Visit to "Benagluru" ….

Its not often I get to go out of my state. But one such opportunity did come up last weekend, when I had to visit Bangalore to take up a written test for HAL. Boy, did it turn out to be one of the best weekends I have ever had. And I just thought, why not write a blog on that and, you know, just dedicate it to those people who made it a weekend to remember.The journey began with me taking a KPN bus on Friday night to B’lore. Now this was the first time that I am traveling a long distance on a bus. The journey turned out to be comfortable, what with those extra wide seats and more than ample legroom. I reached B’lore (Electronics City, to be precise) on Saturday morning, at around 6 in the morning. This being the winter season , the entire city was covered with a thick layer of fog, so much so that it was indeed hard to see what was lying 10 feet ahead of you.

From the bus stop I took an auto and reached Diva’s place. It’s been quite sometime since I last saw him. It was a happy reunion of sorts. We spent almost the entire morning catching up with each other’s life and before long it was time for breakfast. We went to a bakery nearby and had a sumptuous breakfast. And returning, I thought I might take a little nap as well. I had already planned to visit Kumaresh (of elex) in the evening. And Diva was having a function in his office as well. So we decided to leave together at around 3.

At around 3.30, after having our lunch, I took a bus to Madiwala – the place where Kums was staying. Now this bus which I took was a swanky, state-of- the-art Volvo. I mean, I never imagined that you can use this bus as a City bus. You had a conductor who gave you not a traditional ticket, but a printout from a machine which looked something like the one people have in shops to swipe credit cards and it gives a print out of the transaction. Was I impressed?? You decide…

My journey lasted for around half an hour and I got down at Madiwala. Or so I thought… Kums was supposed to pick me up from the bus stop and take me to his place. And it took him half an hour to find me. Only after did he come did I know that I got down at the wrong stop. Poor guy, he walked for nearly a km to come to my stop.From there, we went to his place, where I caught up with my roommate Vijay Anand (of elex again). After chatting for sometime, Kums and I decided to roam around a bit. There was nothing better to do that evening. And what a splendid decision it turned out to be. It was a Saturday evening, and you know what to expect on the shopping streets of Bangalore. Little did I imagine that I would come across so many beautiful girls on a single evening. If only we had 1 p.c of that number in my office here… (Sigh…) Anyways, with such a beautiful backdrop, we visited the Forum, where we spent a good 2 hours.

We wound up our visit with dinner at the KFC (which is similar to the Marry brown restaurants we have here at Chennai). I returned to Diva’s place at around 10 in the night. It was an evening to remember .

SUNDAY:

I was up pretty early in the morning. I had to start early to reach my examination venue on time, the reason being I didn’t have inkling on where that place was. Came the Volvo bus again, and my trip was to BMTC this time around. Reached the BMTC pretty early from where I took an auto to my venue. The test was from 10.30 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon. After the test, I, Diva, and Navaladi had planned to visit IISc to visit John, who’s pursuing his Masters there. Finishing the test, I went straight to Navaladi’s place where Diva joined us. And off we went to the Indian Institute of Science

The journey to IISc took roughly around 1 hour. And there we were received by John. He’s started growing his hair again, and resembled more the scientist that he is . It’s been a really long time since I last saw him … and should I say I was more than happy to see him?? Since we guys didn’t have food since morning, the 1st place we hit in the sprawling IISc campus was the Faculty Club. Though reserved for the faculty initially, the canteen there is open to all. And that was where we went. After a sandwich and a couple of appy’s, courtesy John, we decided to take a walk around the campus.

The first thing you’ll notice about IISc is the cover of green that is on the campus. The campus is abound with so many trees and plants, that one might interpret it to be forest reserve. The departments are quite a distance away from each other. The calmness that one gets to feel here is a whole galaxy away from the rush hour life that we lead here, working in a organization. When I questioned John why he doesn’t have a bicycle to move inside the campus, he only replied that he never wished to take a cycle and rush from one place to another, missing out the beauty of the serene premises in the process. I cannot accept more…The feeling of solitude that one feels inside the campus is something that simply cannot put down in words…

After going around the campus, we decided to take a break and go to the Tea Board (what we usually call a canteen). We guys get ourselves a couple of beverages and settle down around a table. Its been a really long time since I actually went out with my friends and, you know, do nothing but listen to each one’s story. At that time, I felt really happy to have went to Bangalore…Even if I don’t stand a chance in clearing that HAL test , I will always be happy that I had such wonderful time with my buddies after aeons.

This was followed by a visit to John’s room, where again we sat chatting form sometime, before we set off for our dinner at a Chinese restaurant… Soon it was time for us to leave to our respective places. We bid farewell to each other. And taking a bus from IISc, we reach Majestic from where Diva leaves for EC. I and Navaladi return to BMTC from where I again take an auto to reach Kalasipalayam, where another KPN bus is waiting to take me back to the life I left behind at Madras.

So…. what exactly was this trip to Bangalore for? To find out that John is going out with a girl these days? That Diva is slogging it out at Infosys? That Navaladi is having fun with the seniors there? That kums is a fun guy to hang out with? It’s all this and more… It’s like I visited another part of my life again. A part where you feel that there is so much more to life other than slogging in your office and missing out all the fun that life has in store. It was a weekend with a difference. A weekend where I felt myself again..

PS: about the test for HAL, the scores would have been no different if you had taken up the test instead of me… the entire paper turned out to be one guessing game, what with most questions from an area, which I am no good at… If I take into consideration only the questions I knew, my test hardly lasted for 45 mins… I still wonder how that guy sitting in front of me managed to shade all the answers within one hour after the test began… …Give and take police follow pannaano ??