Aero-India-2007 by Lighttripper

Sorry, could not include any pics here. Please check them out on Flickr!

One thing that strikes me is that this change will mean bandh would not impact Aero India 2007 atleast. Else, several crores would have been wasted.

More updates as and when news trickles in… keep watching this space for more further updates.

Update 1 8:46PM IST : Deccan Herald: All Party Meeting postponed, State-wide Bandh put off to Feb 12th

Note: click to see a bigger picture at the Flickr site.

This picture is from the other side of the Tourist Bungalow managed by the KPTCL. Here, there is a outcrop of a rock from where you have a straight drop into the gorge below. If you dare, you can lie flat over the rock and inch closer to the precipice. And then look over. To your left, Raja falls down majestically. And as you crane your neck to look straight, you would see the small rocky channel from where Roarer gushes down and then flows into the gorge with a deafening sound. And if you can risk it, take a picture… which looks like the one above.

Located in Shimoga district, very close to a village called Gerusoppa, it is ranked 314 among the world’s tallest waterfalls. It is among the tallest ones in Asia too. Here, the Sharavati River falls down a vertical 253m (829ft) in a thundering cascade. The waterfalls itself is composed of 4 parts – the majestic Raja, furious Roarer, the fast Rocket and beautiful Rani. Raja is the most voluminous of the 4 and falls vertically down, therefore the tallest of all.

The waters are released from the Linganamakki Dam. In Monsoons, when it rains copiously in these areas, the dam gates are opened on full flow. I have never seen the falls in full spate, but wish to. It seems, this is the sight that greets you. Awesome!

There is no single best place to view the falls. Most of the tourists see it from the Tourist Bungalow. And this is the view that they get.

If you can, please do travel to the other side to enjoy another perspective of the falls.

And if you are an enthusiastic lot, you may trek down to the valley floor. But only when the falls are not in spate. From the valley floor, you get an altogether different perspective of the falls. You feel humbled by the magnitude.

These rocks would have been a part of the hill side. Thanks to the waterfall and its erosive activity, these now grace the valley floor. Their sheer magnitude gives us a sense of the power of falling water.

And this is the view that we got as we were about to leave for Bangalore.

Enjoy the complete picture album on Flickr.

What else to see in the area:
1. Linganamakki Dam and the Sharavati River Valley

2. Raja Kal – a stone foundation setup by the Maharaja of Mysore that commemorates his visit to this place to inaugurate the project and also shows general directions to many major towns and cities.

3. A visit to Gokarna and Murudeshwar can be combined with this trip.

How to visit:
1. You can take a KSRTC Luxury bus to Jog Falls.
2. You can drive down to Jog Falls from Bangalore via Tumkur-Tiptur-Shimoga-Sagara. A distance of about 380 kms.
3. You can go to Goa (air/train) and drive southwards.
4. If you know someone in KPTCL, you can take an excursion into protected areas which are not available to public. If you do manage to get this done, you will waterfalls taller than Jog falls. And far more beautiful too! Probably not publicised to maintain security of the power station installations in the valley.

Where to stay:
Refer Karnataka Tourism Page for Jog Falls. They have listed some places where you can stay.

And make sure you visit the falls atleast once. I bet you will never forget the beauty!

As of Jan 16th, we are now residents of Greater Bangalore. What was a city of only 225 square kilometers is now a HUGE 741 square kilometers city!

Map courtesy: TOI

So what got included into the city?
7 CMCs – Rajarajeshwari, Dasarahalli, Bommanahalli, K R Puram, Mahadevapura, Byatarayanapura and Yelahanka.
+ 1 Town MC – Kengeri.
+ 111 urbanized villages.

So, what’s up now?
1. BMP no longer exists. It has become the BBMP – Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
2. The city will experience more problems.
3. People from the TMC, CMC and urbanized villages still do not have a clear indication of where to go for property related works and matters.
4. K Jairaj has been appointed as a first commissioner of Greater Bangalore. Dilip Rau, the administrator of BMP, has been appointed as the administrator of Greater Bangalore.

Timeline:
2006 Sep 13: State Cabinet approved Greater Bangalore proposal
2006 Nov 02: Government invited objections from citizens
2007 Jan 16: Final notification issued regarding formation of Greater Bangalore.

So, here’s to Greater Bangalore! Let us hope that this city resolves its pending problems and strives to become the best city to live in India!

Roger Glover and Steve Morse jamming on stage for the “Highway Star” song @ Toronto, Canada.

Get prepared to rock to the all time greats (and anthems in their own right) like “Child in Time“. “Highway Star“, “Hush” and “Smoke on the Water“…

From now on, you will see…
1. All music shops run DP promos.
2. Radio City and Radio Indigo running promos to the concert and offering tickets.
3. Contests happening at hotspots in the city where winners can win DP merchandize and tickets to the concert.
4. Suddenly, all of Bangalore is learning about DP and rocking to their music – 26 hours a day!
5. Deep discounts on DP albums, double CD covers etc on the stores.
6. Most wannabes in Forum, Brigade Road, MG Rd, etc will sport black t-shirts with a big blow up of Roger Glover and Steve Morse on them.

BTW – Galeej Gurus will be kick starting the concert. So, those of you who love swinging to this essentially Bangalorean Band … you have a double treat in store.

Kingfisher brand is owned by the United Breweries. UB has its humble beginnings dating back to 1857 when 5 breweries were started under its umbrella. Scottsman Thomas Leishman is credited with founding this company. The breweries quickly became famous as they catered to the soldiers in the Madras Presidency. In 1947, the company was bought by Vittal Mallya and he took the business to new heights. A quick timeline view can seen at this page.

KF, as Kingfisher is popular known in its inebri..er.. abbreviated form, is the flagship brand of UB. It was only introduced in the 60s and was developed as an export brand. KF became quite popular in the English pubs in 70s. KF introduced several variations in its flavors and built on its brand value. Today, KF is among the most easily recognized brands in India and world over. KF is sold in over 52 countries around the world and is still among the top 10 fastest growing brands in the UK (Say thanks to Flintoff for that, eh?).

KF also has a strong presence in sports sponsoring, airlines and fashion world.

So next time you sit with your friends to sip beer, choose KF and sing .. U La La U Le O, U La La A O… and enjoy the good times! :-)

Seen on November 18 2006 around 5:30PM on the western horizon as the sun was setting. This is quite a rare event, though many people have reported seeing this kind of a cloud at many different occasions.

Reason for a rainbow being visible in a cloud has been given as oblique rays of the sun (58 degrees is the optimal angle) hitting a high altitude (cirrus) cloud which is mainly composed of ice crystals in such a way that the light bends through the cloud and refracts, giving rise to the rainbow phenomenon within it.

A simple Google search will yield many such recorded evidences, some more beautiful than this one. But, this is my first sighting of a rainbow cloud.

More pics.

View of the Sun setting and the Rainbow cloud to its left. (our right side)

A digital zoom closeup of the rainbow cloud. I wish I had telescopic lens! :-(

The rainbow cloud fading away…

Nishant Ratnakar is one such person, just like us, who chose the latter. He travelled to a list of lesser known places including Baindoor, Kundapur, Basroor backwaters, Shankaranarayana near Agumbe Ghat and some places around Varahi River. He then travelled to his native village of Pangala. Throughout the journey, he has clicked pictures that are not found on travel journals or even on internet. These places do not find their names mentioned even in the list of also-watch, let alone must-do. Lovely pictures… check them here.

I have not put any pictures on this post, just to maintain the element of surprise. Dear Reader, please do check the pictures directly on Flickr. I cannot get better than that.

And thanks to DH, I have been filling myself with as much that they are publishing on Karnataka history. And today they published info on the origin of the name “Karnataka”. Give it a read even if you know everything.

The same article also talks about the origin of Bengaluru, Mysuru (Mahishuru) and Kodagu.

Today morning, when I was poring through the pages of DH, I looked at page 9 for a very long time. I quietly absorbed in all the contents on the page. At the end of it, I was feeling good about having known so much of history in one page. And feeling bad that history was quite unfair to this state. While I cannot completely justify over the unfairness that I felt, I did feel that Karnataka deserves a better place in our nation’s attention.

The page 9 of DH dated Nov 1, 2006

Also, I did not know that Rajyotsava Day Celebrations were called off in 1957. Why, I am not aware. But DH prevailed on the society then and pioneered celebrating the momentous occasion of the foundation of Karnataka. Thanks also to DH then…! What say?

I do not know Kannada well enough to greet the reader’s here in Kannada. Neither do I want to copy paste from elsewhere. I will only sincerely wish from my heart – Happy Karnataka Rajyotsava Day to you! May Karnataka really become suvarna in eyes of everyone!