walk - Except for 4 months of Knee Rest - I made an attempt to reach KBR park.
  3. Reduce Thooppai (Tummy) - On Going, but considerable accomplishment.
Now the Tag - New Year Resolution '08.
  1. Get on to Oracle Applications Consulting.
  2. Improve fitness level.
  3. DIY project every month, starting january a small studio in my room.
There are lot more i thought but not sure i would be able to keep it up.

I want to tag few ppl who inspired in something or the other later this year.

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 5:31 PM, ,

Dog Tag Drive - pqi Intelligent Drive i810 - iDrive
Thursday, December 20, 2007

A New Addition to my gadget family.
pqi Intelligent DriveRecent Days the thingee which more often i use is Mass Storage Drive (be it either my iPod, mp3 Thumb drive, External HDD or a SATA Drive). I want to carry a Drive with me always like a dog tag. Thanks to J for Gifting me this ;) hurray I got my New Year Gift [Jay, i know u r smart].

My Review: PQi Intelligent Drive i810 is a new generation USB flash drives built with the concept of combining technology, style and fashion in one. It is just the size of my little Finger Pad in width. Reviews says it is the king of small drives. The feature i like the most is water, dust, shock and vibration proof. Not just small and fashionable, but really tough. The Stick slides in to a stylish casing which looks really sexy.

Product Spec :
Now i have another pendant in chain, an iDrive - 1GB Capacity. Isn't it cool ;)

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 7:27 PM, ,

Awaiting Weekend!!
Friday, December 14, 2007

Shot this last Weekend at Hussain Sagar Lake / Necklace Road. It is called Tabebuia Impetiginosa or pink lapacho. Hope you guys like it. Check out here for other shots
Planned for a trip to Tirupati this weekend. I have to visit Srikalahasti & Tirupati Temple for sure. Other places on the list include Tada, Talakona, Kanipakam, but depends on my luck with Venky's Dharshan. Do you guys know any other place drivable from tirupati?

Have an Njoyable Weekend :)

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 10:50 AM, ,

iPod Audio Video Cable
Friday, December 07, 2007

விடுதலை விடுதலை(Freedom, Freedom) Not by me, but by my laptop.
No more using my laptop for watching movies. Convert DVD,.avi,.mpeg to .mp4, sync with your iPod and directly plug on to your Home Theater / TV. Not sure how many in India know this cool accessory available for Video iPod (5th Generation and above), as for many of my friends an iPod is just a mp3 player and video player during travel. After testing this Cable, I am personally satisfied by the TV - WideScreen Output and the clarity you get on an 29" TV. iPod AV Cable is a healthy cable, bought @ the Apple Store is lil costly, but one could find many more in the gizmodo.com, Amazon and google for a cheaper price. I sync'd couple of Video podcast from NatGeo Website and podbazaar.com and with this cable "I am totally Loving it" :)

Another Gadget added to my list.

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 12:25 AM, ,

I am Tagged!!!
Sunday, December 02, 2007

Tagging rules:I was tagged by Aarthi. This lady has a lovely habit of changing her blog URL.
Here are the 8 things abt me.
  1. NFS(Office Name), 'Full Throttle' is my Rule. Can't drive slowly. Crazy about driving. My fav lines are
    "Sometimes I drive so fast, Just to feel the danger.
    I wanna scream, It makes me feel alive"
    from Anything but Ordinary by Avril Lavigne. Recent Expedition - drove to Chennai from hyderabad in 10hrs. And then to my home town trip meter reading 998.
  2. Knowing or unknowingly, i get influenced/inspired by people i like the most or with the people i mostly talk to. Be a Song, a word, a slang or a habit, sometimes this make me feel i am not real.
  3. Can cook my own Food rite from Carrot Halwa - Evening Snack on a Rainy DayBreakfast to Lunch to snacks to Dinner, but offcourse i need my mom's sambar podi and online support from the chief chef or the lil chef.Sweet Kesari / South Indian DishI love cooking for my friends. Atleast one or the other week, we cook/party at home. Known to friends as Aada Bala (south indians should know the Aada Dish, in hyd they call pesaratu)Sakkarai PongalWhat is Happiness? [Hot Masal Vadai]
    Biriyani (Veg, Egg, Chicken) - Veg is my Fav. Shark Puttu is my last experimented side dish and many more. My online reciepe book is here (dei balu podhum niruthu rombha scene podatha :p Oru veelambharammm)
  4. Have patience to baby sit a kid and especially if it is a girl, i enjoy wasting time with them
  5. Tends to take advantage of people i live with, mostly will make others to wait. Never seen a movie in theatre from the first scene.
  6. Car Habits : Play loud music, open doors for the females, atleast a flower for my friends (Yellow Gerberas is my Fav)(Guys and south Indians think bad about this - becoz we are conservative). I like doing this for my friends. Picked up this habit from hari
  7. Fitness Freek .. naaaaaa... Can't be after listing the above, but walk daily 5kms and workout for 1hr. Thanks to my friends who drag me.
  8. Music (mostly i tag a person to each of my fav songs), Photo, Friends, Flickr, A Call Home inspires me.

I am not tagging anybody, and anybody can pick this up and leave me a note to know about you.

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Kirukals by Kuttibalu @ 7:00 PM, ,