Archive for the 'Anu' Category

Tra-la-la-laa

Published on March 23, 2010 in Anu. View Comments

On my way back from work this evening, I was stuck in traffic on the Inner Ring Road. It was then that I heard a humming and distinct singing. Looking around for the source, I realised that it was the guy riding on a bike beside me singing some gult songs. And he made no efforts to keep the volume down.

I might have initially scoffed at the guy. But once the traffic got moving, I gave singing a try. Anyone who has heard me sing, with some background music, will testify that it’s a torture. Caring little for anyone listening to me, I started to sing loudly while riding the bike.

And I must accept, it was quite a pleasant feeling. It felt good. I am going to do this every day from now on. :D

Popularity: 7% [?]

My First Bike Accident – Claustrophobia

Published on March 13, 2010 in Anu. View Comments

This occurred a long long time ago. It was before Dussera of 2009. Yet I still remember that moment quite vividly. We were riding from Bangalore to Ooty, almost 300kms long stretch. Having started in morning at around 9, it had become evening when we entered the Madhumalai forest. Immediately after the forest we would get to the steep hairpin bends and reach Ooty.

The accident occurred in the Madhumalai forest. To go to Ooty you need to take a left at a point inside the Bandipur National Park. Immediately after taking the left turn, the road narrowed. I was driving and my brother was the pillion rider. He immediately pointed out that perhaps I was going fast for such a narrow road which had low visibility at corners and turns. I ignored his opinion – something I rue till this day.

It was at a blind turn. The road turned sharply right and I had no way of knowing what was coming towards me from the other side. I turned right to see a Sumo come right towards me. I panicked and tried to steer my bike away from the Sumo’s path. But being a narrow I ran out of road width and skid at the edge where the ground was at a lower level to the road. Instantly the bike tilted to my right and I could not control it. Both of us skid along with the bike.

My first reaction was to check if my brother was harmed. Bike mattered the least to me then.  And how glad was I to know that he was unharmed. Luckily, both of us had escaped with minor bruises. Had it been any major accident, help would have been tough to get.

The more I think of that day, the more I become sure of the reason I think caused the accident. Ridiculous or stupid it might sound, but the reason is that I am claustrophobic. I panicked because I ran out of space, and it scared me. This was the only reason why I lost control of my bike while driving at a modest speed of 40 kmph. All my analysis and logic interpretation of the situation points to that only one possible answer.

My being claustrophobic was pointed out by Rohit Mahapatra. I have tested this theory for correctness.   And I am sad to accept that I am actually claustrophobic. I am always reluctant of squeezing my way through two SUV’s or larger vehicles. I feel uncomfortable when I enter the lift of small apartments, the ones having very little space inside the lift. I sleep with my head towards the corridor when traveling in a train.

But now that I have accepted that I am claustrophobic, I try to be more careful while driving. However, I would like to solve this problem from root. I would like to get rid of my claustrophobia. I know it’s just psychological. And if it is something wrong with my brain, I would like to train to think it otherwise. So here’s a realistic mission for myself – get rid of my claustrophobia.

Popularity: 13% [?]

My Will – II (Continued)

Published on February 3, 2010 in Anu. View Comments

To what I have already desired in my previous Will, the one where I wrote about wanting to have A Tout Le Monde played for my funeral, I would like to make another addition.

I have always considered myself to be a student of science. I am an atheist, not influenced by any religion, and do not want my body to be either cremated, or buried. I would rather desire my body to be donated to some medical research institute. That way, even after my death, my body shall be made better use of than being reduced to ashes.

–

PS: Both the posts that I have written as My Will, I have done so with utmost seriousness. Mentioning such desires under a formal name of Will makes me happy. I feel glad to have formed these thoughts into sequences of words. I shall keep adding stuffs to my Will. I just hope that if I don’t get a chance to formally document my Will, people take these pieces of electronic articles seriously enough.

Popularity: 22% [?]

My Will

Published on January 18, 2010 in Anu. View Comments

Its a funny term – My Will. Not taking it too seriously though, I would still like to add my first wish to the after-death wishlist. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suicidal or depressed.

For some time now I have been charmed by this song – A Tout Le Monde by Megadeth. Dave Mustaine was inspired by a dream of his, in which his mother says that if she had 3 more seconds to live she would have told him how much she loved him. In the song Dave would like to say the same before he passes away. He tells his friends to smile when they think of him.

So as you read this know my friends
I’d love to stay with you all
Please smile, smile when you think about me
My body’s gone that’s all

So coming back to my will, I would love it if this song were to be played in my funeral. And of course, on a repeat :D .

The original video of this song can be found here: Megadeth – A Tout Le Monde (Previously Unreleased).

The complete lyrics are:

Don’t remember where I was
I realized life was a game
The more seriously I took things
The harder the rules became
I had no idea what it’d cost
My life passed before my eyes
I found out how little I accomplished
All my plans denied

So as you read this know my friends
I’d love to stay with you all
smile when you think of me
My body’s gone that’s all

A tout le monde (To all the world!)
A tout mes amis (To all my friends)
Je vous aime (I love you)
Je dois partir (I must leave)
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free

If my heart was still alive
I know it would surely break
And my memories left with you
There’s nothing more to say

Moving on is a simple thing
What it leaves behind is hard
You know the sleeping feel no more pain
And the living all are scarred

A tout le monde (To all the world!)
A tout mes amis (To all my friends)
Je vous aime (I love you)
Je dois partir (I must leave)
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free

So as you read this know my friends
I’d love to stay with you all
Please smile, smile when you think about me
My body’s gone that’s all

A tout le monde (To all the world!)
A tout mes amis (To all my friends)
Je vous aime (I love you)
Je dois partir (I must leave)
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free
X2

Popularity: 6% [?]

Anuvrat vs Anuvrat

Published on January 3, 2010 in Anu. View Comments

Warning: This is an extremely boring narration on Anuvrat. It is only me, me and me. So you might want to skip right over it. :)

The story of my life! I need not look into more than 4 years into my past to compare the boy I was and the guy I have come to be. I remember vaguely declaring to anybody who would care to listen, before going to IIT Kharagpur, that I shall come out as a man unchanged in habit and manners. Times Change, People Change – I know. Yet, there was this belief in me that I shall remain the same person that I had always been at school. I was happy then. I had just realized the then biggest dream of getting into an IIT. What else did I need? No reason to alter myself I thought.

And my first year friends will acknowledge the fact that I remained the same shy, introverted person throughout the first year. Slept at 10. Would keep my room clean. Cared a lot for my possessions. Avoid anything unfamiliar. Rather stay in the background than try to get noticed. This was Anuvrat Singh, JEE404, in the year 2005.

I was fortunate enough to make an amazing group of friends – Ketan, Naresh, Ritej, Akhilesh, Akshit, Rohit, Ved, DC, Srinath, Gyanendra. Each of them unique in a special way. They started influencing me. But did I know back then that they would completely overhaul my personality? No is the simple answer. I still missed my school friends a lot.

Then came the dreaded second year – The Orientation Period, as it is called. I was boarded at the Radha Krishnan Hall of Residence. This was the year I started becoming more confident of myself. I was learning to say No. There was this painting on the walls of my room. The caption said – What are you waiting for, Reveal Yourself. I made new friends this year in Ratno, Siddhartha, Raunaq, Shadab, Nitin and Arpan.

But I remained the honest introvert. In fact, also confused.

The third year came along. A few more people became important to me. Birinder Tiwana and his brother Birjodh. The two were the complete opposites of me. This was the year when all the people would be trying to land a foreign internship. And I did! I remember the date – 7th December (only because it coincides with the birthday of a friend) – when I received the mail. I was selected at EPFL!

And this was the point from which I never looked back again - or so I feel. It all happened so suddenly and magically. Time seems to have sped by swiftly since then. So many eventful days. I think this is when I started changing. I no longer missed my school friends. I completely got over them.

Arpit, Vinu and Varun became friends – we were all headed to EPFL. The 6th semester was spent planning the great vacation at Switzerland. Rohit too was accepted at a university in the same country. We got ourselves schengen visas. We were going to tour Europe!

And the three months at Switzerland was like some surreal dream. It was the first time I went shopping alone. I wasn’t afraid to be myself anymore. I could openly express my opinions. I was way more confident of myself than I had ever been. I was happy – a happy which was different from the happy after clearing the JEE. And I liked it. I wanted more of it. I wanted to be happy. I did not want to be bothered with future anymore. I wanted to live the present. This was the time I actually started dreaming. I wanted to live up my dreams.

Back at Kharagpur for the final year, I could feel my Swiss enthusiasm to have been carried over here as well. I was smiling like all the time. I had become overly energetic. Half the time I was jumping around in my room. I was happier than I had ever been in my lifetime. I was chatting with people more than I ever did – just so that you know, I hate socializing. I was spending a lot of time with my friends. Akshit’s careless attitude I liked, Naresh’s dedication to work I appreciated. We had lots of parties – like almost every other weekend.

I got back in touch with more than a couple of school friends – thanks orkut. I had a facebook account! I was starting to interact with people in public chats. I made a few online friends – people I have never met but have chatted to.

Come January and I had a job. Life couldn’t have been merrier. We bunked classes and went to a trip of Dehradun. We were white river rafting while our classmates were busy solving homework assignments. March and April was literally like the month of parties all around. This was Anuvrat Singh, o5CS1023, graduating in the year 2009.

Those two semesters completely changed the person I was. It’s like a feeling of being rejuvenated. I probably still am an introvert, but I make a sincere effort to interact with people. I try to influence people all around myself with my enthusiasm and excess energy. I don’t like to sit at home anymore. I want to hang out. Any place will do. Bike trips – bring it on. I am game for any adventurous activity you can come up with. It’s like I have discovered someone within me, someone totally different, and he wants to reveal himself.

This is why, of late, I have been feeling more at home with my friends at Bangalore than in Hyderabad. At home my activities are curbed. Also, at Hyderabad, I go back to being the old Anuvrat which I do not want to any more. Its like alter ego taking over me.

When at Bangalore, it is I who decides what to do with my time. I sometimes go to office at midnight. I sometimes go for coffee at 1 am. Sometimes, we are just making noise the whole night, watching movies or playing cards. Security guard calls on us to cut down the volume, but we don’t care. On more than a couple of occasions we have spent over 1K on just dinner! We are quite spontaneous in what we do – never planning ahead, just doing whatever pleases us.

And then I come to Hyderabad, I am with my parents – civilized and mannered. Then I go back to being a prick at Bangalore. Then once again I am at Hyderabad, where there are so few friends – all of them working, none of them has time to meet me during the weekdays. Then I am back at Bangalore, having a jolly good time with my flatmates on a Wednesday evening. Another weekend, I am in Hyderabad and spend my night surfing the net and doing nothing productive. I am now in Bangalore, working late night on a piece of code. I am at Hyderabad, bored and nothing to do. I am at Bangalore, all the friends just 10 minutes away, never alone, never bored and always happy.

I do not know what gets into me when I come back home. It’s like two people entwined into one, controlled by an automatic toggle switch which controls the dominant personality. But I want to get rid of the old me completely. People often stare into infinity and with a smile assert that school days had been the best time of their life. I am at loss at how to explain people that perhaps those years were the most boring ones that I have ever had. I love the friends I made back then, but I detest the person I was in school.

It’s become too long now. I just want to declare now that I have indeed changed a lot. I just know one thing now – I want to make all my dreams come true. No matter how unreasonable they are, I don’t care what I have to do for that, I don’t mind being a rebel, the society does not bother me any more. I am selfish now, and it is this passion of being happier than the happiest person I have ever met which drives me. And as always, I want to remind myself -

What good is money if I have no family and friends to spend the fortune on.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Rejuvenation 2

Published on November 26, 2009 in Anu. View Comments

Never ask me what the word means. I had not heard of it until Khaja mailed me with this word in the subject. And this mail was about a grand getting together of lots of people from Johnson Grammar School – the 2002 batch.

Excited though I was upon receiving the mail, I was a little apprehensive about attending it. I am not really fond of meeting new people everyday, and not tons of them on the same day. Khaja’s mail had names which I had never even heard of. And these were supposed to be my schoolmates. Not only would it be awkward not recognizing them, it could become embarrassing if the other person recognized you.

Another reason that I did not want to attend was that none of my close friends from my section were coming. Almost everyone is in the USA, doing their masters, except perhaps two who are concentrating on their phds.

And a third reason was that if they start talking in telugu, I would be left all alone. Somehow, almost 16 years in Hyderabad, and I never managed to learn the language.

I tried talking myself out of the reunion, but I must admit, some part of me wanted to be there, to meet the people, to look at those faces which always brought a smile on my face. I perhaps wanted myself to miss the school and relive all the memories once again. The decision to go was thus finally made!

But amidst all these things, with the emotions gripping me, not letting me think properly, I forgot one basic factor – there were going to be lots of people, and that I would not know how to interact with so many unknown people!

Well, in my case, company matters a lot. I am not the same around everyone. I prefer small groups of people, with mostly known faces. That is when I am myself, being silly, childish and naive. But you include me in a group of 20 odd grown ups, who present themselves with dignity, with an aura of educated men and I’ll be confused. This was exactly the case on that fateful day. Shaking hands, greeting each other formally, introducing themselves, and I was wondering if these were friends meeting after a long time or me attending some Alumni meet.

Now the place chosen by Khaja was the school. The school! Its far away from anything remotely interesting in Hyderabad. But his intention was to meet our teachers first. So, we entered the school and started hunting down our teachers.

Anybody, anybody you find, just attack !! We are here for blood. There’s Shauri .. don’t you let go of him … Round him up .. See there Shivalingam .. Bug him … Gods of war arise … Ooh .. we have our new Principal in sight .. err .. but since she doesn’t know us, let her be .. The haunting Annapurna ma’am here .. But where’s Malathi ma’am .. ohh wait .. what did you hear .. has she moved out of the city ? .. so sad … but where are our other teachers .. dont let anyone escape .. we the tyrants are here … charge into the next building .. smoke out everybody … There comes Surya Kumari teacher .. we need more men .. reinforcements .. please .. But who is to deal with Vijay Gauri teacher .. we are split .. the divide and rule policy of teachers working again … and here comes Shanta ma’am .. now we are really stretched thin … Help !! Help !! Tattered banners and bloody flags … 21st century breakdown …

Production at any price
Admiration of those who earn
With blood on their hands
We will never learn
A gift of today’s world
Heroes to us, heroes to us, heroes to us
Heroes to us, heroes to us, heroes to us

Tired from our assault, we decided to climb up the stairs and rest our aching bodies. Into the classrooms we escaped. Photos we merrily clicked, playing out a scene from a classroom.

All the merry making had tired everybody. A lunch buffet was voted and we started for the place on bikes. Luckily, there were more seats than people. A mister Karthik Sharma took me to the 100 Degrees on his Pulsar. I must admit here that he drives very safe, not at all how you would expect a guy with Pulsar 150 to ride.

And this is again where we slip into the grown up costume. The lunch for me was a subdued affair. I was already half desiring to run away. A few scoops of ice-creams later and we were all done and ready to leave. There were lots of photo shoots then. People got busy saying farewells. Hmm .. I did not see anybody cry. Well, people have matured atleast.

Well, I don’t really think this was how I would have liked to meet my friends – ever. I am hoping to meet them again, but few at a time, and certainly without any formality. I want the meetings to be fun, fun like freaking out crazy. This is how I have always imagined a get-together with friends from school. Till that day, I wait.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Crushing On Chess

Published on October 30, 2009 in Anu. View Comments

I have had a very strange relationship with the game of chess. At one time I loved the game, and my wins led me to believe that I was almost unassailable. The over-confidence obviously led to my fall, and this was the first lesson in modesty for me. But then, those defeats brought with them shadows of doubt. Confidence rapidly faded and gave way to defiance. I started avoiding the game. And so it was for almost 6 years, until a guy named Anshumali helped revive those feelings once again. But with a difference. This time, instead of being a boasting arrogant fool, I am going to a humble student. I have decided to re-discover the beauties of chess.

My association with chess goes back so long that I cannot remember my first game. I do not know who taught me to understand the moves of the pieces. The earliest memory that I have of having played chess is because of a photograph of mine. I was 7 then, and my brother 4 years younger to me. And in the photo we were joined by a friend of mine from school in a game of chess.

The best guess that I can make is my mother being my teacher. During those times, we were in Germany and she used to take care of my mathematics. I do remember being made to solve problems. Perhaps she is the one who taught me chess too. Also, I do faintly remember playing against my mother.

Now obviously even my brother played this game. So most of the time we played each other. Now during those earlier days, since we weren’t taught properly how to think in chess, Thus our games against each other used to be too boring. We had the exact same opening, which we always stuck to. And later found the middle game too repetitive and boring. After a time there was a tacit understanding between us that we would better not play chess.

One of my first motivators was my uncle, chote mama we call him. He is one of the best chess players in our family, and our family is huge. I remember a game against him. I had managed to trap his queen, and there was no hope for him to be able to save it. And since his queen had been playing an active role, its removal would have given me a huge advantage. Instead of giving up on the queen, he used his knight and bishop to attack my king, and I was forced to remove my pieces attacking his queen and defend my king. And it goes without saying that he went on to win that game.

Yet, since my learning had not been proper, my flaws always remained. I did not learn any thing from his brilliance. I continued playing the same way. In fact, those days when calculating my opponents move, I used to assume that he will not play the best move. And when I think back to how I played in those days, I realize myself to be very lucky indeed to have won a few games.

My dad settled in Hyderabad, and one of his colleagues, Dr. S. B. Gupta, enjoyed the game too. He would come over to our house and play chess with me. It took him just a few games to understand my weakness and the cause for it. He was the first person to really educate me on the intricacies of this game. He was the first person to tell me what my motives should be during the opening and the end games. He used to frankly express his opinion about my game. This was the first time in all these years that I started thinking.

Things were looking up. Alas! My studies got in the way. I had completed my schooling, and was preparing for the JEE exams. My parents felt, and they were right in doing so, that studies and career came before chess. I played fewer and fewer games in my first year of preparation, and it became almost 0 the next year.

The two years of preparation took their toll on my game. I felt distanced from the game I once loved. Also there was no one to play with. Saddened, I went to the university for another 4 years of engineering studies. Luckily, my neighbors played chess too. Ketan, Ritej, Akshit, Saurav all were good chess players. Excited, we went to the market and bought a chess set. We were like the crazy guys sitting around the chess board all day long. At first I thought I was good. But pretty soon, the truth was before me. I wasn’t able to think. My game was in disarray, and my confidence crushed. With a heavy heart, I bid adieu to the game.

I never thought I would play a game of chess again in my whole life. I just did not want to face my worst fears. I did not like losing.

But then I met Malli and Theja. Joining FICO after my graduation, my team mates were chess enthusiasts. They would talk about it all the time discussing theories and games of former greats. They would argue the merits of each move and were fanatics, well almost. Amidst them, I found myself wanting to play chess again.

But this time, it was different. I was prepared to face the truth which is that I do not know how to play chess, that my education had been stopped at a very beginners level. I needed to learn properly this time. I was ready to give up my old habits and to learn the subtleties of it from the beginning. It was the Chessmaster game I turned to for help.

And I was surprised to learn many basic things that I had often neglected. I learnt the importance of my pawns, of their structure, of the relative importance of Bishop and Knight, of the importance of activating the King in the end game, and lots more. Now when I play chess, I try to incorporate most of these teachings in my game. Thinking is an element added into my game now, Also, I am not afraid of losing any more. Only by analyzing my losses can I discover the fallacies in my game.

Well, all I can say is that once again I am enjoying chess and this makes me happy, very happy.

Popularity: 7% [?]

My New Love

Published on September 21, 2009 in Anu. View Comments

Ohh how I am falling in love with my bike :) . I love riding my CBZ Xtreme even though the traffic in Bangalore is the worst ever imaginable.

I had never been a bike enthusiast. I always dreamed of a car. For some reason Merc has always been my favourite. Perhaps it has something to do with the my having spent an year in Germany when I was a kid. But what really etched the car in my mind was an open top, sports look, blue Merc that zoomed across me in Delhi. It is the same type of Merc that I now desire and hope to own one day. I have seen Carrera, Porshe, BMW’s but none have matched the beauty of that Merc.

Bikes were never in my scheme of things.

Yet, when I moved to Bangalore, I needed a bike to commute from my home to office and back. Having no idea of bikes, I asked my brothers for advice. My younger brother, Ambuj instantly suggested CBZ. He went on about the features of the bike that I did not understand. And Shashank bhaiyya also recommended the same bike, though since he himself has that bike, his advice will obviously be biased. But these are two people whose suggestions I cannot ignore when it comes to the domain of bikes.

So I went the Hero Honda showroom the same day and got the CBZ Xtreme booked. It was delivered to me within two working days.

Then came the greater concern. I had not driven a bike before !! Well, till my engineering days I was happy with my scooty. Then the next 4 years at IIT Kharagpur saw me riding a bicycle. Meanwhile I had car driving lessons and got the DL after passing the driving test. So I knew how the gears and clutch play together, but even then it had been quite some time having driven the Hyundai Santro. And the 4 day training I received from my brother was on a Discover 125cc bike where the gears were all down, unlike the CBZ’s one down rest up system.

Nervously excited, I drove the bike to work the next day. I must not have stalled by bike more than a dozen times in those first 5 kms :P . Its actually a credible performance considering the fact that the traffic was moving in the first gear all the time.

Now 3 months have zipped by and I have become quite adept at driving. Having completed almost 2000 kms, which includes one ride of 90kms, and yet another of 50 kms on the State and National highways respectively. Gaining in confidence, we have now started planning even longer stretch of trips to Nandi Hills, Shiv Samundaram, Mysore and beyond. Yay, the ultimate aim is to make a trip to Goa on bikes, subject to permissions though :( .

Popularity: 8% [?]

Checking Off My Wishlist

Published on August 27, 2009 in Anu. View Comments

Yesterday I was going through a few old posts when I came across a one wherein I had listed my wish list. I had planned to buy a few things after moving to Bangalore. This post is an update to that one.

Now that it is 3 months into post-graduation life at Bangalore, I have finally started ticking off things from my wish list. I had mentioned 4 back then -

  • A Dell XPS laptop
  • An iTouch to go with my Xperia
  • A domain name for myself
  • LastFm subscription

Here’s the update to the list -

  • I have a domain for myself now. Yay !! I have purchased this domain from justhost.com and have a hosting deal for the next two years.
  • I have subscribed at LastFm. Doubly Yay !! !! :) And I totally enjoyed their radio once again. God ! It feels so good listening to LastFm radio once again. Just to think of the number of songs available to me, chosen by LastFm makes me musically happy.

Things I have yet to do -

  • I have been given a Dell Latitude D630 from FICO and so have postponed any plans of XPS.
  • iTouch is the big question. Do I go for this gadget now or wait till a later time. I do not really need it right now, so probably I will put it off for some time.

Additionally -

  • I have an awesome bike – CBZ Extreme. Yipee. And I am totally in love with it. I have already driven ~1100 kms.

Additions to the wishlist -

  • Biking gear. This is of highest priority to me now. I need a pair of leather gloves, preferably leather jacket, a cool helmet. I am yet undecided on knee pads. :P

Hmm … Not much yet. Shall keep updating this list.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A Trip To Innovative Film City, Bangalore

Published on August 23, 2009 in Anu. View Comments

After lots of if-and-buts, we finally managed to come up with an outing plan. The ‘we’ here stands for a group of new joinees at FICO, and the plan refers to Innovative Film City.

Now that we have a few bikes among us, we were eager to ride them on highways – Mysore highway being the prime road. Akshay had been to Innovative Film City earlier and he liked it. It was his idea that we drive to that place, some 44 km from our office. Amidst confusion, after many a persuasions, there were finally 9 people on 5 bikes. Akshay and his brother Swapnil on Pulsar 180, Vipin and his flat mate Naveen on another Pulsar 180, Sumeet and Lakke on the Hunk, Rohit and Nagori on Stunner and I on my CBZ Extreme.

Our journey stated at 11 on a sunny sunday morning. From Kodihalli, it was almost a straight road throughout. We encountered little traffic in the city, but were held up after crossing the city market. The narrow roads and the BMTC bus stop, with adjoining Big Bazaar slowed down the traffic to snails pace – not what we were hoping for. But once we cleared that area and crossed the Manipal Speciality Hospital, we sped off onto the state highway. There onwards it was an amazing drive with hardly any traffic. 5 bikes zooming through, the sun rays hardly having any effect and cool wind blowing across our face.

Before mid-day, we were at the film city. The entrance was awesomely, tempting us to venture inside. We walked down a flight of stairs to arrive at the ticket counter. Now this was the most confusing part for all of us.

Generally in India you have a price for entrance and then everything inside is free. But here, it was an entrance fee of just Rs. 50 and the rides being charged extra. So suppose you want to spend time at their artificial beach, you have to pay an additional 160. Judging by the time we had at our hand, we ended up purchasing tickets for a 4D show, Mirror Maze, Roller Skates, Roller Coaster and Beach. The complete cost was Rs. 590 per head. There were a few more options like Laser Tag, Dirt Biking, Go Karting, but we left the decision of buying tickets for these later, depending on the time left and the weather.

The 4D movie was a nice concept. You get to wear 3D goggles and then there are tools installed on seats to add the 4th dimension. So if you are in a place and flying across the clouds, you feel cool air blowing on your face. At one time we felt tickling sensation in our leg. Then there was the effect of the seats vibrating and all. All in all, it was worth the 80 rupees.

We next went to the Roller Skates. This was the most hilarious part. But for Lakke and Akshay, the rest had never tried skating before. So it was half an hour of watching people fall, and then get up to fall back again. I shall soon be uploading vidoes on facebook and youtube.

We next went to the Mirror Maze. This is an old concept of placing mirrors at angles and creating a small labyrinth so that you are lost. And since mirrors reflect and confuse your mind, you tend to go around and around in the same circle quite a few times before realizing it.

The roller coaster ride was a tad disappointing. It was too short to enjoy. Our ride completed in less than a minute’s time. I wouldn’t advise anyone to try that.

The best part of the whole day was the beach. Soft sands around a wave pool is a pleasing sight. We jumped into the pool and spent quite some time having fun with the waves and the floating air rings. Next we played the beach volleyball. Tired of jumping around in sand, we went swimming once again. This time, we played catches with a ball that Akshay had brought along. It was followed by a photo session. At 7 o’clock the security guard came to tell us off as the place was closing down.

We were amongst the last few to leave the film city. It was an enjoyable place, though I felt that the prices were a bit too steep. Rs. 100 for the roller coaster is not justified. And similarly for a few more rides. But the high prices does not really deter me from visiting that place again. Perhaps, after a few months I might go again.

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