Rest In Peace Thathayya :(

While am writing this post here, my grand-father is lying down there without a soul; I can't believe it and I don't want to believe it !


Hero of my childhood - Head of my Family - Multifaceted Scholar - Able Administrator - Voice of Thousands - My grandfather Sri S. Venkateswara Rao garu is no more


He gave me an identity when people respected me when I was a toddler just because am his grandson. My association with the sarpanch garu / panthulu garu made me chinna panthulu to the masses of the village, when I was hardly walking on my feet.


He is the person who taught me that power is not a privilege, but a responsibility and respect can't be demanded, but should be commanded by deeds and actions. 


He showed me what dignity, elegance, knowledge and grace are all about with his mere existence. 


Rest in peace, Thathayya :((


You will live forever in the knowledge, values and ideals you imbibed in us !

How Internet Changed My Life !!!

Today I can claim that I learn more from Google, Wiki than what I learnt from my engineering or MBA. I know people better through Facebook, Orkut than personally, I communicate more through email or instant messaging than in person or phone, I get updates faster and reliable through Twitter than any other media, I present my views better in blog than through any presentation or debate. Flashback to 1998...


I was so uninterested when my mom pestered me to create an email id, know more about web, internet because I was suffering from computer-phobia. Internet arrived in some 1995 but was not widely popular until late 90's and also because I was in Kurnool from 1997 to 2001 doing my engineering, the kind of exposure to technological advancement was meager. 


But it was in 1998 I had to create my first ever email id at www.netaddress.com as that was more popular than yahoos, rediffs and hotmails then. Need for communication with US universities' admin and faculty pulled me into the cyber-world. Also when my super-seniors left for US, they forced me to visit netcafe regularly to be in touch. 


An year later, I created my yahoo account as something called Yahoo Messenger (that time with some other name which I don't remember) entered the scene and I looked at it with awe :) Chatting through internet was wicked.  40 per hour was too expensive but I slowly got addicted to that without realizing how it would change my life in years to come :)


I've literally lived on YM and yahoo-mail for next 8 years. Daily communication with professors and admins of US universities, research on universities, preparation for GRE, TOEFL, visa till 2001; eventual preparation for CAT, research about projects in MBA, job applications - I remember doing all these from 2000 - 2003 on internet. Google and Wiki became my best friends during that era. I don't really remember doing anything else during that phase except learning more and more about / from internet resources. I was talking only to people on my email contact list, chat friends list; googled / wikied every management / marketing / finance concept and never got hooked by books (and hence average grades in exams :D)


2005 was an year where Internet played my cupid. I met my girlfriend (then, now wife) on YM. She was working in Korea and I tried to overhaul my daily routine to be able to spend time chatting with her. Days, months and years passed. YM is the biggest witness of our love story. I got close to my sister-in-law during this phase and we are each other's biggest fans, I guess. I don't know what my life would have been, had I not known about internet then :)


The same year, she inspired me to shift my email account to Gmail and get an Orkut account, which again was a life-turner for me. Orkut and Gtalk made me forget my long and eventful association with Yahoo. 2006 was the year when I got inreoduced to my brother-in-law and his friend Srikkanth - my future employer in Canada (yeah, both through internet) and everything happened so fast that I saw myself in Canada, a year later :)... I don't know where I would have been working now, if I didn't know these guys :D


2007, the year of my marriage. The year when my fiancee / wife shifted her base from Korea to India and I shifted from India to Canada. Again a long distance relationship (countries changed, distance didn't) which propelled me to stick more to my lappy than with people around. My mom being more computer-savvy than I ever was, too preferred instant messaging. With mom, wife, sister living on internet, I couldn't help myself :)


2007 saw my debut in 3 different and most influential networks in years to come: Blog, Twitter, Facebook. Wifey influenced me to get into the first two, I inspired her to take up the latter.


Though joined earlier, Orkut took me into its wings only when I joined an online community "My relatives and cousins". Earlier I knew only 10 or 15 of my first cousins. This community gave me 450 of them and 50 got so close to me that I treat them as my closest friends till date, and may be forever too. I met people who liked me, loved me, admired me, supported me and vice-versa. The emotional and psychological support I received from these people made me a better person for sure. I don't know how different and insipid my life would have been, had I not known few very important people here :)


Blog happened to be one of the most beautiful things in my online life. I strongly needed an outlet of emotions, expressions, views but who would care to listen patiently if I speak all these things ? Blog was an instant answer. I started this with the very idea of putting out everything that goes on in my mind. This is the place which is till date acting as my alter-ego, my best-friend, who can listen to anything about me patiently without feeling bored :D ..and today I feel content that there are few people who like to read what I write here. I'm very humbled by the love and support I'm conferred by them. Love to all.


Twitter is a revolution. With my 3 years of twitter-addiction, I can claim without any qualms that those without twitter account are loosing in a hell lot of ways. Twitter is THE world, twitter is THE society and twitter is THE reality. Its something which keeps you connected to the world, makes you street smart, keeps you abreast of the happenings, its the first-hand, unbiased media, its better than Google search for most of the matters, its the biggest source of entertainment and its here to stay.


Facebook is something I didn't get along till recently due to my loyalty towards Orkut. But things changed, people I love shifted to Facebook and now Orkuting has become a mere formality. Today, life is more on FB. 245 friends, their updates, photos, comments, views. Its not an exaggeration if I say FB is the reality and outside world is virtual. I don't think anybody can know about their friends / loved ones in real life as much they can know through FB. Love "The Social Network" and an alternate world Mark has bestowed upon us.


Earlier, life would have been difficult without a computer / laptop. Now its close to impossible without a smartphone with data package. It was more evident when I got restless due to unavailability / inaccessibility of data network for few days during my recent vacation.


Now I can't imagine how my life was without all these things around some 13 years back. Am also amazed to see people who can spend a quality life in current period without internet and its addiction. But I can't. May be am loosing myself to the virtual world, but its way better than the real world :)

26 years of movie watching :)

Somebody was asking me what favorite movie was and I couldn't pick one as I like so many movies, genres in 3 languages. Then I got an idea of capsuling my movie watching history of 26 years :) My tryst with Telugu, Hindi and English movies in a nutshell :)

Telugu Movies

Telugu movies have been staple diet for my family like most others in AP. I tried really hard to recollect which was my first Telugu movie in a theater. The earliest I can remember was "Swathi Muthyam" (1985). Its been 26 years that movie released and hence the title of this blog-post. I vaguely remember watching that movie and my aunts say I used to imitate Kamal Haasan's eccentric dance steps of "suvvi suvvi" song at home after the show. Thanks to such silly steps, I'm such hopeless dancer today :(

I also clearly remember watching other K.Viswanath movies like Sirivennela, Swayamkrushi, Swarnakamalam in the following years. Yes, my parents used to be K.Viswanath's devotees and I grew up to become one too.

The first time I went to movie without parents was in 1991 when Chiranjeevi's gangleader released. That was with my sister who has since been my movie-watching partner for the next 10 years. During that era, RGV movies brought in new flavor and I got hugely attracted to his Kshana Kshanam, Rathri etc.

Slowly my interest in Telugu movies subsided as most of the star studded movies of Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna etc were catered to masses, galleries, song and fight routine, over-heroism or in rural backdrop which I could not relate at all. Many telugu movies could not attract my sensibilities as I got more addicted to Hindi cinema by then. Raghavender Rao, B. Gopal and co ruined my appetite for Telugu movies and I didn't remember watching many Telugu movies until Tholi prema, Nuvve Kavali era.

I don't have favorite actors except that I like Brahmanandam, Prakash Raj.

Favorite movies: All movies of K.Viswanath, Sekhar Kammula, Chandrasekhar Yeleti, Vijayabhaskar and few movies of Ramgopal Varma.

Hindi Movies

I think I started watching Hindi movies and Telugu movies almost at the same time. In mid 80's I just knew a couple of names Anitabachan (Read: Amitabh bachchan) and Mithuchakravarty (Mithun Chakraborty). 1988 witnessed the birth of a soft looking actor by name Aamir Khan through QSQT; my friends at school went gaga over him and Juhi Chawla and I loved Madhuri Dixit in Tezaab which was released during the same time. That was my first brush with Hindi movies. So Aamir and I debuted in Hindi movies at a same time (he started acting and I started watching).

The first few Hindi movies I watched in theater were Tridev followed by Ram Lakhan, Maine Pyar Kiya etc. In the following couple of years stars like Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar debuted; a different era started and I got drifted away with those waves. Simultaneously I watched many older blockbusters of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan.

In 90's and 2000's I watched all those popcorn movies of SRK -YRF / KJ, action and comedy movies of Akshay and other well-received movies but liked more intense dramas mostly starring Ajay Devgan and Aamir Khan. Among actresses, I was crazy about Raveena Tandon (my first crush in early 90's) succeeded by Manisha Koirala and Sonali Bendre. Kareena and Katrina among the current lot.

All time favorite movies: Mera Naam Joker, Jewel Thief, Abhimaan, Deewar, Sarfarosh, Border, Dil Chahta Hai, Company, Rang De Basanti, Omkara, Gangajal, Rajneeti

English Movies:

During my mid school-days, I often used to come across C grade porn movie posters near my school and associated English movies with such movies and was ashamed of talking about English movies in general :) There were only few theaters in Hyderabad like Sangeet, Kumar, Anand which used to play blockbuster English movies and I had very meager exposure or access to English Movies until the advent of Cable TV.

I remember watching very few movies in theaters in 90's like Jurassic Park, Anaconda, Titanic etc and I just knew Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan till then. 2000's saw my exposure to the world of English cinema and thats when I brushed up with most of the good movies which I missed in the previous years / decades.

I was blown away by Godfather series and contemporary heist and crime dramas of Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino. Till date, I'm trying to collect DVDs of all the classics made by these directors. I realized that am liking chick flicks too; but I'm not a huge fan of Steven Spielberg or James Cameron kinda movies or any animation, fantasy, saving-the-humanity kind and action movies (with an exception of few) which lack some plot or drama.

George Clooney has been my favorite since I saw him in some TV series even before I started watching English movies. He is THE handsome man. Acting-wise, I like movies of Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks and after watching older classics, went on to become a devotee of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

Don't know much about yesteryear actresses, but among the contemporaries I like Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba and among the senior lot: Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, JLo. .

All time favorite movies: Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Shawshank Redemption, Ocean's Eleven, Training Day, Italian Job, The pursuit of Happyness, The Departed, Inglorious Basterds, Inception.

PS: Next post would be about my history of music listening. Stay tuned :)

Rules to be Happy :)

Its easier said than done, eh :), but I thought its worth sharing what I feel and understand to make people I care for, be happy.

I feel so inspired by some people who always seem to be happy and in good spirits. Its not that they never face hardships or blues or some kinda negative vibes. Just that they are clear enough what to take to heart and what not to. And there ends the matter.

Life is a roller coaster ride and we have to take it for granted that we will have to face all kind of situations. Expecting good to happen always is the first reason to get bogged down. Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. If you are mentally prepared to take on the negative situation by its horns, its a game from then on.

Attaching a lot of importance to something not so important will pull your spirits down drastically. If there is something which is harming you or hurting you, just get rid of that and if you can't get rid, stop taking that seriously. Life is short enough to enjoy, don't waste it for unnecessary things, people and situations.

Be yourself. Don't try too hard to impress others or get a goody goody image. Nobody cares for your image for too long. You are not so important for others (or vice versa) that you need to change your way of life to impress others. Its not a sin to be bad in anybody's eyes. Its individual perception and nobody's judgement on you is final. If they like you, good for them and if they don't like you, good for you :) As simple as that is.

Express love. Golden rule of thumb. If you like somebody, don't wait. Just let them know how much you like them. It always works wonders and makes those moments very happy. Being loved or expressed love is the best thing anybody can ask for. Be playful, compliment them, make them feel special and try not to hurt them. The only thing you have to know is "Don't Expect anything in return" since expecting the same degree of love is often suicidal and disastrous to the relationship. The opposite person may / may not like you or may / may not be as expressive as you are. Don't really care, just be expressive and thats it :)

Everybody will have people who like them or admire them immensely, irrespective of what they thing about themselves. Realize that there will be many people who love to see you happy and smiling. Thinking about these people will relieve you of all the mood swings, bad vibes and stress.

So it all boils down to understanding what / who is important to you and doing what you like and finding happiness in wherever you are and whatever you do. Again easier said than done, but definitely worth trying !

So all sweethearts out there, be happy :)

Who developed Hyderabad ?

Despite being a Telanganite, I have never been a supporter of separate Telangana state as I don't believe that the problems Telangana facing now will be solved by a separate state. Now, all protesting for separate Telangana believe that disassociating with Andhra Pradesh will solve all problems. This is a mother of all myths.

All those who are currently fighting for Telangana state on the pretext of injustice were once ministers of the same cabinets which are guilty of injustice. Political unemployment made them start the movement and once the state is bifurcated their future and political career (and also their dynasty`s) will be safe guarded.

Irreparable damage has already been done. The remainder is only a political circus. Nothing is going to make a difference.

BUT what I don't see eye to eye is when people from other regions claim that Hyderabad is what because of the development done by them.

Pro-united AP protestors claim that Telangana is a poor area and people from Andhra and Rayalseema have developed Hyderabad and they have equal share in the fortunes of Hyderabad. The very base of samaikhyandhra movement is the potential loss of Hyderabad to Telangana. If Hyderabad was geographically not in Hyderabad, its a open fact that nobody would be interested in Samaikhyandhra and Telangana would not have been given any credit of developing the combined city.

Its quite an analogy that NRI`s can`t take credit of developing US (despite significant contribution) just because the very exodus to foreign land is to prosper from that land and not to develop that land.

History Speaks:

Telangana area (erstwhile Hyderabad state) was the richest and the largest princely state in the pre-independent India and the ruler of Hyderabad was a celebrated person and the richest man in the world for decades before the state was annexed into the present Andhra Pradesh.

Before formation of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad (a city with 500 yrs of history) was the only city in whole South India with well planned and built reservoirs, drinking water facilities, drainage and sewage facilities, network of hospitals, roads, railways, monuments,oldest university of the state and all development related to administration. British empire, Qutubshahis, Nizams have put the city in the forefront of the economic map centuries ago. 

And during these times, others cities or towns of present AP were relatively non-existent. Visakhapatnam was a small fishing village till late 1930`s till the port was built. Steel plant, BHEL and other industries have been setup only after formation of AP. Vijaywada, Guntur, Tirupati were small towns. Kurnool which was a capital didn`t have sufficient infrastructure to have an assembly building and administrative facilities and Guntur hosted a temporary high court. By then Hyderabad had a developmental history with readymade facilities to work as a political and administrative capital of any state. This explains the mass exodus to the city from other areas (including North Indians)

SO NO ONE DEVELOPED HYDERABAD POST AP FORMATION. Hyderabad was made capital of the state so that the whole state can benefit from the development and facilities which were already in place. After AP formation, if Hyderabad was developed from combined resources, other cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada were given a huge shot in the arm too.

Today Hyderabad city alone generates 37% of state revenue. And a piece of news to all those who claim, Telangana without Hyderabad is a poverty stricken under developed area; Telangana (excluding Hyderabad) generates 24% of the state`s revenue whereas Andhra generates 15% and Rayalaseema generates 4%. 45% of forest area of AP is in Telangana. This shows which is the most resourceful area in AP. But this resourcefulness is not converted into prosperity due to:

Problems:

Telangana state is still the richest area in terms of natural resources. 79% of Godavari, 69% of Krishna flows through Telangana but unfortunately no district of Telangana is benefited from the situation. Karimnagar, Adilabad districts witnessed farmer suicides despite being in the Godavari river-bed. Nalgonda`s population is still suffering from fluoride problem of borewell water though Krishna rivers flows there (and yeah Nagarjuna Sagar is in Nalgonda District). Mahbubnagar district, where Krishna river enters AP, is the most backward and barren district of AP.

Reason: There is no project built to save some river water to irrigate these lands. As a result Godavari districts, Krishna, Guntur are undisputed granaries of AP.

Nagarjuna Sagar was built in Nalgonda district and the reservoir was built after submerging many villages in the district only to end up providing 3/4th of the waters to Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam districts. This explains famers` woes in Telangana.

As mentioned in my previous post about the same issue, Singareni collieries (the largest coal mines of South india), Ramagundam (the biggest power stations in South India) and other heavy and small industries of Telangana employ very less local Telanganites. This explains the unemployemt problem.

After formation of AP, 16 chief ministers ruled the state for 54 years out of which only 6 years were ruled by Telangana CMs (PV Narasimha Rao, Chenna Reddy, Anjaiah). This explains the step-brother treatment towards the region. Though I don`t subscribe to the idea that more CMs from Telangana would have made any difference as not more than 10% of policy makers and bureaucrats are from Telangana. Tadaaaa

Govt of India recognized 13 districts in AP as backward and 9 of them are from Telangana (yes, all Telangana districts except Hyderabad)

Telugu identity of Telangana is always ridiculed and mocked by public, movies, literature and other fora alike. The fact remains that the language gets adulterated by regional factors and so did Telangana slang and same is the case with other slangs of the state. But the history says that Telangana area is the place where authentic Telugu heritage lies. The most impressive and celebrated hertiage of Telugu people comes from Kakatiyas and Satavahanas who established, ruled and contributed to the region.

Coastal area was eclipsed by Tamil dynasties like Cholas and Pandyas (with a brief respite from Chalukyas) and Rayalaseema area was ruled by an able Sri Krishnadevarayalu (a kannadiga). So it goes without saying that Telugu history is synonymous to Telangana history.

Rivers, industries, revenues, heritage - Telangana has been the cradle of Telugu civilization which has been utilized by some and exploited by some for the development of Andhra Pradesh state. But the very host area became a victim of its own benevolence. Probably Telangana is the only area in India which flourished before independence and suffered after independence :)

Solution:

Telangana supporters must understand that bifurcation can never be a solution to the under-development. After separation, Adilabad might be under developed than Hyderabad or Warangal. or Old City might be under developed compared to Banjara Hills. We can't start another movement for every sub-region. Can we ?

Samaikhyandhra supporters must understand that "being united" is about having mutual trust and respect. One can't humiliate Telangana slang, culture, roots and then protest for unity. Lack of trust due to this humiliation and indifference is the root cause for the whole issue, not under-development or other reasons.

Travel Diaries 2 - Reminiscing Hawaii

Warning: This is a really long post in which I have tried to squeeze in all beautiful memories of our vacation to Hawaii in Dec 2010 – Jan 2011. Please go ahead only if you are interested or else you will be bored to death: D

At 8:30 pm on Dec 27, 2010 we landed in Hawaii, a place somewhere in central Pacific Ocean between USA, Japan and Australia. Fresh from the memories of Banff and Jasper, we didn’t have many expectations on Hawaii as we know no place could ever be as beautiful as Banff. And as expected Hawaii is not as stunning as Banff, Lake Louise or Athabasca but there is certain trademark bohemian spirit, lovable crowd, rich canvas which took us into its arms and made us feel at home and at heaven.

The 7 day trip to Hawaii Islands has been a once in a lifetime event which made us so refreshing, recharged, happy and strong that we discovered ourselves and redefined our parameters of bliss and happiness. And I’m glad that my wife’s birthday was celebrated in such an ambience.

Hawaii is an archipelago of 8 islands and there is something for everybody to relish in their vacation. Scenic beauty, natural wonders, sports and adventurous activities, cosmopolitan urban culture, native vernacular spirit, vibrant crowd, multitude cuisines, various climatic zones and more. We were fortunate to witness all of these in a span of 7 days without making it hectic or over-burdening ourselves.

Out of 8 islands, we chose to travel across 3 islands which were completely different from each other.

Oahu – The island with activity; dynamic and oozing energy. We spent most of our time here. This is a paradise for all those who want water sports, adventures, extreme sports, parties, activity and vibrant atmosphere Our first brush with jetskiing and snorkelling happened here.

Jetskiing is not very easy especially for non-swimmers like me who get anxious when the guide warns before hand that there is an ample chance of falling in the waters of pacific :O ..Agreed that a lifejacket is given but grrrrr…..with this premonition I went into the waters and to my misfortune the waves were high enough to scare me off. But after some 20 minutes, I handed over the handle to my wifey who could’ve saved herself even if she capsized the jet ski J. But the experience itself was awesome.

Parasailing on pacific waters was again a different experience not as anxious though. Having tried paragliding and river crossing earlier in Manali (India), this was no different, except we get drenched by the waters amidst the activity.

Snorkelling was splendid. I can’t swim, but the renter handed me over a couple of fins, snorkel gear and asked me to jump into the ocean. They strictly instructed not to walk in the waters as that might harm fish, aquatic life and coral reef. So we only have to swim and I don’t know swimming. WTF @$% (this is what I exactly exclaimed) but I wanted to do it so badly after knowing the worldwide fame of Hanauma Bay Snorkelling.

First challenge was to put the face inside water and breathe through the snorkel gear which was tougher than jetskiing :D. After practising that for a while, I started swimming with fins and holding my wife’s hand tightly. I guess fins helped me a lot. The moment I saw schools of colorful fish in the ocean, I abruptly picked up swimming and left my wife wondering where I was. Ended up deep into the ocean where the seabed was far beneath me.

But that moment was not scary as some kind of over confidence crept in and I swam across safely to the shore. That was my hurrah moment. A huge accomplishment, eh !

Another day we went along for hiking through dense forest. It was a two hour trek through the woods before we ended up before a refreshing waterfall. Our shoes went out of shape and color after the trek :D

Every evening was the time to take a stroll on the most popular street of Honolulu city, the Waikiki beach walk, a colourful street with street side performances, hangouts, restaurants, tourist spots and a galaxy of the world’s most popular brands like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Rolex, Prada, BVLgari, CD, Chanel, BCBG and likes. Steering my wife (and also myself) across those stores without temptation was another hurrah moment as a step into any of those stores would’ve made a serious dent on my wallet.

We have tried atleast 10 different cuisines during our stay in Oahu, but our trials to hunt Indian restaurant went in vain as understandably there were no south Asians visible in our whole trip.

We celebrated Ammadu’s birthday here as we wanted that kind of celebration environment around us and trust me, the ambience was way way vibrant than Las vegas strip (where we spent last new year’s eve). People were ecstatic and filled with energy. The night didn’t find a respite from fireworks, music, dance, parties, noise and fun. I tried to manage a small ice cream cake with “ammadu happy budday” written on it. The baker was kind enough to oblige me.

Before the clock struck 12, we went for a stroll, got amused by the crowds, their tantrums and antics, settled in the beach, witnessed a times-square ball drop drama enacted and fireworks which put Independence Day Washington DC fireworks, Niagara or Disney fireworks to shame. Later back home, she’d cut the cake and we spent some time in the ocean facing balcony and danced to the loud music from the bar and grill below. We had so much time for ourselves that we fell in love with each other all over again J I could see happiness on her face and that was the vacation objective all about. Another hurrah moment J

On her birthday, we rented a coupe and drove along the pacific coast for 4 hours. The weather was on a hotter side, but no complaints, we went from freezing Toronto J. The next day we rented mopeds (scooty) and rode till our nostalgia of riding bikes back home waned away.

Big Island: This is the biggest island among the 8 islands and is the land of natural wonders. We flew to this island from Honolulu. This island is a home for volcanoes, lava tubes, black sand beaches, green sand beaches, deserts, rain forests, snow clad mountains, waterfalls, arid lands. We saw everything except green sand beach as it would have taken a lot more time to reach the place, but regret not going there now. We deliberately skipped snow capped peaks as we are already sick of such places: D

The most amazing place was the black sand beach. I never ever heard about this earlier. When initially heard, thought it would be some black soil which we often use for gardening. But that was black SANDDDDDD…holy smokeee…I could not believe my eyes. We were awestruck. The black color is given by the flowing lava which got hardened at the coast. Waking on the smooth hardened lava was something I never imagined I would do.

We walked into a lava tube, a cylindrical tube / tunnel created under the volcanic mountain when lava flowed earlier. Such an incredible experience it was. Then was the time to reach the active volcano. Though we didn’t witness live flowing red hot lava, we saw fuming volcano which was emitting clouds of sulphur dioxide and also steam vents which were oozing out steam, heat and smoke. I only read and saw this phenomenon on television but never thought I would stand beside that. This was as good as standing on a glacier in Jasper National Park.

We would have missed a lot if we didn’t travel to this island.

Maui: This is another island which is a traditional scenic area, just as we understand, expect and perceive what natural beauty is. The island can be called a visual epic for its eye-popping beauty.

We drove in bus to the highest peak of the island called Halaeaka which is a dormant volcano with its peak staying as high as 10,000 ft plus. But more than this height is under the sea. So, technically the whole height could be around that of Mt.Everest. The greenery and vegetation gradually diminishes as we ascend the mountain and on the top, there is no vegetation at all, thanks to very low oxygen levels. If we run or pant, we are out of oxygen. And when we stand at the summit, we could see clouds way below us, just like when we see from a flight.

Then we traveled to Iao valley which is a definition of a conservative beauty of the Mother Nature. Springs, beautiful mountains around, valley in the cradle; After this we went to a beach and basked ourselves in the relieving tides.

During the whole vacation, apart from the places we’ve been to, something which attracted us the most is the love and care the natives and Hawaiian residents bestow upon the tourists. They know their lives are dependent on tourism and they do everything to make visitors happy and at the same time, they never compromise with their own roots and culture. They project their culture which they are proud of and want the visitors to taste their hospitality and heritage. This was endearing.

Politically, Hawaii belongs to USA but apart from roads and sign boards, I didn’t see anything American - be it the people, culture, attitude, spirit. It’s more of an Asian and Polynesian spirit that we could see there.

Words I would remember forever are

ALOHA – means hello, bye and love you. They regard this word a lot and attach everything good, soothing and nostalgic to ALOHA.

MAHALO: Thank You

HANG LOOSE: Their version of “Chill”

The beauty of Hawaii, the place; love of Hawaiians is something I can never forget in my life.

The whole trip has been captured in the form of video and image collage by Hema and can be accessed by those in her or my facebook friends list or their friends at http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=144367478949665&saved

I have uploaded few pics in my facebook travelogue album which can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496016489053&set=a.379957089053.158000.516769053

ALOHA